In some situations it makes sense for an extended family member to have temporary custody of a child. These situations are usually extremely sad, as the parents may be struggling with mental health issues, substance abuse issues, or they may be facing incarceration. The only silver lining is that a concerned family member is willing to step in and assist by taking care of the legal parents’ minor children until the parents are ready to resume their role as a parent. Often this will be the minor child’s grandparents or an aunt or uncle.

A court order providing temporary custody for an extended family member prevents the children from becoming a ward of the state, and allows an extended family member with custody to do things like secure copies of medical records, enroll a child in school, and otherwise do things necessary for the care of the child.

Temporary custody of minor children by extended family is controlled by Chapter 751 of the Florida Statutes. Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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It’s estimated that 95% of all divorces get resolved outside of court. Based on my experience as a divorce lawyer I’d agree with that assessment. Most divorces, even hotly contested ones, settle. And most cases settle at mediation or as a result of mediation. There are exceptions, but in many cases a failed mediation signals a failure of the parties and their lawyers to be reasonable, or a lack of preparation prior to mediation. Sometimes there is a novel legal issue that needs to be decided by a judge, but that is rare.

Since mediation is such an important topic and an effective means of resolving a divorce, this article is going to provide information on why mediation is a good option and how mediation works. Most of this is my opinion based on my experience. As always the article is being offered for educational / entertainment purposes and is not offered as legal advice.

I have also written an article providing a general overview of the divorce process, if you are looking for a broader article. Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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As a family law attorney, I often get asked how to modify a child support obligation. Whether one party thinks they are paying too much, or the other party thinks they are getting too little, it’s common for one or both parties to want to revisit the issue of child support.

As you can imagine, there is no one size fits all answer to this question. However, there is a basic framework that governs child support modification, and it can help you answer that question. My goal with this article is to explain that framework and give you a better idea as to how child support can be modified.

How Is Child Support Calculated?

An important question to address right off the bat is how child support gets calculated. Presumably, if you understand how child support gets calculated in the first place it will be easier to figure out how to change it. Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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Performing a stepparent adoption is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a family lawyer. Most of my time is spent litigating divorces and post divorce proceedings, so the chance to help a family come together is a welcome change of pace.

This article is for educational purposes only, and is designed to be a brief overview of how the stepparent adoption process works in Sarasota, Florida. I am a family law lawyer located in Venice, Florida and perform stepparent adoptions in Venice, Sarasota, Bradenton, Port Charlotte and the surrounding areas.

Contested vs. Uncontested Stepparent Adoptions

Like a fingerprint, each person’s stepparent adoption is unique to that person. Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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Dividing property is often one of the greatest challenges when filing for divorce in Florida. It is very easy to get overwhelmed when trying to untangle the complicated financial issues, especially when also confronting the emotional aspects of a divorce. However, it is important to understand that there is a method to the madness, and your attorney can help guide you through the process.

In the following article I will explain the basic rules governing property division and divorce in Florida, and also touch on some practical considerations as well.

The general rule is that Florida is an “Equitable Distribution” state. Generally speaking this means that marital property, assets and liabilities acquired during the marriage with marital funds or labor, will be divided equally upon divorce. Nonmarital property, assets and liabilities acquired before the marriage, remains the sole and separate property of the spouse upon divorce.

What is “Property” Anyways?

As a preliminary matter, it’s worth taking a little time to discuss what “property” actually includes. Property includes Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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You are reading this article because you are considering having your name legally changed in the State of Florida. Maybe you have recently been divorced and did not restore your name at the end of the divorce. Or perhaps you have a different reason. After 9-11, the Florida DMV has tightened their regulations regarding renewing driver’s licenses, and I am getting an increasing number of clients who are contacting my office after having problems renewing their Florida driver’s license.

There is no doubt that you have questions, including: “How long does a name change take?” “What are the requirements for a name change in Florida?” and of course there is the all-important, “How much will it cost?”

My goal is to answer all of those questions for you in this article.

Before we get too far into this, I want to mention that I am a name change lawyer in Venice, Florida. Name changes are part of my family law practice. I regularly represent clients with family law matters, including name changes, in Venice, Sarasota, and the surrounding area.

Sarasota County happens to be part of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida so this article will discuss getting a name changed within the 12th Judicial Circuit. The rules for each circuit may be a little different so it’s important to keep that in mind.

The Basic Idea

Basically, to get your name changed you need to file what is called a Continue reading →

Dan Policastro

Dan Policastro is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Florida. Dan represents individuals and businesses in Divorce and Family law, Commercial and Business Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Corporate law, and Intellectual Property Law matters from his office in Venice, Florida. Learn more about Dan by reading his about page.

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