Family Law

For a significantly large number of married couples, divorce will unfortunately be the inevitable outcome, and it can truly be one of life's most difficult and painful experiences for all involved. A permanent break-up of a family unit, regardless of the varying and unique circumstances, is often a devastating blow that many have compared to the feelings and stages of grief one might experience following the death of a loved one. To be sure, the in-tact family unit provides, for most of us, a necessary and important foundation of safety, security, and predictability despite whatever the degree of imperfection or dysfunction that most all families face. 

The Law Office of Elizabeth J. Coviello, P.A. provides legal representation to those faced with navigating a daunting and confusing legal process and procedure of divorce and other legal actions encountered by families. Our firm's primary goal is to provide sound legal advice grounded in rational and reasonable analysis during a time when our clients may be experiencing a period of emotional upheaval and uncertainty.

A premarital agreement is a written contract entered into by a couple prior to marriage that enables them to control their future legal rights and obligations when and if their marriage unexpectedly ends, either by divorce or death. A well drafted premarital agreement can save the parties future time, money and unnecessary stress by providing a significant degree of clarity and certainty with respect to future possibilities.

A post-marital agreement is a written contract entered into by a couple after they are married. Like a premarital agreement, it enables married couples to control their future legal rights and obligations when and if the marriage ends unexpectedly.

Child Support is a periodic payment generally made by one parent to the other to ensure the provision of adequate financial support for the child during each parents' respective time-sharing period. Florida law sets forth specific guidelines to determine the amount of child support owed based upon, among other things, the parents’ income, the timesharing schedule, and the number of children for which financial support must be provided.

This is a general or simplified explanation of how child support is legally determined or established. Although there are limited circumstances where a court might deviate from the child support guidelines, it is important to understand that in the State of Florida child supports exists exclusively for the purpose of ensuring the financial support of children and it is therefore not treated as a benefit to either party. Therefore, the parents generally cannot agree to waive a child support obligation absent good cause followed by an order of the Court.

For better or worse, spouses are free to choose one another. In our culture, a Spouse is generally someone who we voluntarily choose to make a member of our family. Children, on the other hand, do not choose their parents. It is an unfortunate reality that as a result of their vulnerability, children often end up suffering the most harm, and often become unintended victims of an adversarial, high-conflict divorce. Appropriate care can and should be taken to lessen or altogether avoid the negative impact of divorce suffered by the children involved. Our law firm is dedicated to ensuring these appropriate measures are taken to every event necessary and possible throughout the course of all family law-related cases involving children.

Time-sharing (formerly referred to as "child custody") involves the amount and manner of time-sharing each parent will exercise with their child. The courts look to the best interests of the child ahead of all else. There are numerous factors that are considered in determining a time-sharing schedule, and there are a variety of different scheduling plans that can be implemented to fit the unique needs and circumstances of a particular family. In Florida, there is a presumption, absent evidence to the contrary, that an equal (50/50) timesharing schedule with both parents will serve the best interest of the children.

A time-sharing schedule can be agreed upon by the parents, or absent such agreement, it can be established by order of the Court. The schedule is normally included in a document referred to as a "Parenting Plan" that includes a variety of other relevant details about the responsibility of each parent with respect to matters such as expenses related to extracurricular activities, transportation, and the manner of exchange of the children between the parties.

Paternity actions are brought to legally establish the identity of the biological father of a child.

Establishing or disestablishing paternity affects the rights and obligations of both the father and the child in the action.

It is important to understand that in the State of Florida a child born during an intact marriage is presumed to be the legal child of the Husband. If the Husband of the marriage is not the biological father of the child, proceedings must be initiated in order to disestablish the Husband's presumed legal obligations and legal rights to the child.

A child born to an unmarried mother, on the other hand, results in no presumption of paternity under the law. In other words, the biological father or another interested party must initiate court proceedings for the establishment of paternity.

It is very important for a biological Father to a child born out-of-wedlock to understand that prior to the establishment of paternity including other specific relief ordered by the Court, the Father has no legal rights with respect of the child. Likewise, absent Court Order, the Father has no legal obligations to the child.

A Father's name recorded on a child's birth certificate alone has no legal effect upon the Father's legal rights or obligations to the child. The consequences of failing to understand this legal reality can be severe. This misunderstanding of the law has resulted in some Fathers suddenly finding 

themselves the subject of an Amber Alert or facing a criminal kidnapping charge.

Spousal support is a legal obligation to provide financial support to a spouse that can occur both during and after a divorce. There are many different types of spousal support available in the State of Florida depending on the unique circumstances of the parties to a divorce action. Spousal support is foremost determined by establishing that one spouse has a need for financial support and the other spouse has the ability to provide the needed support. Every alimony award must be grounded first upon the establishment of need and ability. Once both a need and ability are established, the court looks to a variety of statutory criteria in determining the legally appropriate type of alimony (length or duration of financial support) and the appropriate amount of financial support owed by one spouse to the other.  

Early and adequate legal counsel, oftentimes as early as divorce is contemplated but not yet underway, can be helpful.  

A marital settlement agreement is an agreement reached between divorcing parties wherein they agree to distribution of their assets and debts, spousal support arrangements, and a variety of other matters requiring resolution in a divorce. These agreements can vary widely and very often should include specific provisions that are legally enforceable and appropriately reflect all agreed upon terms of the divorce. As with any other legally binding contract, appropriate and adequate legal representation is critical to ensure that unanticipated contingencies or events are accounted for and that the terms agreed upon by the parties are enforceable as a matter of law.

A civil injunction for domestic violence is an action filed in the Circuit Court where a party seeks Court protection from an individual as a result of a variety of forms of violence that can exist in a domestic type of relationship. Domestic violence may be of a nature that is physical, sexual, or psychological.

Sadly, this legal remedy that is desperately needed by those in very vulnerable situations is sometimes used manipulatively as a tool to gain a leg up in divorce proceedings. 

Our firm has experience in prosecuting and defending domestic violence injunctions.

Personal property is divided into either non-marital or marital property. Generally, marital property (and debts) are those acquired during the course of the marriage. Division of assets and debts is an integral aspect of any divorce proceeding, and proper representation is necessary to appropriately determine the value, categorization and division of the assets and debts of the marriage.

There are important legal considerations with respect to certain matters that often arise such as: the existence of non-marital property, the establishment of a business during the course of the marriage, and the dissipation or intentional depletion of marital assets in anticipation and during the course of divorce proceedings.