Experienced Affordable Family Lawyers Near You in Orlando

Family law describes the area of law that encompasses divorce, paternity, child custody, child support, and other similar types of domestic cases. Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce & family law attorney near you who can assist you in any area of family law requiring the assistance of an experienced lawyer in Orlando Florida.

Because family law litigation can be extremely stressful on litigants, our firm works hard to reduce the conflict in the case by utilizing all tools at our disposal to negotiate fair and equitable settlements for our clients.

If you need an attorney in Orlando our family lawyers to represent clients in the following areas:

• Divorce Lawyer
• Alimony Attorney
• Child Custody in Orlando
• Special Needs Child Custody in Florida
• Child Support
• Family Court Orlando
• Child Relocation
• Divorce and Family Law Mediation
• Paternity
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Parenting Plans and Timesharing Schedules
• Women’s Divorce Attorney

Orlando Family Law Attorney for Complex Issues

We are often tasked with many highly complicated legal issues to tackle in a dissolution of marriage litigation. The list of these legal issues is extensive, and if any of the following applies to your case, then you need an experienced family law attorney on your side.

Family Attorney Near You

Family law covers a wide range of domestic cases, from divorce and paternity to child custody and child support. If you’re in need of an Orlando family law attorney near you, Sean Smallwood is experienced in all areas of family law and can provide you with the assistance you need. We understand that family law litigation can be very stressful for those involved. That’s why our firm does everything we can to reduce the conflict by negotiating fair settlements for our clients. We believe this is the best way to resolve these types of cases and help our clients move on with their lives.

Child Custody Lawyer Near You

Any divorce in Florida involving children under the age of 18 will need to have a determination made by the divorce court regarding child custody. This will include a review of the statutory factors for a child’s best interests and a comparison of the facts of your case to see which parent has acted in the children’s best interests. Part of this process includes establishing parental rights and creating a parenting plan. Our Orlando paternity lawyers and our parenting plan attorneys are intimately familiar with Florida’s parenting plan requirements. If you’re facing child custody issues it’s essential to seek guidance from a child custody lawyer in Orlando who can protect your rights and advocate for the best interests of your children. These cases can get complicated which is why we suggest hiring a family law attorney to represent you in family court Orlando for child custody cases.

Emergency Custody – Family Lawyers Near You

There are often emergency custody situations in the divorce case that require the judge to step in and make immediate temporary orders on time-sharing issues. This will only happen in situations where the children’s emotional or physical safety is in jeopardy. Our family law and divorce attorneys near you in Orlando, FL understand how an emergency motion must be crafted in order to receive the best opportunity to be addressed by the court.

Child Support Lawyer Near You

Once child custody is addressed, and the parties to the action have exchanged their financial discovery, the divorce lawyers will run child support guideline calculations to determine how much financial support the child is entitled to receive. These days the majority of child support payments are made via income withholding orders which deduct the support payments from the obligor’s paycheck.

Dividing the Marital Home

When the parties to the divorce own a home, then your divorce lawyers in Orlando, FL will need to address who will have exclusive use and possession of the home, who will pay the mortgage, whether the home will be sold via a petition for partition, and how the equity in the home will be divided.

Division of Assets

Any asset that was obtained during the marriage will likely need to go through a property division lawyer as they are subject to equitable distribution via the division of assets. This means that each party to the case is entitled to half of the value of the asset. This division will apply to anything of value including cars, collectibles, gun collections, retirement accounts, military pensions, businesses opened, and the list goes on. Very often it becomes necessary to enlist the help of a business valuation expert, forensic accountant, or other types of professional appraisers in order to accomplish this in a fair and equitable way.

Division of Debt

When it comes to the division of debt, just like assets are subject to equitable division in the divorce, all debts are also subject to be divided. It is very common for one spouse to request more of the assets and less of the debt, however, the courts will generally attribute half of the debt to each party in the divorce unless there is a substantial disparity in the incomes of the parties that would lead the court to do otherwise. Divisible liabilities include any kind of debt such as credit card debt, auto loans, IRS debt, student loan debt, personal loans, second mortgages, and many others. It is always a good idea for anyone going through a divorce to request a copy of their credit report in order to ensure that there is no marital debt that they are not aware of before entering into a settlement or going to court for trial.

Divorce Discovery

In Orlando, Florida, and throughout the entire state, anyone going through a contested divorce will need to comply with rule 12.285 which governs mandatory financial disclosure for dissolution of marriage actions in the state of Florida. This basically means that within 45 days of the summons being served on the respondent both parties will need to file and serve a fully executed financial affidavit, three years of tax returns, three months of bank statements for personal accounts, 12 months of savings account statements, three months of pay stubs, a copy of any deeds to real estate owned for the last three years, a copy of a residential lease if you are renting, the most recent statement from your retirement account, and health insurance card copies. It is very common for additional discovery demands to be filed that would require each party to turn over even more information than this. The most common additional discovery demands include a request for the production of documents and Florida standard interrogatories.

Spousal Support

Alimony (or spousal support) in Orlando, Florida was created as a tool to ensure equity in each party’s ability to leave the marriage and support themselves based on the standard of living that was established during the marriage. The courts will generally examine the length of the marriage and the financial positions of each party. The analysis for the length of the marriage is broken up into three parts short, moderate, and long-term. The standard for financial ability is summed up by saying that the requesting spouse needs to demonstrate that they have a need for alimony and that the other spouse has the ability to pay. Alimony cases require a great deal of strategy and can be extremely complex when it comes to supportive relationships, in-kind income, and using equitable division strategies to increase or minimize one’s need. If you’re navigating complex alimony and custody matters, consult an alimony and custody lawyer in Orlando who can provide you with guidance and representation tailored to your unique situation. Be sure to also read up on the 5 things to know when determining spousal support and use our Florida alimony calculator to give you an idea of what your alimony obligations can be.

In recent news, as of July 2, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Alimony Reform Measure into law which has significant differences as it pertains to alimony payments. If you have questions and need to understand the differences in permanent vs. temporary alimony contact our spousal support attorneys near you today for a confidential case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Family Law

What Do I Do If I Have Been Served Family Law Or Divorce Papers?

If you have been served with legal papers then you only have twenty calendar days to file a written response with the Court You should call an Orlando family law firm near you during this time. If you do not file your written response in time then the other side can obtain a default against you and may be able to get what they are asking for without input from you in the case. You should always make it your top priority to deal with finding the right opposite sex or lgbtq family law attorney when you are served since it is not always possible to go back and address the case once a default judgment has been entered against you. Learn more about the Divorce Process in Florida.

The Other Party Is Self-Employed And Is Hiding Income. How Can I Prove Their Income?

This is a very common and very complex issue that family law attorneys deal with. The reality is that the IRS permits self-employed individuals to write off income that the family courts will want to count as income for child support calculation purposes. Most small business owners are under the mistaken belief that because their tax return shows a low income that this is an accurate representation of their income.

An experienced family attorney will submit additional discovery requests for corporate tax returns, bank statements, subpoenas for corporate records, and depositions. Unfortunately, you can never assume that the judge will “do what is right” as they are limited in their authority to items that are proven with adequate evidence.

What If I Cannot Afford To Hire An Attorney For My Family Law Case?

If you are having a hard time coming up with the funds to hire a family lawyer then there are certain community legal organizations that offer free and reduced-price representation by lawyers for certain family law issues. These programs usually have strict income requirements meaning that if you earn too much then you do not qualify for their services.

What If I Want To Settle The Case At Mediation?

Every contested family case will be required to go to a mediation which is a mandatory settlement conference. Though a large percentage of cases settle at mediation, this is entirely dependent on both parties being in agreement on the issue to be settled. If the parties to the case cannot get on the same page and agree then the case will need to be set for trial.

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