You are in your home, or perhaps your place of employment, a person that you have never seen walks up to you and asks your name.  He then hands you a stack of papers.  These are no ordinary papers:  they're heavy; they have all kinds of legal jargon on them; and they inform you that if you do not take action immediately, all sorts of bad things are likely to occur.  What do you do?

First, relax, you are probably not suprised that your spouse has gone ahead and filed for a divorce, also known as a Dissolution of Marriage.   Or, that a paternity action has been filed against you.  You probably have about a million things running trhough your mind.  Do not do anything or take any action until you have an opportunity to carefully review the documents and to meet with an attorney. 

Next, contact an attorney who regularly practices Marital and Family Law.  This person will know the law that relates to your matter.  The Law Offices of Tami L. Augen, P.A. limits its practice to the area of Marital and Family Law.  Set up a meeting with the attorney as soon as possible.  The attorney should be able to meet with you within about twenty-four hours or, at the very least, should be able to have a telephone consulation with you.  Remember, you only have twenty (20) days from the date that the process server handed you those papers to get your written response filed with the Court.  If this time limit has passed, please, do not panic, there are many options still available to you and your attorney to handle the fact that the tweny day time limit has passed.

Once you have decided to retain an attorney, she will immediately get to work on your behalf.  She will file an Answer, or other responsive pleading, to the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage or Petition for Paternity.  If you already have a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage or Final Judgement of Paternity, you would have been served with a Supplemental Petition for Modification and your attorney will take these same steps!  After the Answer is filed, your attorney and her staff should work with you to provide what is called Mandatory Disclosure in accordance with the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, Rule 12.285.  You will be asked to gather financial documents and to complete a Financial Affidavit.

Many other things will start to take place.  Your attorney will work on gathering documents and information from the other side through a process known as Discovery.  She may take depositions, seek documents from third parties, or ask the other side to respond to written discovery.  Additionally, your attorney will schedule and attend mediation with you.  If you and the other side have a combined total income of less than $100,000.00 you qualify to have mediation conducted at the Courthouse.  If your total combined income exceeds $100,000.00, you will be required to attend mediation with a private mediator.

Finally, you will conclude the process by either reaching an agreement with the other side or you and your attorney may decide that your case needs to be resolved by going to trial.  Either way, make sure that your attorney is highly competent in drafting family law settlement agreements and in taking your case forward to a trial if that is necessary.  Tami L. Augen has conducted numerous complex family law trials for her clients and has settled a vast array of marital and family law cases including divorce, paternity, and post judgment modifications.

Clearly there is a lot for you to learn about this process now that you will be going through it.  Tami L. Augen, Esq. and all of the attorneys and staff at The Law Offices of Tami L. Augen, P.A. are privileged that you have taken the time to review our articles and website.  Please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule an appointment regarding your Marital or Family Law case in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Broward County, Miami Dade County, Martin County and throughout the State of Florida.