Broward College has been selected as the site for the 2014 Gubernatorial Debates. The debates will be set on the Central Campus in Davie, Oct. 15, 2014.
As a member of the group, Family Law Reform, Inc. (http://www.floridaalimonyreform.com/), and one of the Admins of the Facebook group, “Protection For Men/ Men and Women United For Alimony Reform” (current membership over 6,900), I would like to ask what are the candidates’ exact plans for family law reform in the state? Specifically, what are the plans to end permanent alimony? Also, directed to Governor Rick Scott, in light of the fact that in 2013, you vetoed SB 718/HB 231, which would have terminated permanent alimony as a legal option, do you have any regrets about vetoing this bill? Will you actively work with the state legislature and the people of Florida in terminating permanent alimony for all divorces; past, present and future? Will you consider the needs of the payers of permanent alimony over the needs of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar?
Here is a copy of an analysis that I’ve shared with the Facebook groups “PFM/ Men and Women United for Alimony Reform”, “FLWAR Florida Women For Alimony Reform” and “Florida Alimony Reform” in 2013, prior to that year’s Legislative Session coming to a close:
“Ending Florida’s Permanent Alimony in 2013 (HB 231 and SB 718)
by Nick Tufaro February 21, 2013 at 12:52am
In the current legislative session, both houses of Florida’s state legislature are reviewing bills that would
eliminate permanent alimony. This is thanks to the hard work of Florida Alimony Reform (FAR), a grassroots organization made up of men and women. These men and women are either payers of permanent alimony or second spouses, or bequeathed second spouses of permanent alimony payers.
However, FAR is experiencing some resistance from the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar. Spokespeople for the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar have, over the years, denied that they have something to lose with the elimination of permanent alimony from statute 61.08 and thousands of displaced women will suffer as a result of this. It is my opinion that in order to effectively challenge this in the legislative committees and legislative subcommittees, spokes persons for the Alimony Reform, whether they be payers of permanent alimony or co-sponsors of the bills may want to consider the following information when spokespersons from the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar deny any self serving interest.
According to Facebook, the current “Likes” for the Facebook page of Florida Alimony Reform is 2,172.
This number does not represent the total number of people negatively affected by permanent alimony. It does not represent all of the payers, or the second spouses, or even the children.
What is The Florida Bar? The Florida Bar is the organization of all lawyers who are licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida to practice law in the state. Any lawyer desiring to practice law in Florida must be a member of The Florida Bar. How many lawyers are licensed to practice law in Florida? Total members as of 6/01/12: 93,895 – Male members 65% Female members 35%
Family Law Section Members. There are currently 3,631 section members. The membership of the Family Law Division is 3.87% of the total membership of the Florida Bar!
Marital & Family Law Certified Attorneys: There are currently 277 attorneys certified in this area. The number of Board Certified Family Law Attorneys is 7.63% of the total membership of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar! More importantly, the number of Board Certified Family Law Attorneys is .30% of the total membership of the Florida Bar!!!
So why, then, do members of the Family Law Section want to keep permanent alimony on the books? That question is best answered with a reference to the requirements to be board certified and some analysis! When you look at http://www.familylawfla.org/boardcertification/, you will see the following:
How do I apply to be Board Certified?
(1) Be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.
(2) Have at least 5 years of the actual practice of law.
(3) 50% of practice is in marital and family law.
(4) 25 contested marital and family law cases.
(5) 7 of the 25 cases must have trials as defined in rules.
(6) 18 of the 25 cases must show substantial involvement in accordance with rules.
(7) Submit names and addresses of 6 lawyers and 3 judicial officers as references.
(8) 75 certification credit hours of approved CLE.
(9) Pass a written examination.
My profession is that of a software developer and analyst, where a very important part of my profession is to analyze requirements. I will analyze some of the key requirements above:
(2) This is the minimum number of years of experience an attorney can have before they can qualify
for certification
(4) This means that they must be very aggressive in attracting clientele, with an average of 5 per year.
It also means that they must “force” the case to be contested. With the present value of the equitable
distribution not being wildly subjective, such as real estate appraisal of the marital home, or the total
value of investments and savings and child support based on fairly rigid rules, the only thing left is
Permanent Alimony. There is no top limit to the amount, such as child support, and there is no
termination in age, as in child support. Permanent Alimony is what makes the case a contested case.
(5) According to “Divorce War!: 50 Strategies Every Woman Needs to Know to Win” (1996), Author
and Family Law Attorney Bradley A. Pistotnik, urges wives to use V.A.W.A. to get their husband out
of the house while using a preponderance of the evidence. This forces the battling spouses to go to
trial to challenge the restraining order and thus protect the 50% asset for the displaced spouse in the
marital home. By the way, according to the mediaRADAR report, Florida is second in the nation when
it comes to receiving federal funding through V.A.W.A. How can this be when the majority of
married couples in Florida are senior citizens and snowbirds? http://www.mediaradar.org/state_dv_coalition_info.php?last_shown_sort_by=revenue&last_shown_as
cending=true&submit_revenue=Gross+Revenue**
(6) When there are issues of child support, perceived domestic violence, perceived child abuse
through fabrication and an award of the marital home, it becomes clear how easy it is to meet this
requirement.
(7) This is an activity that is secretive and is in violation of the Freedom of Information Act as well as
Florida’s Sunshine Laws. Please look at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/162867743740744/doc/189311177763067/
Conclusion:
Upon careful consideration and review of the above items, it is clear that there is most certainly an incentive for the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar to keep Permanent Alimony alive and well. What many people don’t realize is that it hurts the recipients as well. Their children resent them and the old lyric, “Love is better the second time around…” is nothing more than legal fiction. I, for one, would never get romantically involved with a recipient of Permanent Alimony. Somehow, I feel certain that many payers of any sort of alimony share this same sentiment.”
Hi Nicholas,
Thanks for your comments and participation on our blog. Please send your concerns on specific issues to the respective candidates. Thank you!
NextFLGov 
As a member of the group, Family Law Reform, Inc. (http://www.floridaalimonyreform.com/), and one of the Admins of the Facebook group, “Protection For Men/ Men and Women United For Alimony Reform” (current membership over 6,900), I would like to ask what are the candidates’ exact plans for family law reform in the state? Specifically, what are the plans to end permanent alimony? Also, directed to Governor Rick Scott, in light of the fact that in 2013, you vetoed SB 718/HB 231, which would have terminated permanent alimony as a legal option, do you have any regrets about vetoing this bill? Will you actively work with the state legislature and the people of Florida in terminating permanent alimony for all divorces; past, present and future? Will you consider the needs of the payers of permanent alimony over the needs of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar?
LikeLike
Here is a copy of an analysis that I’ve shared with the Facebook groups “PFM/ Men and Women United for Alimony Reform”, “FLWAR Florida Women For Alimony Reform” and “Florida Alimony Reform” in 2013, prior to that year’s Legislative Session coming to a close:
“Ending Florida’s Permanent Alimony in 2013 (HB 231 and SB 718)
by Nick Tufaro February 21, 2013 at 12:52am
In the current legislative session, both houses of Florida’s state legislature are reviewing bills that would
eliminate permanent alimony. This is thanks to the hard work of Florida Alimony Reform (FAR), a grassroots organization made up of men and women. These men and women are either payers of permanent alimony or second spouses, or bequeathed second spouses of permanent alimony payers.
However, FAR is experiencing some resistance from the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar. Spokespeople for the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar have, over the years, denied that they have something to lose with the elimination of permanent alimony from statute 61.08 and thousands of displaced women will suffer as a result of this. It is my opinion that in order to effectively challenge this in the legislative committees and legislative subcommittees, spokes persons for the Alimony Reform, whether they be payers of permanent alimony or co-sponsors of the bills may want to consider the following information when spokespersons from the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar deny any self serving interest.
According to Facebook, the current “Likes” for the Facebook page of Florida Alimony Reform is 2,172.
This number does not represent the total number of people negatively affected by permanent alimony. It does not represent all of the payers, or the second spouses, or even the children.
According to their website, the Florida Bar’s membership is 93,895:
http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/flabarwe.nsf/f6301f4d554d40a385256a4f006e6566/47fc0a8f415a11d285
256b2f006ccb83?OpenDocument
What is The Florida Bar? The Florida Bar is the organization of all lawyers who are licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida to practice law in the state. Any lawyer desiring to practice law in Florida must be a member of The Florida Bar. How many lawyers are licensed to practice law in Florida? Total members as of 6/01/12: 93,895 – Male members 65% Female members 35%
This is where the numbers start to get interesting! According to their website, the Family Law Division of the Florida Bar has a membership of 3,631:
http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/SECT?openview&RestrictToCategory=FL&count=20
Family Law Section Members. There are currently 3,631 section members. The membership of the Family Law Division is 3.87% of the total membership of the Florida Bar!
According to their website, the number of Board Certified Family Law Attorneys in the Florida Bar is
277: http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/CERTA?openview&RestrictToCategory=FL&count=20
Marital & Family Law Certified Attorneys: There are currently 277 attorneys certified in this area. The number of Board Certified Family Law Attorneys is 7.63% of the total membership of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar! More importantly, the number of Board Certified Family Law Attorneys is .30% of the total membership of the Florida Bar!!!
So why, then, do members of the Family Law Section want to keep permanent alimony on the books? That question is best answered with a reference to the requirements to be board certified and some analysis! When you look at http://www.familylawfla.org/boardcertification/, you will see the following:
How do I apply to be Board Certified?
(1) Be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar.
(2) Have at least 5 years of the actual practice of law.
(3) 50% of practice is in marital and family law.
(4) 25 contested marital and family law cases.
(5) 7 of the 25 cases must have trials as defined in rules.
(6) 18 of the 25 cases must show substantial involvement in accordance with rules.
(7) Submit names and addresses of 6 lawyers and 3 judicial officers as references.
(8) 75 certification credit hours of approved CLE.
(9) Pass a written examination.
My profession is that of a software developer and analyst, where a very important part of my profession is to analyze requirements. I will analyze some of the key requirements above:
(2) This is the minimum number of years of experience an attorney can have before they can qualify
for certification
(4) This means that they must be very aggressive in attracting clientele, with an average of 5 per year.
It also means that they must “force” the case to be contested. With the present value of the equitable
distribution not being wildly subjective, such as real estate appraisal of the marital home, or the total
value of investments and savings and child support based on fairly rigid rules, the only thing left is
Permanent Alimony. There is no top limit to the amount, such as child support, and there is no
termination in age, as in child support. Permanent Alimony is what makes the case a contested case.
(5) According to “Divorce War!: 50 Strategies Every Woman Needs to Know to Win” (1996), Author
and Family Law Attorney Bradley A. Pistotnik, urges wives to use V.A.W.A. to get their husband out
of the house while using a preponderance of the evidence. This forces the battling spouses to go to
trial to challenge the restraining order and thus protect the 50% asset for the displaced spouse in the
marital home. By the way, according to the mediaRADAR report, Florida is second in the nation when
it comes to receiving federal funding through V.A.W.A. How can this be when the majority of
married couples in Florida are senior citizens and snowbirds?
http://www.mediaradar.org/state_dv_coalition_info.php?last_shown_sort_by=revenue&last_shown_as
cending=true&submit_revenue=Gross+Revenue**
(6) When there are issues of child support, perceived domestic violence, perceived child abuse
through fabrication and an award of the marital home, it becomes clear how easy it is to meet this
requirement.
(7) This is an activity that is secretive and is in violation of the Freedom of Information Act as well as
Florida’s Sunshine Laws. Please look at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/162867743740744/doc/189311177763067/
Conclusion:
Upon careful consideration and review of the above items, it is clear that there is most certainly an incentive for the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar to keep Permanent Alimony alive and well. What many people don’t realize is that it hurts the recipients as well. Their children resent them and the old lyric, “Love is better the second time around…” is nothing more than legal fiction. I, for one, would never get romantically involved with a recipient of Permanent Alimony. Somehow, I feel certain that many payers of any sort of alimony share this same sentiment.”
LikeLike
Hi Nicholas,
Thanks for your comments and participation on our blog. Please send your concerns on specific issues to the respective candidates. Thank you!
LikeLike