Saint Lucie County Legal Issues Blog

During a marriage, much of what is acquired is considered the joint property of the spouses. Throughout Florida, married couples acquire artwork, residences, cars, jewelry, business assets and a host of other tangible and intangible items that collectively make up their combined wealth. In some cases, couples may also acquire a different kind of financial obligation that they must manage: debt.

Debt accrued during a marriage can be individual or joint. It all depends upon how it was taken on. For example, a debt that is accrued on a credit card shared by both partners to a marriage will generally be considered a debt owned by both of the partners. This is true even if one of the partners did more spending on the credit device than the other.

One of the greatest blessings that a Florida resident can experience in life is becoming a parent. Bringing a new life into the world and adopting children are transformative experiences.

However, when the relationship between the parents end, there can be many questions that arise regarding the care and support oftheir children. While most readers of this family law blog may be familiar with the concept of physical custody, not all readers may know what it means to have legal custody of a child. Put simply, legal custody of a child gives a parent the right to be involved in decision-making about how a child is raised.

It is the hope of many Floridians that they will be able to leave an inheritance for their children and other loved ones. An inheritance can be a bequest of property from a deceased party's estate to another. Often in the case the case of married couples, inheritances are granted to one of the parties to the relationship. Even so, how an inheritance is structured and how it is used once it has been distributed can have significant bearing on whether it will be considered separate or marital property during a divorce.

If a person receives an inheritance prior to their marriage and maintains the property separately throughout their relationship, then it will likely retain the character of separate property at the time of divorce. If it is mixed or comingled with marital assets, though, it may be considered marital property.

Parents want their children to live fulfilling, successful lives. All across Florida, moms and dad work hard to make sure that their kids are doing their best in school, having fun in extracurricular activities, and receiving necessary medical care to protect their health.

When a child's parents divorce and work out custody and support matters, they often strive to achieve the same quality of life for their child that the child experienced before the parents' parting.