Business Consulting
Future Pacing – Working on the New You
“Failing to plan is planning to fail” – Benjamin Franklin
Entrepreneurial and life goals coincide in ways many other goals do not. For entrepreneurs, their life goals are tied to their entrepreneurial dreams, and these goals take the entrepreneur and her family for the ride of their lives. At the beginning of the journey a flood of positive emotions of hope, dreams of making it, feeling of independence, and excitement engulf the entrepreneur. In the first leg of the journey, some pain sets in as the realization of the limitations on resources set in; time, money, necessary relationships, are just three of the hurdles entrepreneurs face during this stage. In the second stage of the journey, the entrepreneur starts to experience enhanced pain and doubt raises its ugly head. If the entrepreneur does not have a good consultant or coach to help navigate the phases of the entrepreneurial process, the doubt grows into a crippling fear, devastating the entrepreneur and, many times, family members.
Future Pacing – YOU 2.0
Skilled consultants and coaches have many tools in their tool belts to help budding and seasoned entrepreneurs. One of the most important tool is FUTURE PACING the entrepreneur to help her create a vision of herself 10 years into the future (YOU 2.0), and helping her build a bridge from now to then. Since the entrepreneur’s business is usually an integral part of her vision of herself, it is necessarily included in the journey from YOU 1.0 to YOU 2.0.
The process begins with the consultant/coach helping the entrepreneur create a detail vision of YOU 2.0 self. This includes the creation of an avatar for the entrepreneur that encompasses her YOU 2.0 physical self, emotional self, spiritual self, the knowledge she has accumulated, the relationships she has, her home, her business, her skills, and everything else that she envisions herself being. Once done, the consultant/coach helps the entrepreneur to reinforce this idea of her YOU 2.0 so that it become her life ultimate mission. The process then turns to an assessment of the entrepreneur’s personal development matrix, so that she can take an honest look at herself. The matrix analyzes the entrepreneur’s core knowledge, skills, abilities, disciplines, dedication, focus, beliefs, values, health, experiences, rules and relationship with herself. The result is usually a clear understanding of the entrepreneur’s personal strengths and weaknesses. This can be an eye-opening process for entrepreneurs, and serve as a “reality check.” Simply put, if you do not know where you are, it does not matter where you are going.
After the personal assessment is complete, the consultant/coach then helps the entrepreneur focus on developing a current relationship matrix. The focus here is primarily external with a focus on the entrepreneur’s relationships, finances, physical assets, other resources, opportunities, and external threats or roadblocks.
With a good understanding of the entrepreneur’s current state, the consultant/coach can then move onto helping develop a future identity, her YOU 2.0 (usually 5 to 10 years in the future). Once this future identity is developed, and the entrepreneur has a vivid image of her future self, she works with the consultant/coach to set reasonable and realistic goals each month and year (with yearly themes) which, once achieved, will get her that much closer to her YOU 2.0. As she travels through the process, she transforms into the version of herself she sees, and consistently re-evaluates her YOU 2.0, upgrading her model self annually, chasing her future with relentless passion.
This passion and thirst for growth and development spills over into the entrepreneur’s business and family, so they all grow together, consistently helping each other reach their YOU 2.0.
Future pacing is just one of the planning tools offered by Business and Executive Coaching Consultants at CPLS, P.A. as a part of our Private Corporate Counsel program. If you would like to learn more or set up a consultation, give us a call at 407.647.7887 or email me at Attorneypersad@cplspa.com.
Actual or Constructive Possession of a Firearm
D.V. v. State; 43 Fla. L. Weekly D988a
Third DCA; May 2, 2018:
Two officers approached a vehicle parked on the side of the road. There were three people in the vehicle. Two were sitting in the front seats, and D.V. was sitting in the back. When the officers looked through an open window, they saw a gun on the back seat, only inches from D.V. They seized the gun, arrested D.V., and charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm. Did the trial court err in convicting D.V.?
- Yes.
- Sitting in a jointly occupied vehicle, in close proximity to a firearm, is insufficient to prove actual or constructive possession of the firearm.
If you have an appeal involving a criminal law issue, contact Samuel Walker right away, as there are deadlines that must be met.
CPLS, P.A. Accepts Bitcoin
Bitcoin and other digital currencies, such as Ethereum, have been growing in popularity over the past few years as blockchain technology is being adopted by major companies and governments. Today, many major companies and organizations have been taking notice and some have begun accepting these digital currencies as payment for goods and services. I have spent a fair amount of time investigating and researching these alternative forms of currency and have determined that there are many benefits associated with these alternative forms of payment. Based on my investigation and research, our firm, CPLS, P.A. has officially begun accepting both Bitcoin and Ethereum as payment for legal, consulting and mediation services. If you are a current client, or a prospective client and would like to learn more about how you can pay us, retain us, with eitehr Bitcoin or Ethereum, please feel free to email me at attorneypersad@cplspa.com or call me at 407-647-7887. If you owan a business, or are a fellow lawyer, consultant or mediator and would like to learn more about blockchain technology and accepting digital/crypto currencies, please also feel free to contact me.
Know Your Rights!
Know Your Rights Handouts If ICE Visits a Home, Employer, or Public Space
AILA provides Know Your Rights handouts for several scenarios: ICE worksite raids (for employers), ICE home visits, and ICE public stops.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Changes
The Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a foreign country for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) if conditions in that country temporarily prevent nationals from that country from safely returning to their countries. Examples of conditions that will cause the designation of a country for TPS status are ongoing armed conflict and natural disasters. An individual granted TPS will be allowed to work in the US, will not be placed in removal proceedings, and may be granted travel authorization.
In recent months, the Secretary of DHS has announced the termination of TPS status for the following countries:
| Country | TPS Designation Date | TPS Termination Date |
| Honduras | January 5, 1999 | January 5, 2020 |
| El Salvador | March 9, 2001 | September 9, 2019 |
| Haiti | January 21, 2010 | July 22, 2019 |
| Nepal | June 24, 2015 | June 24, 2019 |
| Nicaragua | January 5, 1999 | January 5, 2019 |
| Sudan | November 4, 1997 | November 2, 2018 |
Individuals currently in the US with TPS status should contact an immigration attorney to determine what option, if any, they have to legally remain in the US once their status ends on the expected termination date.
If you would like to understand what options you might have to legally remain in the US once your TPS date draws near or have other questions about your immigration situation it’s important to speak with an experienced immigration law attorney to discuss your specific case and circumstances. Attorney Evelyn J. Pabon Figueroa focuses her practice area on immigration law. Contact Evelyn Pabon Figueroa today to discuss any immigration issues you may be experiencing.
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Keeping Children Together after Divorce
If the parents agree, they may do whatever they wish. But under Florida law, a court may not separate the children from each other, and distribute them in the parents’ homes, except for the most compelling reasons. In one case, a Florida couple, with three children, divorced. After the divorce, the father moved to Virginia, and asked the court for permission to take all three children with him. The court gave him permission as to take two of the children, but denied permission as to the third child. The father appealed. The appellate court said the father must be allowed to take the third child to Virginia along with his siblings, unless there is a compelling reason for separating the children.
Attorney Samuel A. Walker is a partner at CPLS, P.A., and focuses his practice on civil and criminal appeals. If you are unhappy with the judge’s decision in your case, contact Attorney Walker today at swalker@cplspa.com to discuss an appeal.
Child Support Accountability
Many times my clients will come to me and express their frustrations with the child support system here in Florida. Surprisingly, however, a top complaint that I will get from a parent paying child support is not the amount they must pay, or even that they have to pay at all, but rather their frustration, and sometimes anger, revolves around the ways in which their child support monies are being spent by the other parent. Unfortunately, I have to inform these parents that Florida, along with most other States, does not have laws or mechanisms to enforce how child support monies are being spent. But, is there a trend starting that will bring some accountability and more transparency to what a parent receiving child support can spend that money on?
The State of Delaware recently initiated a new system where the State disperses child support funds through a child support card, which is being compared to a Food Stamp or EBT card. The underlying goal behind Delaware’s new system is to prevent parents from misusing funds that are intended to help with costs associated with raising children, such as food, clothing, and educational-related expenses. This new card restricts the parent from purchasing non-essential products that are unrelated to the raising of a child, such as alcohol, cigarettes, or even car payments.
Our leaders in Washington are keeping a close eye on how Delaware’s program works out. There have been recent rumblings that Congress could extended a similar program nationwide making it the universal way to control parental spending of child support payments. On the other side of the coin, however, sometimes more government intervention, especially on a nationwide scale, may not necessarily be the answer to this issue. Others would support leaving such abuses of child support payments to the individual States to resolve on their own, which so far, very few states have shown interest.
Florida is included in those states that have done nothing to date on this issue. Florida law does not provide language for placing restrictions on how to spend child support monies. The philosophy behind this lack of oversight is that child support payments should go into an overall pot of available resources for the receiving parent. From this pot of resources, the child support payment may be used for direct expenditures, such as clothing, food, and daycare, or it may be used indirectly for the benefit of the child, for example, covering a portion of the rent or mortgage where the child lives.
This lack of oversight means, of course, that there is presently no accountability in Florida on how child support can be used. If, however, the parent receiving child support payments is not taking care of the child, then it may be possible for the paying parent to motion the court for a modification of timesharing or parental responsibilities, depending on the specific issues at play. However, Florida remains, for the most part, devoid of any court procedure that would allow a party to question how child support money is being spent. If there were such an oversight mechanism in place, then there might be much less abuse related to the spending of child support money. Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, that is not the case in Florida, as it is in most States, so a parent receiving child support is free to spend that money in any way that parent sees fit.
If you have questions about your child support or your domestic relations case it’s important to speak with an experienced family law attorney to discuss your specific case and circumstances. Attorney Russell J. Frank is a partner at CPLS, P.A. and focuses his practice areas on family and marital law. Contact Attorney Frank today at rfrank@cplspa.com to discuss any family or marital legal issues you may be experiencing.
Top 10 Things to Know About Florida Child Support: Part I
Whenever someone has questions about child support I always try to take the time to explain the ins and outs to them as to how child support amounts are arrived at in the state of Florida and how that actually works in practice for the parents. Unlike alimony, or spousal support, which is driven by the individual facts of each case and the discretion of each Judge, child support is strictly calculated using a very specific mathematical formula based primarily on the number of children at issue, the parents’ incomes, and the timesharing schedule. My next two blogs will detail the ways in which child support actually works, both in implementation and in practice.
In Part I of a two part blog post, I cover the first five important factors to know about child support in the state of Florida. In Part II, I will talk more about other issues that arise, including questions I regularly get once child support has been established.
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Child Support Utilizes Net Incomes
When calculating child support, the Court will ultimately utilize only the net incomes of the parents. This means that proper deductions for monthly taxes, health care expenses, and mandatory retirement payments will work to reduce a person’s gross pay in order to arrive at their net income. In practice, this can work to reduce the income amounts utilized for child support purposes in significant ways, depending on how many legal deductions a parent may be entitled to. Due to the use of net incomes, it becomes vitally important to ensure the Court utilizes an accurate income figure, as it could greatly impact what the final support numbers come out to be.
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Deductions for Prior Court Ordered Child Support
If the party being ordered to pay child support, usually the father, has previously been ordered to pay support for another child, then those court ordered child support amounts paid for any other child will be deducted from that party’s gross income in order to arrive at their net income. Many times, if a person has other children that they have been ordered to pay child support for, then the mother of the youngest child could end up receiving significantly less in child support than she would have if the other parent was not subject to other existing child support orders. Unfortunately, the old saying and legal principle, “last in time, last in line,” can apply in the area of child support to reduce the overall support received for one parent based on the child support received by a preceding parent.
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Health/Dental and Daycare Costs are Important
In calculating child support, the monthly expenses for the children’s daycare, and medical and dental costs will be considered and included in the mathematical formula used to establish child support. It’s important to keep records of these costs, and in particular, to ascertain exactly how much health/dental insurance costs went toward the children, since that amount will be credited and considered in the final child support determinations. If health or dental insurance coverage is provided through either party’s employer, then it may become necessary to obtain a breakdown of costs in order to identify the specific costs for the children’s coverage, because only those amounts expended towards the children’s coverage will be utilized in the child support guidelines.
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Time Sharing is a Driving Factor
The driving factor behind child support, income levels aside, would be how much time each parent is spending with the children. When considering timesharing, the important factor is the number of overnights that you spend with your children each year. In general, the more overnights that a parent exercises with a child, the less they will pay in child support. If there is an equal timesharing schedule, and the incomes of each parent are relatively equal, then it’s likely that neither parent will owe the other child support. If, however, one parent makes more money than the other, or if one parent spends more overnights with the children than the other, then in most cases the parent making more money, or spending less time with the children, will end up paying child support.
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Rarely Will Child Support Be Enough to Cover the Full Costs of Children
One of the more difficult realities for a parent to come to grasps with as it comes to child support, is that whatever the child support amount ends up being, it’s unlikely that it will be enough to cover all of the costs associated with raising your children each month. In this respect, income levels don’t really seem to matter, as whatever the incomes may be, the child support is likely still going to be insufficient to cover all of the monthly costs for the children. I mention this only as a preliminary warning that if a parent is relying on child support to cover all of their monthly costs for the children, then they may be sadly disappointed when the reality of the actual payments hits home.
If you have questions about child support, it’s important to speak with an experienced family law attorney to discuss your specific case and circumstances. Attorney Russell J. Frank is a partner at CPLS, P.A. and focuses his practice areas on family and marital law. Contact Attorney Frank today at rfrank@cplspa.com to discuss any family or marital legal issues you may be experiencing.
What is Reunification Counseling?
It is an unfortunate part of divorce and separation that sometimes one parent can, intentionally or unintentionally, behave in such ways that creates division between a child and the other parent. This division can rise to the level of parental alienation—when a child becomes enmeshed with one parent, strongly allying himself or herself with that parent, and rejects the other parent without legitimate justification. A very serious issue, parental alienation can have long-lasting implications on the relationship between a parent and child. Parental alienation generally occurs when one parent does not fully engage in co-parenting with the alienated parent, usually including such actions as leaving the alienated parent out of the decision-making process, talking negatively about the alienated parent, or even denying access and contact between the child and the alienated parent.
Not surprisingly, as a result, a physical, emotional, and many times, psychological divide is created between the alienated parent and their child. Once this occurs, it not unusual for a child to not want to communicate with, see, or spend time with that parent. When this starts to happen, in many cases, the use of a child psychologist or counselor would be necessary and beneficial to assist in redeveloping that parent-child relationship, something known as reunification therapy.
Reunification therapy can be used as an intervention for divorcing or separated families, particularly where children are finding difficulty, for whatever reason, with visiting with the alienated parent. In the initial assessment and follow-up sessions, the counselor or therapist will identity the issues that are contributing to the estrangement between the alienated parent and the child, and then work to develop an appropriate regimen for all affected family members. Through counseling, the child and parent will attempt to repair their relationship, usually by working on effective communication techniques and rebuilding the trust between parent and child that has been fractured by the divorce or separation.
Many times, due to pre-existing conflicts between the parents, a Court order may be required to initiate this type of counseling. If the parents cannot agree on the counseling itself or working with a specific counselor, then either party may motion the Court to appoint an appropriate therapist with the underlying goal being to reunify the child and the alienated parent. Any such court order would detail the expectation that each parent cooperate with the therapy and also set parameters for extended family involvement, while providing discretion to the therapist to set the specifics for treatment, payment arrangements, and all other related issues.
In some cases, depending on the severity of the issues and the levels of distrust between the parents and/or the child, it can be beneficial for each parent to have their own individual therapist, including one for the child. In these cases, the therapists would work together to ensure the family reunification issues are being addressed. In cases where the parents and the child share the same therapist, however, the reunification therapist would likely spend time meeting individually with the children and then with the parents separately before meeting with both the child and the reunifying parent together.
In almost all cases, reunification counseling can be beneficial to help restore the relationship between a parent and their child, so if you are having difficulties in communicating with or exercising timesharing with your child, it’s important to know what options may be available to you. If you have additional questions about parental alienation or reunification therapy, it’s important to speak with an experienced family law attorney to discuss your specific case and circumstances. Attorney Russell J. Frank is a partner at CPLS, P.A. and focuses his practice areas on family and marital law. Contact Attorney Frank today at rfrank@cplspa.com to discuss any family or marital legal issues you may be experiencing.
No Fault Divorce
In many of my cases, clients will come to me and will want to explain all of the reasons that they are seeking a divorce, and while I will listen, I ultimately have to remind them that Florida is a “no fault” divorce state. In practice, what no fault divorce means is that the underlying reasons behind why a person is seeking a divorce will not be relevant in the courtroom. Now there are some exceptions to this general no fault rule, but in most instances the Court will not want to hear the reasons behind why your marriage has fallen apart, rather the Court’s only role in this regard is to confirm that the marriage is in fact irretrievably broken.
No fault divorce stands for the idea that either party may seek a divorce without having to provide any reason other than that one of the spouses does not want to be married anymore. The spouse seeking the divorce simply needs to state that the marriage is “irretrievably broken” in their divorce petition and then affirm that again to the Court prior to the Court entering a Final Judgment. This can work as a way to simplify the divorce process, as it allows for a much more efficient and cost effective divorce by eliminating the need to prove that one party may be at fault for the breakdown of a marriage. Additionally, it can save the parties from litigating over what can sometimes be painful personal matters in a public arena and prevent each party from feeling they must present the other party as the “bad guy”.
It is important to understand, however, that just because Florida may be a no-fault state, that doesn’t mean that fault can not be used or argued during a divorce case. In fact, ignoring the fault of one or both of the parties is a mistake that could potentially jeopardize your case. For example, as will be explained in more detail below, if one party dissipates or wastes marital funds, or incurs debt without the other party’s knowledge, or mistreats the other spouse or children, these issues can have a dramatic effect on determinations of alimony, spousal support, distribution of the marital assets, and the terms of a potential parenting plan.
One of the more common reasons people seek divorces is due to infidelity, but in many cases, the Court will never hear evidence related to a cheating spouse. Infidelity will become relevant, however, if alimony, or spousal support becomes an issue, as Florida Statute 61.08 specifically provides that the Court may consider the adultery of either spouse in making alimony determinations, including considering the circumstances surrounding the adultery of either spouse. This can include evidence related to the adultery itself, such as the length of the relationship, the effect it had on the marriage, and the effect it had on your life in general, particularly if it has affected your professional life, income earning ability, or overall mental health.
In addition, a party’s bad actions may also affect the distribution of the marital estate, as Florida is also an equitable distribution state, meaning the Court will decide financial-related issues based on overall fairness principles. Gifts, trips, apartment rent, car payments, and dinners for a non-marital partner are all considered a waste of marital assets. If a party is shown to have wasted or depleted these assets, then the Court is well within its discretion to order that the wasteful party receive an unequal distribution. Sometimes it may take the form of one party receiving more than half of the assets, such as a retirement or savings account, and sometimes it may take the form of the dissipating party having to be responsible for all or most of the marital debts.
Another area in which the reasons for your divorce may become relevant would center around children and the affects the breakdown of the relationship may have had on them. If you can tie in a parent’s bad behavior, including alcohol or substance abuse, infidelity, or other destructive behaviors that led to the filing of the divorce, into the parenting issues in your case, then the Court may in fact want to hear evidence related to those behaviors and the impact they have had on the children. For example, if one parent is abusing drugs, or acting inappropriately with their new lover in the presence of the children, those issues would be relevant for the Court to consider in making parenting-related rulings, including timesharing and parental decision-making determinations. If, however, you cannot tie a spouse’s bad behavior into having an affect on the children, then it is likely the Court would not consider such evidence presented by either party.
If you have questions about your divorce case and the implications of a no fault divorce here in Florida, it’s important to speak with an experienced family law attorney to discuss your specific case and circumstances. Attorney Russell J. Frank is a partner at CPLS, P.A. and focuses his practice areas on family and marital law. Contact Attorney Frank today at rfrank@cplspa.com to discuss any family or marital legal issues you may be experiencing.
