Mindi Lasley, P.A. represents parties in custody and visitation disputes in divorce cases, paternity cases which involve children born out of wedlock, and post-judgment modification cases. We know what the courts are looking for in determining custody and visitation and can aggressively fight for your rights as a parent and for the best interests of your children.

Florida requires both parents to contribute financially to the support of their children and child support is ordered in every case involving children. Child support is treated separately from child custody or visitation and even though a party has been ordered to pay child support doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a court order in place allowing for visitation. When Child Support Enforcement through the Department of Revenue become involved in a child support case, their only concern is the financial support for children. Child Support Enforcement hearing officers do not address custody or visitation issues. At Mindi Lasley, P.A., we handle child support cases as they relate to custody and visitation as well as child support cases with Child Support Enforcement and the Department of Revenue.

Often once a family law case is finalized, circumstances change in which the court’s order (also known as a final judgment) is no longer applicable or is outdated. It’s not necessarily easy to modify a court order and in Florida a party wishing to modify a court order has a heavy burden and must show a substantial change in circumstances from the date the order was entered. The burden is even heavier when one parent wants to relocate with the minor child and a different procedure must be followed in child relocation cases. At Mindi Lasley, P.A. we have handled countless modification cases, including child relocation cases, and can persuasively argue to the judge why a court’s order should be modified and what changes to the order should be made to reflect the change in circumstances.

There are times when a party fails to comply with a final judgment or court order. Often, one party gets behind on alimony or child support payments, starts making payments late or for lesser amounts, or simply stops paying the amount that was ordered by the judge. When this happens, a swift and aggressive approach is necessary to bring the failure of compliance to the court’s attention by filing appropriate motions and petitions for enforcement and/or contempt and asking for severe sanctions which could include a payment of attorney’s fees, legal sanctions and even incarceration for failure to comply with a court order.

Mindi Lasley, P.A. also represents clients in adoption cases, which is an extremely joyous time for people. Most of our adoption experience relates to family member and step-parent adoptions.

Somewhat similar to an adoption is a guardianship, which allows a third party to make legal decisions on someone’s behalf. A guardian is often appointed for a child to allow an adult that is not the parent of the child to make legal decisions on behalf of the child which may include handling financial issues in the event a child receives a large sum of money. Guardianships are also done in cases where a party is incompetent due to health issues or senility. When a guardianship is necessary, a guardian is appointed by the court to make decisions on the incapacitated person’s behalf regarding financial, medical and/or other legal issues.

To prevent the necessity of a guardian being appointed to make decisions for the sick or elderly, it is a good idea to plan ahead and have a will, a durable power of attorney, a living will, and/or a designation of health care surrogate drafted, signed and kept in a safe place that can be easily accessible to family members when needed. At Mindi Lasley, P.A., we draft these documents and ensure that they are executed in strict accordance with the law so that our client’s wishes are protected.

We also frequently draft and amend wills at the conclusion of divorce cases to ensure that a party’s ex-spouse is not entitled to receive any assets from that party’s estate. If a will is not amended, even though a divorce is finalized, the will is going to govern the distribution of the estate.

Finally, Mindi Lasley, P.A. handles probate cases, usually representing the personal representative, the executor or a beneficiary, to ensure that the decedent’s estate is distributed to the beneficiaries in accordance with Florida law.

For more information about how we can represent you with your case, please contact us.