Tag: Family Law

Family Court Services Lunch and Learn

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

I wanted to thank Family Court Services for hosting their Lunch and Learn series yesterday at the Family Division court located in the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center. A special thanks to Judge Jason Emilios Dimitris and Dr. Netta Shaked for inviting me to speak with them on how to “Keep Calm and Survive a Licensing Board, Florida Bar, or JQC complaint.”

family law

Family Court Services

Where do parents turn to when they are unable to focus on their children’s needs due to their own turmoil in divorce and family law proceedings? Where can children find people to talk to who know what they are going through? The answer is Family Court Services.

Miami-Dade County is fortunate to have Family Court Services, which has been providing unique and crucial services to children and families for more than 20 years.

Family Court Services also assists all the judges and general magistrates in the family division with some of the Court’s most difficult family cases by providing solution-focused and brief therapeutic interventions.

KidSide

The mission of Family Court Services is helped through KidSide, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that supports Family Court Services in its mission to help high-conflict families heal. Gifts and donations to KidSide, Inc. are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

Information on helping KidSide is here.

 

Family Law Super Lawyers

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

I am very pleased to announce that I have been selected to the 2018 Super Lawyers list in the area of Family Law. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

Family Law Superlawyer

Superlawyers

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The annual selections are made using a patented multi-phase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law.

Florida Board Certification

“Board Certification” in Florida, mean certification from The Florida Bar, and recognizes attorneys’ special knowledge, skills and proficiency in various areas of law and professionalism and ethics in practice.

Board certified lawyers are evaluated for professionalism and tested for expertise. Certification is the Florida Bar’s highest level of evaluation of the competency and experience of attorneys in the 26 areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida.

In addition to being named in Superlawyers, I am also board certified in marital and family law, currently serve on the Executive Council of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, and I am a member of both the California and Florida Bars. One of my recent article “To Catch a Time-sharing Deviation” was published in The Florida Bar Journal.

The article, “To Catch a Time-sharing Deviation”, is also cited as a reference in the Florida Benchbook – which is published by the Office of the State Courts Administrator. I am also a frequent speaker, and have lectured to different professional organizations including, the Florida Bar, the Florida Chapter of the AFCC; Miami-Dade County Family Court Services; and The First Family Law American Inns of Court.

For more on Family Law Super Lawyers visit Superlawyers.

 

Family Law is Moving!

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

We’re pleased to announce that, beginning Monday, May 7, 2018, one of Florida’s premier marital and family law firms, the Law Offices of Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A., will be starting the workday in our new offices at One Biscayne Tower.

One Biscayne Tower

That’s right, we’re moving around the corner, across the street from Bayfront Park and Biscayne Bay. The new office building is named One Biscayne Tower and the address is:

2 South Biscayne Boulevard

Suite 3400

Miami, FL 33131

One Biscayne Tower is an iconic skyscraper on Biscayne Boulevard across from Bayfront Park. It comprises “Class A” office space and has been a long-standing symbol of the City of Miami.

The building often appears on postcards of the Miami skyline and is a signature building of Miami. Our new offices provide sweeping views of beautiful Biscayne Bay, the park, and bustling downtown Miami.

One Biscayne Tower has won five Office Building of the Year (TOBY) Awards, including the 2007 Miami-Dade TOBY Award and the 2007 BOMA Southern Regional TOBY.

Ronald H. Kauffman, P.A

Specializing in all family law matters both domestically and abroad, our lawyers are experienced in sophisticated marital and family law cases and led by a lawyer who is board-certified in marital and family law by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education.

A “Super Lawyer”, accomplished writer and speaker, Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s Family Law Section, our attorneys and firm have been professionally admired for serving our clients with the utmost skill, discretion and confidentiality in divorces, alimony, child custody and relocation cases, as well as prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.

Our firm website is here.

 

Inns of Court Award

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

It is with tremendous pride that I get to announce our Inn of Court, the First Family Law American Inn of Court, was awarded Silver Level Status in the American Inns of Court Achieving Excellence Program for the 2016-2017 Inn year.

The First Family Law American Inn of Court in Miami is a group consisting of lawyers, judges, magistrates, and judicial officers dedicated to professionalism, ethics, civility and excellence in the area of divorce, family law, child custody and related matters.

The award from the national organization was due in large part to the incredible work and leadership efforts of our Board of Directors, including: the Hon. Sandy Karlan, Bette Ellen Quiat, Elizabeth Baker, Cecilia Armenteros, Patricia Young, Daniel Silver and myself as president.

In upcoming Inns news, our Inns will once again be sponsoring the Town Hall meeting involving family law with the Hon. Scott Bernstein, Administrative Judge of the Family Division.

Sponsorship of Town Hall meetings helps our Inns of Court fulfill its mission to inspire the legal community, and to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education and mentoring.

 

Deportation: Family Law’s New Weapon

Posted by Ron Kauffman on

President Trump signed Executive Order 13768, allowing individuals to be more easily deported. The Executive Order may turn out to be a tough, new tactic in family law cases.

On January 25, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13768 entitled: “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States”. This Executive Order allows individuals to be deported for a variety of reasons, and also restricts sanctuary.

I have written about divorce planning before, especially as it concerns taxes and other issues. The new Executive Order may impact many divorce and family law cases in South Florida, because this area has attracted many immigrants, and parents may be deported during proceedings.

New Deportation Procedures

A federal immigration enforcement program being implemented by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — has become the subject of nationwide commentary.

In some jurisdictions, any time an individual is arrested and booked into a local jail, his or her fingerprints are electronically run through ICE’s immigration database.  This allows ICE to identify non-citizens, and potentially initiate deportation proceedings against them.

Increasing Deportations

Executive Order 13768 provides that ICE will not exempt classes or categories of removal aliens from potential enforcement. All of those presently in violation of our immigration laws may be subject to arrest, detention, and, if found removable by final order, removed from the United States.

That includes people convicted of fraud in any official matter before a governmental agency, and people who “have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits.”

Impact on Family Law

By expanding the risks of deportation, the Executive Order creates potential new weapons for people planning to get divorced, or open any kind of family law proceeding – from child support to divorce.

For example, merely threatening to have an alien spouse or partner deported may be a way of preventing a battered spouse from seeking protection against domestic violence.

Additionally, a parent who has a child with an alien, or is married to an alien, could use the threat of deportation if the alien parent tries to file a complaint in court to establish or collect support.

South Florida Cases

This is a big problem in South Florida, a place that welcomes immigrants. As CNN reports, the Miami-Dade County Mayor has instructed the County to comply with all immigration detainer requests received form the Department of Homeland Security.

The Executive Order increases the chances a parent can be deported. This new law provides ammunition for citizens litigating against aliens in family law cases.

The CNN article is here.