Author Archives: family-divorce-attorney

Knowing how to be there for a friend of loved one who is going through divorce is important.

The article, “Divorce Is Hard. Here’s How You Can Help Those Going Through One.” gives some great advice about how to be there for a friend or loved one who has recently divorced or who is going through divorce.

1. Listen…Again and Again

Just be a good listener and be patient. Ensure your friend has a place to vent, cry, laugh and think out loud.

2. Offer a Hand, Or Just Validation

Divorce is a huge life transformation, helping in small ways can have a lasting impact.

3. Money Can Help – More Than You’d Think

Divorce can cause financial strain. Any financial help you or a group of your common friends can provide can help get a divorcee through rough financial times.

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 Lawyer in Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin

There are several considerations that the court takes into account when determining alimony for a divorcing couple. One of these considerations is:

Just as the recipient spouse should not be required to diminish assets to be self-supporting, neither should the payor spouse have to sell assets to pay alimony.

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:
Tampa Alimony Attorney – 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.

The fourth factor the court is to evaluate in reaching its decision is:

The child’s preference, considering the age and maturity of the child.

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 Custody Attorney, Gary Dolgin

Our April Newsletter celebrates the 29th anniversary of opening The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin!

We are happy and proud to serve the Tampa Bay community, helping families with their family law issues.

To see our special Anniversary Edition Newsletter, visit:
Gary S. Dolgin April 2022 Newsletter

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 Lawyer Tampa, Gary S. Dolgin

In determining a party’s ability to pay, the Court may consider net worth, past earnings, and the value of the parties’ assets, as well as current income.

The ability to pay should be based on a party’s net income, not gross income.

This includes actual overtime pay, income from part-time employment, and voluntary contributions to 401(k) plans.

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 Attorney Tampa – Gary S. Dolgin

Today we are celebrating the 29-year anniversary of opening The Law Offices of Gary S. Dolgin!

On this special day, we share a special note from Board Certified Expert in Marital and Family Law, Gary S. Dolgin – Attorney at Law:

“Today is the 29th anniversary of the opening of my law office.

After gaining courtroom experience as both a prosecutor and public defender, I opened up my solo practice on April 1, 1993 with no clients, no runs and no errors!

The late Arnold Levine referred me my first case, a young man charged with driving with a suspended license and a worthless check.

A few weeks later I was referred my first divorce case and seven years later became Board Certified in Marital and Family Law with the help of mentors including the late Joe Hood, Steve Sessums and Fraser Himes.

Thank you to all of my clients for trusting me to help them get through some of the most difficult times in their lives. Thank you to my colleagues, past clients and even some of their ex spouses who continue to refer me cases. This week I was thrilled to open two new cases referred by two different ex-spouses of former clients.

The picture in this post was taken by my then fiancée and wife Wendi of 31 years. It is the day I was sworn into the Florida Bar in September, 1990 by the late Judge Harry Lee Coe III (who I played tennis with since I was a junior player) and my dad Dr. David Dolgin, Tampa’s first periodontist (and Board Certified)who taught me how to treat clients(patients for him) and paid for tennis lessons, college and law school with my mother Dr. Ann Dolgin.

Thank you to all of my great legal assistants/paralegals – Dawn, Susan, Nancy, Karen, Laurel, and Cynthia who treat our clients right and have been so dedicated to me.

Lastly, thank you to my wife Wendi, and my children Mallory, Corey and Ari.”

To learn more about our family law practice located in downtown Tampa, visit:
Family Lawyer Tampa, 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.

The third factor the Court is to evaluate in reaching its decision is:

The feasibility of preserving the relationship between the non-relocating parent or other person and the likelihood of compliance with substitute time-sharing once the non-relocating parent or other person is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

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:
Relocation Lawyer Tampa, Gary Dolgin

Despite gains in education, employment and earnings in recent decades, American women still face a rockier road to secure retirement than men. Yet they live longer and are more apt to encounter illness, disability and the eventual need for expensive long-term care.

Economists attribute much of the retirement gender gap to “the motherhood penalty.” Women who raise children have fewer and lower-paid years in the work force than men or childless women, and “they never completely make up for the deficits,” said Matthew Rutledge, a research fellow at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

Divorces in late middle age may improve women’s emotional well-being — they initiate them more often than men — but frequently devastate their financial health.

Marriage combines incomes, reduces living costs and works “to smooth out the fluctuations, the job losses, the periods of disability, the years you took off to care for an elderly parent,” Dr. Rutledge said. “It’s almost like getting an insurance policy.”

Losing that insurance takes a financial toll on women at any age, but after 50 “there’s less time to recoup,” Dr. I-Fen Lin, a sociologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, explained. “It’s hard to get back into the labor force, if you’re not working. And you don’t have as many years left to work and recover.” Moreover, older working women face both age and gender discrimination.

Read the full article here.

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 for over 30 years.

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

When parents divorce, the Court must approve or create a “parenting plan” detailing how the parents will share responsibility for the child’s daily activities and the time-sharing arrangement.

Designation of primary residential/custodial and secondary residential/noncustodial parents was eliminated from the Florida statute in 2008.

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:
Best Child Custody Lawyer in Tampa Florida, Gary Dolgin

In second marriages to the same spouse, the Court may treat the two marriages as one continuous marriage if the remarriage is for the purpose of eliminating the alimony awarded in the first marriage. See Cox v. Cox, 659 So.2d 1051 (Fla. 1995)

However, the Court should update the standard of living to the current period. Forster v. Forster, 11 So.3d 972 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009).

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 Alimony Expert – Gary S. Dolgin