Palm Beach Gardens Family Lawyer
Whether you live near PGA Boulevard, in one of the gated communities west of the Turnpike, or closer to the Intracoastal, a family law case in Palm Beach Gardens usually starts with the same pressure: decisions made in the first few weeks tend to set the course for years. Williams & Varsegi, LLC is a boutique firm that practices exclusively in divorce and family law, serving clients throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, including Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Coral Springs, and Parkland. A Palm Beach Gardens family lawyer who works in this one field every day knows which questions need answering first.
Florida has changed its family law considerably in recent years. Permanent alimony no longer exists for new cases. Equal time-sharing is now the starting presumption for children. Whether you are the one filing or the one being served, the rules you would have read about a decade ago are not the rules your case will be decided under.
Palm Beach Gardens families often have layered finances: executive compensation, business interests, investment property, and retirement accounts that need careful classification. They also have the ordinary pressures of school schedules, work travel, and two households that have to function. We handle both ends of that spectrum, from high-net worth, high-conflict disputes to uncontested and simplified matters.
Why Choose Williams & Varsegi, LLC for Family Law in Palm Beach Gardens
Williams & Varsegi, LLC is a boutique firm that practices exclusively in divorce and family law, with over twenty years of experience serving clients across Palm Beach County and Broward County. Our attorneys are Katie and Emerald Williams, Lawyer. Clients work directly with experienced attorneys who know their case, rather than being handed off to people who have never read the file. The firm handles everything from high-net worth, high-conflict cases to uncontested or simplified matters, and we are both skilled negotiators and experienced litigators with extensive courtroom experience.
That range matters in this market. A Palm Beach Gardens divorce may turn on a business valuation, a stock compensation package, or a dispute over how a home was paid for, and we work with forensic accountants, business valuators, and other experts when the numbers require it. We also handle divorces involving physicians, federal employees, and police and fire personnel, where pensions, benefits, and professional considerations add another layer.
Our clients’ reviews carry a 5-Star Rating, and they return to the same themes: responsiveness, knowledge, and a process that felt less anxious than they expected. One client described Katie representing her for more than three years and making the process smoother. Another said Emerald kept every promise she made at the first consultation. Staff members are mentioned by name for being on time and easy to work with. We take the time to sit down with each client, learn what they need, and build a plan around their circumstances rather than a template.
The Family Law Issues That Drive Palm Beach Gardens Cases
- Time-Sharing and Parental Responsibility: Since July 2023, Florida law presumes that equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests, though the presumption can be rebutted. Parenting plans in this area must also account for travel-heavy work schedules, school calendars, and holiday rotations.
- Child Support: Support follows the statutory guidelines, built on each parent’s net income, overnights, health insurance, and child care costs. When combined net income exceeds the top of the guidelines schedule, support is calculated as the schedule maximum plus a set percentage of the excess, from 5.0% for one child up to 12.5% for six.
- Alimony: The available forms are temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational. Marriage length, measured from the wedding to the filing date, sets the framework, and the monthly figure is capped at the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 35% of the difference in the parties’ net incomes.
- Equitable Distribution: Florida starts from an equal division of marital assets and liabilities, then departs from it only with justification and written findings. Nonmarital property is set aside first, and classification disputes are common when premarital money was mixed into joint assets.
- Business Interests and Executive Compensation: Closely held companies, professional practices, stock options, restricted stock, and deferred compensation each raise valuation and characterization questions that can move the outcome of the whole case.
- Relocation: A move of at least 50 miles that lasts 60 consecutive days or more triggers Florida’s relocation statute, and an objection to a relocation petition must be filed in writing within 20 days of service.
- Premarital Agreements: A written, signed agreement is generally enforceable, but it can be challenged for fraud, duress, coercion, overreaching, or unconscionability combined with inadequate financial disclosure. It cannot reduce a child’s right to support.
- Modification and Enforcement: Time-sharing changes require a substantial and material change in circumstances, and support orders can be revisited when recalculation under the current guidelines differs enough from the existing order.
What to Do in the First Weeks of a Palm Beach Gardens Divorce or Custody Case
Start with residency. At least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before a petition for dissolution can be filed. Florida is a no-fault state, so the ground is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Mental incapacity is the only other ground, and it requires an adjudication of incapacity lasting at least three years. No final judgment can be entered until 20 days have passed from filing, unless the court finds that delay would cause injustice.
Next, gather your financial picture before anyone else controls the narrative. Collect tax returns, pay records, bank and brokerage statements, retirement account statements, mortgage and deed documents, business records, and any premarital agreement. Florida requires full financial disclosure, and the date used to classify assets and liabilities is generally the earliest of a valid separation agreement date or the filing of the petition, so what exists on that date matters. Do not move money, retitle property, or run up debt without advice. Judges notice, and it can cost you credibility.
Where you file depends on the matter. Palm Beach County cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit’s Family Court, and the North County Courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens accepts new family cases and petitions for domestic violence injunctions. The Main Judicial Complex in West Palm Beach and the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach also handle family filings. Clerk offices are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If safety is the concern, an ex parte temporary injunction under the domestic violence statute lasts for a fixed period not exceeding 15 days, and the court sets a full hearing at the earliest possible time. A pending divorce does not prevent you from seeking one, but the petition must disclose the other case.
If you are served with papers, the 20-day response clock is the one deadline you cannot let slip, because a default removes your voice from the case. Avoid discussing the case through text or social media, keep communication with the other parent civil and documented, and keep following whatever schedule is working for the children. Consulting a Palm Beach Gardens divorce attorney early lets you choose the path, whether mediation, collaborative divorce, or litigation, instead of reacting to one chosen for you.
How Alimony and Property Division Work Under Current Florida Law
Alimony is where outdated information does the most harm. Awards entered before that date remain in effect, though they can be modified under the modification statute. For new cases, bridge-the-gap alimony is limited to two years, ends on the death of either party or the recipient’s remarriage, and cannot be modified. Rehabilitative alimony is limited to five years and requires a plan, and it can be changed or ended if circumstances shift or the plan is not followed. Durational alimony cannot be awarded after a marriage of less than three years, and its length is capped at 50% of a short-term marriage, 60% of a moderate-term marriage, and 75% of a long-term marriage.
Marriages under 10 years are presumptively short-term, 10 to 20 years moderate-term, and 20 years or more long-term. Courts may weigh adultery and its economic impact when setting the amount. After the 2023 amendments, a court must reduce or end alimony upon finding a supportive relationship with an unrelated person, and an obligor can seek modification when reaching retirement age, even up to six months before actual retirement if it is reasonably anticipated. Those modification changes apply to cases filed after the effective date.
On property, the court sets apart nonmarital assets first, then divides the marital estate beginning from an equal premise. Unequal splits need justification and written findings that value significant assets individually. The Legislature adjusted how certain assets are defined in 2024, including the marital portion of a closely held business and interspousal gifts of real property, so classification arguments now follow updated language. For a Palm Beach Gardens couple with a business or a second property, those details can shift hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Palm Beach Gardens Family Law Questions Answered
How long does a divorce take in Florida?
The law sets a minimum of 20 days after filing before a final judgment, but real timelines depend on agreement. Uncontested cases with complete paperwork can finish within weeks. Contested cases involving business valuation, custody disputes, or discovery fights commonly run a year or more.
Do I have to prove my spouse did something wrong?
No. Florida requires only that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Fault is generally irrelevant to the divorce itself, though adultery and its economic effects can be considered when setting alimony.
Is Florida an equal division state?
The court must start from the premise that marital assets and debts should be divided equally, then may depart from that when it can justify an unequal split in writing. Nonmarital property is set aside first.
Can I still get permanent alimony?
Not in a new case. Permanent alimony was eliminated, and the available forms are temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational. Older permanent awards continue but can be modified.
What qualifies for a simplified dissolution?
The couple must have no minor children and the wife cannot be pregnant. Both must agree on dividing assets and debts, both must waive alimony, and at least one must meet the six-month Florida residency requirement.
Does Florida favor mothers in custody cases?
No. The law presumes equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interests, and either parent can rebut that with evidence about the child’s needs. Courts look at stability, each parent’s willingness to support the other’s relationship with the child, and the child’s adjustment to school and community.
What if my ex wants to move away with our child?
If the move is at least 50 miles and will last 60 consecutive days or more, the relocation statute applies. If you object, you must file a written response within 20 days of being served. A temporary hearing is set within 30 days of a motion, and a nonjury trial within 90 days of the notice, absent good cause.
How is child support calculated when income is very high?
The court adds both parents’ net incomes. When the combined figure exceeds the top of the guidelines schedule, support is the schedule’s top amount plus a percentage of the excess that depends on the number of children. Parents with at least 20% of overnights, roughly 73 nights a year, receive a time-sharing adjustment.
Can a premarital agreement be thrown out?
Yes, in limited circumstances. The challenger must show it was not voluntary, was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or was unconscionable when signed and that fair financial disclosure was not provided. It also cannot defeat a child’s right to support.
Does a pending divorce stop me from seeking a domestic violence injunction?
No. An injunction can be sought whether or not another case is pending, as long as the petition discloses the existing action. In Palm Beach Gardens, the North County Courthouse clerk accepts these petitions.
If my ex retires, can I lose alimony?
The paying spouse can ask for a reduction or termination when reaching normal Social Security retirement age or the customary retirement age for the profession, if they are retired or have taken real steps toward retiring and it reduces their ability to pay. The request can be filed up to six months before an anticipated retirement.
Do I need a lawyer for an uncontested divorce?
You are not required to have one, but an agreement that overlooks retirement accounts, health insurance, or the tax treatment of an asset is hard to fix later. A legal review before signing is inexpensive compared to correcting a mistake after judgment.
Serving Family Law Clients Across Palm Beach Gardens and South Florida
We represent families in Palm Beach Gardens and throughout Palm Beach County, from the communities along PGA Boulevard and Northlake Boulevard to neighboring Juno Beach, Jupiter, North Palm Beach, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, and West Palm Beach. Our work extends south through Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton, and into Broward County, where we serve clients in Coral Springs and Parkland, among other South Florida communities.
Whether the case belongs in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County or in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, our attorneys know how the local family courts operate. Appeals from either circuit go to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, and we advise clients on what is realistically at stake before any decision to litigate.
Talk With a Palm Beach Gardens Family Law Attorney
If your marriage is ending, your parenting plan no longer works, or your support order needs to change, speak with a Palm Beach Gardens family law attorney at Williams & Varsegi, LLC. We will sit down with you, listen to what you need, and lay out a plan fitted to your circumstances, whether that means negotiation, mediation, or trial. Call to schedule a consultation and learn where you stand before the next deadline arrives.
