If a married couple enters into a marital settlement agreement disposing of all of their property and all of their parental responsibility and child support and never has it signed by a judge, is it enforceable? The direct answer is “mostly.” Yes, that is a typical lawyer answer. The problem is, when dealing with the law, there is rarely a black and white yes or no answer. The laws are written gender neutral, but sometimes family law for men feels a little more difficult to practice.

Attorneys for men, and any attorney for that matter, should be overly prepared when going to court knowing all of the slightest nuances of the law as they pertain to their particular issue. Regarding the subject of this blog, failure to incorporate a settlement agreement in a final divorce order does not make it unenforceable. Alimony awards can be part of a property settlement agreement. Agreements involving alimony are enforceable by the court. An unreferenced contract may control the provisions of a final judgment. “The court has repeatedly held, along with practically every other court in the land, that property settlements between husband and wife made in good faith are valid and legal and should not be disturbed by the courts.” Vance v. Vance. “That these agreements should be construed and interpreted as other contracts is no longer open to question.” Underwood v. Underwood.

In the event of a divorce, everyone is fully aware of the harsh emotional experience. In most cases, hurtful things are said and many character defects are quickly brought to the surface. At the same time, if the subject of alimony is on the table, a gargantuan level of uncertainty and financial stress is added to the equation. While the issue of calculating the alimony award amount is completely in the hands of the court, most spouses are at least concerned over the factors taken into consideration in determining the monthly spousal support payment. Simply put, there are several factors taken into consideration when determining the amount and type of spousal allowance. In order to gain a better understanding of these considerations, the following information highlights and explains some of the most common factors and the role these factors play in Florida divorce courts.

1. Standard of Living

How much does a typical family law action cost?  As with any question posed to a lawyer, the answer can be many. 

When couples separate or file for divorce, they may go through a period of time when they just can’t get along. One spouse or both can become irrational and seemingly go out of her way to argue and cause problems for the former spouse. Unfortunately, this creates chaos and quite often emotional turmoil for all parties involved.