Sal Bazaz is a licensed defense attorney with extensive experience in family law matters. He assists clients with navigating the complex process of divorce and the associated calculations of child support and creating a parenting plan. He provides comprehensive representation and takes the time to thoroughly understand each individual case to ensure his clients have the customized legal assistance they deserve.

Law by Bazaz: Family Law in SW Florida

Navigating Divorce

Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes handles the dissolution of marriage, commonly known as divorce. The divorce process basically unfolds in 4 different phases.

  • Phase 1 basically concerns all of the legal paperwork that needs to be filed to start the case. If you were to go to the Clerk of Courts to obtain the packet of paperwork necessary to file your own divorce, you might feel overwhelmed. The spouse who is moving for a divorce needs to file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, which spells out that the marriage is irretrievably broken and that the Judge needs to settle whatever marital assets or debts remain in the relationship. There are several other documents that need to be filed right up front to begin the process. Fortunately, my office takes care of all of the leg work for you as we prepare all of these documents. Once we file on the case, the documents are then served to the opposing spouse and they have 20 calendar days to respond.
  • Phase 2, the next part of the process, is all about financial disclosures. Each party needs to exchange their “Mandatory Discovery”  with each other so both parties know where everyone stands financially. This discovery includes pay stubs, tax returns, bank account statements and credit card bills, just to name a few. Sal and the Law by Bazaz office staff will walk you through this phase to ensure that we fully comply with Florida Statute. In addition, if the opposing side does not comply, we will be ready to file the proper motions to compel your spouse to do the same.
  • Phase 3, Mediation, occurs once every knows everything about each other’s finances. Mediation is an opportunity for both sides to “come to the table” to work out a final divorce agreement. In reality, the parties are not in the same room in mediation; usually, they are in separate rooms with their attorney while the mediator bounces back and forth between the parties. The advantage of mediation is that the spouses themselves actually formulate the ending of the case that they feel is in their best interest. They will decide issues, including but not limited to, alimony, equitable distribution of assets and debts, the parenting plan and child support. If the spouses can agree on all matters during the mediation, Sal would draft a final agreement and have both parties sign it. The judge would receive a copy along with a proposed final judgement that he or she would sign. At that point, the divorce would be over.
  • Phase 4, the trial, would only occur if the spouses could not come to a complete agreement on all of the issues. At trial, you would have the right to take the stand and tell the judge what you want, and why you want it. Subsequently, the opposing spouse would also take the stand and tell the judge what they want and why they want it. Both sides can present witnesses and evidence that are relevant to the issues that the judge has to decide. In the end, the judge will make the final decision, as opposed to mediation, where the spouses make the final decision.

Child Support and Parenting Plan

Chapter 61 of the Florida Statute governs the calculation of child support. It is important to know right up front that child support is a mathematical calculation. It is not based on feelings or emotions. There are several variables that we plug into the equation in order to calculate child support. Some of these factors include but are not limited to the net income of each parent, the number of overnights each parent spends with the child, any child care costs that are incurred, such as daycare or tuition, and the monthly costs of health insurance. Once we finalize the mandatory financial disclosures of a paternity or divorce case, both sides usually have a very good idea as to the income and expenses of both parties. That is usually the proper time to start calculating potential child support guidelines.

Law by Bazaz: Your Advocate in Divorce

A parenting plan is the child custody document that outlines the major issues concerning the responsibilities of each parent as well as where the child will spend their time throughout the year. A parenting plan will determine whether each parent has shared responsibility to confer and agree on all of the major decisions involving the child, or if one parent will have ultimate decision making authority. A parenting plan will outline an entire schedule throughout the year stating where the child will spend overnights. There should be a regular time-sharing schedule, a holiday schedule, and a summer break schedule as well. A parenting plan should also detail ramifications of communication between the parent and the child as well as communication between the parents. A parenting plan will also consider changes or modifications in the plan as well as the rights regarding relocating the child to another jurisdiction.

A parenting plan can be created in two different ways. 

  1. The parents themselves may create a parenting plan that they feel is in their child’s best interest. This can be created through their own conversations, with the help of their respective attorneys, or during a Mediation with the assistance of the mediator. 
  2. The judge, after hearing testimony and seeing evidence at a trial, will define the terms of the parenting plan.

It’s vital that you have an experienced attorney on your side in this important matter. Sal Bazaz has been representing residents of Southwest Florida for 20 years, and is prepared to help you through the divorce process, child support calculation, and the creation of a parenting plan.

Paternity

  • If a child is born out of wedlock, it may be necessary for either parent to file a petition to establish paternity and other related relief.
  • Phase 1 basically concerns all of the legal paperwork that needs to be filed to start the case. If you were to go to the Clerk of Courts to obtain the packet of paperwork necessary to file your own paternity case, you might feel overwhelmed. The parent who is moving to establish paternity needs to file their own petition, basically requesting the judge to determine the paternity of the child, order a parenting plan for the parents, and calculate child support. There are several other documents that need to be filed right up front to begin the process. Fortunately, the Law by Bazaz office takes care of all of the leg work for you as we prepare all of these documents. Once we file on the case, the documents are then served to the opposing spouse and they have 20 calendar days to respond.
  • Phase 2, the next part of the process, is all about financial disclosures. Each parent needs to exchange their “Mandatory Discovery”  with each other so both parties know where everyone stands financially. This discovery includes pay stubs, tax returns, bank account statements and credit card bills, just to name a few. The Law by Bazaz office staff and Sal will walk you through this phase to ensure that we fully comply with Florida Statute. In addition, if the opposing side does not comply, we will be ready to file the proper motions to compel your spouse to do the same.
  • Phase 3, Mediation, occurs once every knows everything about each other’s finances. Mediation is an opportunity for both sides to “come to the table” to work out a final divorce agreement. In reality, the parties are not in the same room in mediation; usually, they are in separate rooms with their attorney and the mediator will bounce back and forth between the parties. The advantage of mediation is that the parents themselves actually formulate the ending of the case that they feel is in their best interest. They will decide issues including but not limited to the parenting plan, parental responsibility, holiday schedules and child support. If the parents can agree on all matters during the mediation, Sal would draft a final agreement and have both parties sign it. The judge would receive a copy along with a proposed final judgement that he or she would sign. At that point, the paternity case would be over.
  • Phase 4, the trial would only occur if the parents could not come to a complete agreement on all of the issues. At trial, you would have the right to take the stand and tell the judge what you want, and why you want it. Subsequently, the opposing parent would also take the stand and tell the judge what they want and why they want it. Both sides can present witnesses and evidence that are relevant to the issues that the judge has to decide. In the end, the judge will make the final decision, as opposed to mediation, where the parents make the final decision.

It’s vital that you have an experienced attorney on your side in this important matter. Sal Bazaz has been representing residents of Southwest Florida for 20 years, and is prepared to help you through the divorce process, child support calculation, and the creation of a parenting plan.

Mediation

Mediation is an opportunity for both sides to “come to the table” to work out a final agreement in their family law case. In reality, the parties are not in the same room in mediation. Mostly, they are in separate rooms with their attorney and the mediator will bounce back and forth between the parties. In fact, in this age of Zoom conferences, each party has their own Zoom room while the mediator clicks from one room to the next. 

One main advantage of mediation is the idea of confidentiality. When you are discussing your issues with the mediator in your own room, everything you say is confidential. That means you get to decide what you want the mediator to share with the opposing side. Mediation gives you an opportunity to really vent to the mediator your feelings about the case without the worry of the mediator revealing all of this to the opposing party. Sometimes, this release of emotions can clear your mind to then work on getting through the details of the case.