Fort Lauderdale Divorce Attorney Blog

A new judicial administration rule allows out of town parties to appear by
telephone if said party will be appearing by phone for a hearing not to exceed
15 minutes, and many judges adhere to this rule. If the hearing will take longer, then the parties may also agree on whether a party can appear telephonically. This should make litigating in Florida for out-of-towners much easier.

Previously, certain judges had their own blanket rules prohibiting anyone from appearing by phone. This caused a lot of inconvenience for the out-of-town parties and attorneys. It created a lot of unnecessary attorney fees because lawyers sometimes were forced to travel one hour or more to attend a brief hearing. This court appearance could easily cost a client hundreds of dollars. Now, these unnecessary fees can sometimes be avoided. Clients too may now save money on airfare and other travel expenses when appearing at a brief out-of-town South Florida hearing. Many times it is a win-win for everyone involved. In fact, it is a shame this did not happen earlier. It would have saved many out- of- town clients a bundle.

However, as many lawyers would admit, the courts are many times slow to adapt to our changing society, and even slower sometimes at implementing changes to meet society's changing needs.

Continue reading "Out-of-Town Litigants May Be Able To Appear By Telephone At Broward County Hearings " »

Many female immigrants married to U.S. citizens who are victims of domestic violence feel like helpless prisoners in their own home mostly because they are unaware that help is just a phone call away. I have filed for divorce on behalf of many women who have sustained physical abuse at the hands of their husbands for years, and sometimes decades. Many of these women thought they had no choice but to remain married and endure the abuse because they were undocumented aliens and had no legal status in the U.S. However, increasingly more women are becoming aware that there are both state and federal laws designed to protect undocumented aliens that are being physically abused by citizen spouses.

In Florida state courts, for example, prosecutors can file criminal charges against a physically abusive spouse. If convicted, an abusive spouse can potentially face jail time and/or fines. In Florida state civil courts, judges can protect victims of domestic violence by issuing restraining orders against their abusers thereby forcing the abusers to stay away from the victim, or granting an undocumented spouse a divorce from their abusive citizen spouse.

However, certain abusive husbands, for example, attempt to manipulate their spouses by threatening to report their undocumented wives to immigration authorities and to have their wives deported if they report the abuse or seek to obtain a restraining order. Many undocumented wives succumb to these threats due to lack of knowledge of laws enacted to protect them. Under a federal immigration law, however, an undocumented alien who is the victim of domestic violence may pursue legal status in the U.S. by obtaining a green card on the basis of such abuse.

Continue reading "Married Florida Undocumented Aliens Who Are Abused May Obtain Greencards" »