Family law sees extremely crowded dockets. Florida family court filings for the 2013 – 2014 fiscal year totaled 281,168. There were 81,402 divorces filed with an additional 9,637 simplified dissolutions. There were almost as many domestic violence cases as divorces with a total of 76,958 filed. Don’t get lost in the crowd.
Family law is an area of law that deals with family matters and domestic relations, including:
- Marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships and the termination of relationships and ancillary matters, including collaborative divorce, divorce, annulment, property settlements (equitable distribution), alimony, parental responsibility, timesharing, child support, and alimony awards;
- Proceedings for temporary or concurrent custody of minor children by extended family;
- Support unconnected with dissolution;
- Establishment and Dis-establishment of Paternity;
- Name change;
- Domestic, repeat, dating, and sexual violence, and stalking;
- Adoption;
- Proceedings for the emancipation of a minor;
- Declaratory judgment actions related to premarital, marital, or postmarital agreements;
- Child Abuse and Child Abduction;
- Juvenile delinquency and dependency; and
- All proceedings for modification, enforcement, and civil contempt of these actions.