HD Law Partners Blog

The holidays are that time of the year when many Americans start thinking about divorce and a fresh start. January tends to see the highest number of couples seeking divorce.

In addition, the most common age for divorce is the mid-to-late 40s. It tends to coincide with the youngest child going off to college, when many couples realize that their relationship has changed, and they no longer have the child around to “keep the relationship breathing.” This also tends to be the time when a couple is planning for retirement, which can place additional stress on the relationship.

If you have been contemplating getting a divorce, because it is the holidays, having to think about and plan for divorce on your own can be beyond emotionally overwhelming. Below, we discuss some important guidelines in an attempt to reduce the stress that often accompanies divorce.

Broaching Divorce with Your Spouse

New research demonstrates that divorce is actually making American families bigger, with almost one-third of all U.S. households that contain adults under the age of 55 having at least one stepparent, and 33 percent of all couples over the age of 55 having a stepchild.

Ultimately, the rise in divorce and remarriage is driving these changes, with the divorce rate doubling for older Americans, leaving approximately 40 percent of them with children in stepfamilies, and almost 30 percent of adults over the age of 50 getting married more than once. Below, we discuss some advice proffered by those who have gone through some of these changes.

As Families Blend, There Can Be Confusion

As divorce increases and the size of American families along with it, plenty of confusion can also come into play, as couples and families plan vacations, chose how to spend their earnings on college tuition, and make other, important decisions involving both biological and step-relatives.

Even three months later, Hurricane Irma and corresponding hurricane insurance claim denials here in Florida are affecting businesses and negatively impacting tourism. While the Florida Keys in particular typically attract more than three million visitors a year—especially right around after Christmas is over—many of the big resorts remain closed after Hurricane Irma. And when hotels are closed, subsequent businesses—such as restaurants—also suffer.

Irma was Florida’s first major hurricane since 2004-2005, and left millions of Floridians without electricity; causing widespread damage; especially in the agricultural industry.

Hurricane Irma’s Cost to Florida

Hurricane Irma left its financial mark on the state of Florida: The category four hurricane caused more than $500 million in damages and destroyed more than 1,100 homes. Many of the properties that were damaged but not entirely destroyed are projected to remain closed until at least next fall, and many business owners have projected that it could take a full year or more to recover their losses.

There are several important real estate cases coming up in 2018 which property owners, landlords, and business owners should keep their eyes on. Below, we discuss these in more detail:

Tenants Must Serve Out Remainder of Leases

In a December legal dispute between Starbucks and Simon Property Group LP, a judge sided with the property group in deciding that Starbucks paying out the remainder of its leases with Simon Property was not enough, and the company also had to keep its stores open even after paying off the leases. This is a new precedent, as there are millions of contracts between landlords and “tenants” (or businesses) with these exact terms in them; terms which have historically been interpreted to mean that monetary damages were sufficient for businesses like Starbucks to get out of their leases.

Office Space Models

In another big case, one ground lessor company (Siegel Family Associates LLC) has objected to the decision made by the landlord company (Cohen Brothers Realty & Development)  to lease a separate office space to a company called WeWork, arguing that the lease would violate their own lease agreement because WeWork would not be occupying the space, but rather, subleasing it (due to the type of business WeWork runs, specifically, too many people would be “coming and going”). The question posed in the case is a unique one—indeed, it is a case of first impression—and one that will be watched closely, given the growing popularity of this type of office space model around the country.

Florida, like Texas and Puerto Rico, has been through a busy hurricane season that has been extremely difficult on residents: just as of September, there were five major hurricanes ranked at category three or higher in strength, 13 named storms, and eight hurricanes total in the Atlantic.

Hurricane Irma caused multi-billion-dollar losses, which includes approximately $20 billion in wind damage in Florida alone. Estimates for flood damage still have not been estimated, although the Office of Insurance Regulation documented more than $5 billion in private insurance claims for flooding and wind. A whopping 47 out of 67 of Florida’s counties were part of the disaster declaration.

Higher Rates, Permanently

Due to insurance deductibles, it is still unclear just how much Florida property owners will have to shoulder on their own. In addition, there is no question that impacts from this year’s storms will have an effect on private insurance rates. The last estimate indicated that 773,000 private insurance claims were filed due to Irma alone; this includes close to 99,000 for Miami-Dade, more than 63,000 in Broward County, close to 63,000 in Orange County, and almost 60,000 in Lee County.

January 8^th is reportedly the beginning of “divorce week,” where the highest number of couples decide to initiate divorce proceedings. To that end, we have provided some recommendations below on how to make it through, as well as important things to keep in mind.

Some of the most common topics that partners argue about include: in-laws and other relatives, drinking, sex, children, money, and housework. What can often throw a couple into a heated argument is bringing up the subject at an inopportune time as opposed to planning a time to sit down together and discuss something as a group in order to put a plan of action together to prevent the same issue from coming up again.

Plan, Plan, Plan

One piece of advice that some experts offer is to ask yourself about the specifics: what is it about this specific issue or behavior that concerns you? Does it involve how you are treated, how your partner treats themselves, etc.? Preparing for the discussion ahead of time can help ensure that your partner better understands why something bothers you instead of feeling attacked. Once you’ve identified the cause of the problem, it can often become easier to find a simple solution that can turn the issue around.

Unfortunately, hurricane season was catastrophic this year. Because of warming sea temperatures, those like Harvey and Irma have triggered devastating and widespread flooding, with nearly 6.5 million people or a third of Florida’s population having to evacuate.

Thousands of Floridians are already having to apply for temporary disaster unemployment relief claims with the State due to Irma, most of them in Broward, Keys, and Miami-Dade counties. Residents are able to receive up to $275 per week for up to 26 weeks through March of 2018 through the Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program. This past year, the State had extended the application deadline to October 31.

But what about property damage? Most Floridians rely on their insurance companies to help address any property damage suffered after hurricanes. And yet, many insurance companies will insist that they cannot cover property damage that is due to flooding, even if you live in an area where flood insurance was neither mandatory nor recommended because it historically has not had flooding issues.

To say that many Florida families have been waiting for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Irma is an understatement: It has been over a month, and still, many families are waiting  for someone to come out and just inspect their flood-damaged homes so that they can move on and apply for assistance. While the agency arguably worked to address immediate needs, it has been completely inadequate at addressing the aftermath and in providing basic disaster assistance.

Many are now waiting for FEMA payments and/or have had their applications for assistance unjustly denied. One of the biggest issues is the backlog of properties to inspect, as citizens are not eligible to receive federal assistance until a FEMA inspector analyzes any damage done by the hurricane. Yet, as of now, the average wait for an inspection is one month in Florida, with some reportedly waiting more than 50 days. This has many, instead, placing their faith in filing effective insurance claims to try and rebuild their lives and properties after the disaster.

In some circumstances, FEMA is also empowered to authorize payments to policyholders even before inspections are done if the policyholder needs to cover an emergency expenditure (such as temporary housing) after the disaster.

HOA Contracts & Emergency Powers

The process of repairing and mitigating damages under programs like these can be very confusing. For example, while policyholders have an obligation to mitigate damages as much as they can, they are also told not to enter into any contracts without first running them by the homeowners’ association (HOA) and/or board first.

In addition, homeowners association should ensure that there are separate contracts for each unit and, if possible, have the owner of that unit separately contract for any emergency services such as water extraction from their unit. However, if this is not possible due to emergency circumstances, homeowners associations should exercise their rights under Florida law to ensure that any contract signed indicates that the HOA is only acting as an agent given the emergency circumstances. These powers are available on a very limited basis for the sake of protecting public health and safety.

As highlighted by this CNBC coverage, taking financial missteps during divorce can leave you in bad shape, especially if you and your ex’s finances are closely intertwined. It is crucial that you understand the implications of all the financial decisions being made, even if you are working with an attorney and/or financial advisor.

Below, we discuss some of the mistakes you’ll want to ensure that you avoid:

The Family Home & Liquid Assets

Many people going through divorce think about whether they should keep the family home for the sake of their kids and providing consistency and routine. However, it is important to note that the mortgage that you could once afford with two incomes may no longer be sustainable to stay in.

In addition, if you are offered the family home in exchange for your ex obtaining particular investments (such as the brokerage count or retirement savings), remember how costly keeping the house could be. It may not behoove you to take that trade.