Archive: September 2019

As family law attorneys practicing here in Florida, during the month of August, we tend to see divorce filings spike. While divorce can be difficult and overwhelming, there are some new tech -related services that can help in terms of coordinating child issues with your ex and getting connected to helpful resources for divorce proceedings, as we discuss below:

“Co-Parenting” Apps

OurFamilyWizard can be used to help parents raising children separately and includes interactive calendars that allow you to track who has the kids on what days, as well as expense logs so that you can keep track of reimbursements, receipts, invoices, and more. The app also allows parents to communicate with each other through a secure message board and even features a “tone meter” option that can help to flag potentially problematic language before it is sent.

coParenter there’s another app designed to help with co-parenting and avoiding conflict while you do it. It allows one parent to send not-trackable notifications to the other parent, for example, when they are picking up or dropping off kids, as well as parents to send requests to each other if certain aspects of the schedule need to be swapped. In addition, if one parent does not want to use the app, it does still allow for the other parent to use the app in “solo mode” while sending messages to the parent who is not participating via a separate SMS phone number.

According to Florida officials, even though it has been nine-ten months since hurricane Michael struck, insurance companies have left more than 20,000 claims unpaid, which represents approximately 15 percent of all claims associated with the storm. This is shocking, given that, Florida law dictates that insurance companies are supposed to pay claims within 90 days of being filed (unless those claims are contested).

Those who suffered losses due to Michael suffered approximately $4.5 billion, totaling more than 130,000 claims and some businesses are estimating that it could take three to five years before the region is considered fully restored; in large part due to insurance payment delays. Part of the problem also involves insurance companies sending an initial amount, and then sending the remaining portion of funds later, when, at that point, contractors and workers are often unavailable to do the restoration work necessary. In addition, there is no question that insurance companies have been exceedingly slow when it comes to sending payments after the disaster, with Florida homeowners frequently receiving payments that are far too small or delayed and even having their calls go unanswered.