The general rule regarding involving another state in divorce-related proceedings is whether the other state has an adequately strong interest to justify that involvement. One factor is which people whose rights are at stake live in the second state.

Interested in knowing your rights and obligations in a family law proceeding? Schedule a consultation and you'll be able to meet with a Palm Beach Divorce Attorney. To do so, just call our office at (561)472-0919 or complete and submit a Consultation Request form to the right of your screen and we'll follow up with you.

Mr. Sullivan challenging the Florida trial court’s determination of the proper modification of child support duties brought the matter of Sullivan v. Hoff-Sullivan before the Florida 1st DCA (appeals court.) The appeals court issued its decision on December 2, 2011.

A dispute regarding child support duties resulted in a Georgia court issuing a decision based on its interpretation of Mr. Sullivan’s and Ms. Hoff-Sullivan’s divorce decree.

Ms. Hoff-Sullivan subsequently initiated proceedings in Florida regarding the child support issue. Mr. Sullivan asked that the appeals court review the Florida trial court’s decision.

The appeals court determined during its first round of proceedings that the Georgia court’s valid decision that interpreted the divorce decree and established the child support duties precluded Ms. Hoff-Sullivan from raising the same issues in a Florida trial court in the current proceedings.

The appeals court also returned the matter to the Florida trial court for a determination of the child support modification that was based on the Georgia trial court’s decision.

The matter returned to the appeals court based on Mr. Sullivan’s assertion that the Florida trial court erroneously based its revised decision regarding child support on the Florida trial court’s interpretation of the divorce decree. Mr. Sullivan argued that the appeals court had established that the Florida trial court must base the modification on the Georgia trial court’s decision.

The appeals court reversed the Florida trial court’s second decision. The appeals court reasoned that Florida Statutes Section 61.30 required basing the child support modification on the Georgia trial court’s earlier decision.

The appeals court stated that Florida Statutes Section 61.30 provided specifically that “the child support guideline amount as determined by this section presumptively establishes the amount the trier of fact shall order as child support in an initial proceeding … or in a proceeding for modification of an existing order.”

The appeals court’s decision reflects the legal principle that valid decisions of any state’s court is generally entitled to “full faith and credit” in any other state in which someone seeks to enforce that decision.

Interested in knowing your rights and obligations in a family law proceeding? Schedule a consultation and you'll be able to meet with a Palm Beach Divorce Attorney. To do so, just call our office at (561)472-0919 or complete and submit a Consultation Request form to the right of your screen and we'll follow up with you.