Lakeland Family Law Blog

Some Florida readers will remember the highly contentious divorce between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The couple made headlines amid accusations of domestic violence and blackmail. After a brief period of very public turmoil, the parties reached a settlement in their high asset divorce. After multiple accusations that she was trying to profit from her brief marriage, Amber Heard announced that she would be donating the proceeds from her settlement to charity. 

That seems to be the case after the Children's Hospital Los Angeles recently released a list of donors who gave more than $1 million in 2017. Amber Heard's name was on that list, although the exact amount of her contribution remains unknown. Heard has also worked as a volunteer at the hospital, and pledged to use her divorce proceeds to assist charities that support and assist children and victims of domestic violence. 

From time to time, a custody fight involving a Native American tribe makes headlines across the nation. Tribes have their own courts and law enforcement, but their jurisdiction is strictly limited to tribal lands. When a child custody fight involves a child of Native American descent, a legal battle sometimes erupts between parties, tribal courts and state courts. An example is found in a current case in Kendall, Florida.

A member of the Miccosukee tribe recently gave birth to a baby girl. While still in the hospital, tribal law enforcement officers brought in a court order granting custody of the newborn to her maternal grandmother. The officers were accompanied by officers from the Miami-Dade County Police Department, and hospital officials complied with the order, allowing the newborn to be removed from her mother's care. 

A custody battle is never a simple or easy thing to navigate. For one Florida couple, however, their child custody struggle is even more distressing than the norm. The couple lost custody of their infant daughter just days after her birth, based on a tribal court proceeding that they were unaware was even taking place. 

The maternal grandmother did not want the child's father to be involved in the child's life. The reasons for that position are unclear. She approached a Miccosukee tribal court to gain custody, and authorities went to the hospital and removed the infant against the wishes of both parents. They claim that there was no paperwork provided to show the basis or validity of that action. 

In a perfect world, spouses who decide to divorce would always be able to do so in a swift, amicable manner. In reality, more times than not, various problems or disagreements arise in divorce that cause a delayed settlement. If you are well aware of your rights and also what options may be available in a particular situation to help you resolve a problem issue, you may be able to get things back on track before they get too out of hand.

Are you currently facing a problem where you suspect something is not right regarding assets to which you believe you'll have rightful ownership when the court conducts property division proceedings? If you think your spouse is up to no good and may be trying to keep certain assets from becoming subject to division, you would definitely not be the first person in Florida to encounter such obstacles in divorce. This type of behavior is illegal and there are definite steps you can take to protect your rights.