Author Archives: family-divorce-attorney

In Florida, the court takes a “no fault” approach when it comes to dissolution of marriage (or divorce), however the court must determine certain issues, including the existence of a valid marriage, the residence of one party in Florida for at least six months before the filing of the petition, and the grounds for the dissolution.

Other issues must be settled by either the parties of the court, including alimony, division of marital assets and debts, child support, and parenting plans.

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable divorce attorney in Tampa to represent your best interests, you can count on Gary Dolgin to help you.

To schedule a consultation with Gary S. Dolgin, Attorney At Law, call (813) 999-2772 and it will be our pleasure to help you.

To see what past clients have to say about retaining Gary Dolgin to represent them during their divorce, and to learn more about divorce, visit:
Divorce Lawyer Tampa – Gary S. Dolgin

Senate Bill 1796, which was passed back in March 2022, would have changed how alimony is paid if it was signed into law.

This Bill would have also codified a 50-50 presumption of timesharing into Florida Law, which would not have protected the best interests of children in some cases.

This past Friday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed this Bill, just as The Family Law Section of the Florida Bar had urged him to do.

The Bill had called for the court to put an end to permanent alimony payments, and would allow for the party paying alimony to terminate alimony payments upon retirement.

DeSantis objected to the bill explaining, “it would unconstitutionally impair vested rights under certain preexisting marital settlement agreements,” he wrote in an official letter.

Read the full article at:
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/gov-ron-desantis-vetoes-alimony-overhaul/

At The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we have been helping women, men and families in the Tampa Bay area with their family law issues, including alimony and divorce for over 30 years.

To learn more about our family law practice in Tampa, visit:
Family Lawyer Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin

Florida courts will typically impute income any time they feel that the financial picture one or both parties represent is not accurate. The court may impute income either on its own or it can impute income at the request of one party.

In Florida, it is improper to impute income to an unemployed party based on the speculation that employment will soon be found. Berger v. Berger,201 So.3d 819 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016); Ruiz v. Ruiz, 821 So.2d 1112 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002). If income is imputed, the recipient spouse may be entitled to rehabilitative or bridge-the-gap alimony until he or she becomes employed. Hollister v. Hollister, 965 So.2d 341 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

When there is insufficient evidence to determine the amount to impute, a presumption arises based on the spouse’s historical earnings; however, this presumption can be rebutted by the spouse to whom income is imputed. Lafferty v. Lafferty, 134 So.3d 1142 (Fla. DCA 2014).

It is impermissible to impute income to a party based on previous earnings that were only derived by illegal activity such as driving a truck more than the legal number of hours per week. Abbott v. Abbott, 832 So.2d 964 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). Conversely, it is error to impute a reduction in income to a party based on speculation that a business will not be as productive in the future. LaSala v. LaSala, 806 So.2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).

Income from a second job may be considered for alimony purposes. If the second job later ends, modification may be appropriate. Hollinger v. Hollinger, 684 So.2d 286 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996).

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Divorce Attorney Tampa For Alimony – Gary S. Dolgin

Contested Relocation and Parent’s Career Opportunities

There is no presumption in favor of or against a request to relocate with a child when the relocation will “materially affect” the current time-sharing, access and contact with the other parent or other persons entitled to contact and access.

The court will evaluate several factors when reaching a decision on contested relocation of a child.

When deciding whether or not to approve a contested relocation, one of the factors that the court considers is the career and other opportunities available to the objecting parent or other person if the relocation takes place.

To learn more about this visit the Florida Statutes documentation at: Determining Contested Relocation

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we have been helping mothers and fathers with child custody for over 30 years in the Tampa area.

We have also been committed to protecting children’s best interests while helping to advocate for their parent’s rights.

If you are having any child custody issues such as relocation, determining parental responsibility, time-sharing problems, or any other custody issue that may be causing an unhealthy situation for your child, or negatively affecting your parental rights, we are here to help you.

To schedule a child custody consultation with Gary Dolgin, give us a call at (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about child custody by visiting:
Tampa Child Custody Attorney, Gary Dolgin

What Are The Issues That Need To Be Addressed When Ending A Marriage?

With over 30 years of experience in divorce in the Tampa Bay area, Gary Dolgin will help guide you through all the complicated issues that need to be addressed when ending a marriage, especially if children and grandparents are involved, including:

– child custody
– alimony
– child support
– division of marital assets and liabilities
– collaborative divorce
– marital settlement agreements
– separation agreements
– marital property agreements
– parental visitation
– visitation for grandparents

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable divorce attorney in Tampa to represent your best interests, you can count on Gary Dolgin to help you.

To schedule a consultation with Gary S. Dolgin, Attorney At Law, call (813) 999-2772 and it will be our pleasure to help you.

To see what past clients have to say about retaining Gary Dolgin to represent them during their divorce, and to learn more about divorce, visit:
Divorce Attorney Tampa – Gary S. Dolgin

How Imputed Income Is Determined in Florida
Florida courts will typically impute income any time they feel that the financial picture one or both parties represent is not accurate. The court may impute income either on its own or it can impute income at the request of one party.

For example, in determining alimony, when a party causes the termination of his or her employment, the trial court may impute income to that party.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Divorce Attorney Tampa For Alimony – Gary S. Dolgin

Determining Contested Relocation

There is no presumption in favor of or against a request to relocate with a child when the relocation will “materially affect” the current time-sharing, access and contact with the other parent or other persons entitled to contact and access.

The court will evaluate several factors when reaching a decision on contested relocation of a child.

When deciding whether or not to approve a contested relocation, one of the factors that the court analyzes closely is whether the relocation is being sought in good faith.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we have been helping mothers and fathers with child custody for over 30 years in the Tampa area.

We have also been committed to protecting children’s best interests while helping to advocate for their parent’s rights.

If you are having any child custody issues such as relocation, determining parental responsibility, time-sharing problems, or any other custody issue that may be causing an unhealthy situation for your child, or negatively affecting your parental rights, we are here to help you.

To schedule a child custody consultation with Gary Dolgin, give us a call at (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about child custody by visiting:
Tampa Child Custody Lawyer, Gary Dolgin

A divorce case can often take months to conclude, therefore temporary court orders may be requested for certain issues such as support while the divorce case is pending.

Whether the non-wage-earning or lower-wage-earning spouse will be able to survive economically during the proceedings is often determined at the first hearing on temporary relief.

Alimony will be awarded if need and ability to pay can be proved.

Temporary relief orders are often entered by judges after short hearings with limited evidence.

If further discovery reveals that a temporary support order is inequitable or based on improper calculation, any inequity can usually be resolved in the final judgment, after a full and fair opportunity to be heard.

Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law, Gary S. Dolgin is proud to be the author of Chapter 6. “Temporary Relief” in the 6th through 13th editions of The Florida Dissolution of Marriage book.

This book is published by The Florida Bar and is widely used as a reference by attorneys and judges when it comes to divorce issues in Florida.

With over 30 years of experience in divorce and family law, Gary Dolgin has the expertise you need when facing divorce or any type of family law issue.

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable family law and divorce attorney in Tampa to represent your best interests, you can count on Gary Dolgin to help you.

To schedule a consultation with Gary S. Dolgin, Attorney At Law, call (813) 999-2772 and it will be our pleasure to help you.

To learn more about The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin and to see what his past clients have to say about his exceptional representation, visit:
Family Attorney Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin

Not all divorces are the same. At The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we can help you with any type of divorce you may be facing, including:

– high asset divorce
– high conflict divorce
– contested divorce
– uncontested divorce
– collaborative divorce

With over 30 years of experience in divorce and family law, Gary Dolgin has the expertise you need when facing divorce or any type of family law issue.

If you are looking for an experienced and knowledgeable divorce attorney in Tampa to represent your best interests, you can count on Gary Dolgin to help you.

To schedule a consultation with Gary S. Dolgin, Attorney At Law, call (813) 999-2772 and it will be our pleasure to help you.

To see what past clients have to say about retaining Gary Dolgin to represent them during their divorce, and to learn more about divorce, visit:
Tampa Divorce Attorney – Gary S. Dolgin

Employment income can be imputed to a spouse in determining alimony, but there must be competent, substantial evidence to support specific findings of fact regarding the source and amount of the income.

The spouse claiming income should be imputed to his or her voluntarily unemployed or underemployed spouse bears the burden of proof of employability and that jobs are available.

The court may impute income if a party has no income or insufficient earnings upon a showing that there is a capability to earn more by the use of more diligent efforts.

Here at The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin, we will put our knowledge and 30 years of experience to work for you, whether you are seeking alimony or defending a claim against alimony.

Being Board Certified in Marital and Family Law as well as being a Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator sets Gary Dolgin apart. He will put his expertise to work for you and advocate for the best possible result in your alimony case.

To schedule an alimony consultation with Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin, please call (813) 999-2772, and it will be our pleasure to help you.

Learn more about alimony by visiting:
Alimony Payments Lawyer Tampa Bay – Gary S. Dolgin