Family Law & Domestic Violence Protection at FRLS

• Recent acts of violence or threats of violence.
• The prior history of violence or stalking by the responding party.
• Whether the responding party has made threats of violence.
• Whether the responding party has a criminal history of violence.
• If the responding party has threatened to kidnap or conceal the parties’ children.
• Whether the responding party has intentionally injured or killed a family pet.
• Whether the responding party has destroyed property that belongs to the person requesting the injunction.
• Whether the responding party has a substance abuse problem or mental health problem.

A final Domestic Violence Injunction may order:

• No contact.
• For the responding party to leave the home the parties shared.
• For the person seeking the injunction to have all or most of the time with the parties’ child.
• For the person seeking the injunction to make decisions regarding the children.
• For the responding party to pay child support or alimony during the term of the injunction.
• For the responding party to surrender their guns and ammunition.
• For the responding party to attend a Batterers’ Intervention Program or to undergo a mental health evaluation.
• To award the petitioner the exclusive care, possession, or control of an animal that is owned, possessed, harbored, kept, or held by the petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child in the residence or household of either party. The court may order the responding party to have no contact with the animal and prohibit them from taking, transferring,
  encumbering, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal. (This does not apply to an animal owned primarily for a bona fide agricultural purpose, or to a service animal if the responding party is the service animal’s
  handler).

A Stalking Injunction is for protection againststalking/cyberstalking and can be obtained against anyone, regardless of your relationship to the other person. In some cases, the stalker may be a former friend, a co-worker, or a jealous new partner of the requesting party’s ex-spouse. Stalking is something that happens more than once, and is when a person willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person with no legitimate purpose.

Harassment is when someone commits a series of acts over a period of time against you which cause you to have substantial emotional distress (and the acts serve no legitimate purpose).

Cyber stalking is when someone commits a series of acts that communicate (or cause to be communicated) words, images, or language through email or other electronic communication that is directed at you, causing you substantial emotional distress.

Here are some examples listed on the courtpetition so you can get an idea of what behaviors/acts may qualify someone for
an injunction:

• Previously threatened, harassed, stalked, cyberstalked, or physically abused the petitioner.
• Threatened to harm the petitioner, or family members or individuals closely associated with the petitioner.
• Intentionally injured or killed a family pet.
• Used, or threatened to use, against the petitioner any weapons such as guns or knives.
  Destroyed personal property, including, but not limited to, telephones or other communication equipment, clothing, or other items belonging to the petitioner.

To receive alimony or child support through a domestic violence injunction, you will need to file a Family Law Financial Affidavit, form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c). You can find these forms at www.flcourts.org under the Family Law Forms section of the site. You should also bring your pay stub and one of the abuser’s pay stubs if you have it.

Before deciding whether to request alimony, consider that in order to get alimony you must prove that you have an actual need for alimony and the other party has the ability to pay it. You must carefully weigh this decision ahead of time because the other party or the other party’s attorney could argue that you have filed an injunction just to get alimony. Such an argument could undercut your request for the injunction, so only ask for alimony if you actually need it.

Florida law has different types of injunctions for people who have experienced particular forms of violence, based on various kinds of relationships with their abuser. Florida injunctions include Domestic Violence Injunctions, Dating Violence Injunctions, Repeat Violence Injunctions, Stalking Injunctions, Sexual Violence Injunctions, and Injunction for Protection Against Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult.

In a divorce situation, the parents should make decisions based on the best interests of the children.

Florida law requires the creation of a written parenting plan for all children in a divorce case involving children. Parenting plans are designed to reflect the modern-day challenges and circumstances facing parents and minor children before, during, and after a divorce. Parenting plans largely address two major categories of parental rights: (1) parental responsibility, and (2) time-sharing.

In all divorce cases involving minor children, parents in Florida are required to attend an approved four-hour parenting course that addresses the consequences of divorce on families and children.

For more information visit: https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet025/#additional

In Florida, child support obligations are established by the child support guidelines schedule. Guidelines for the amount of child support apply to all cases and are based on the income of the parents and the number of children, with adjustments for substantial overnight contact and additional expenses paid by each parent, such as health insurance.

Child support may be by direct payment or by indirect benefits, such as mortgage payments, insurance, or payment of medical and dental expenses.

For more information visit: https://www.floridabar.org/public/consumer/pamphlet010/