Kest Family Law, P.A.

Kest Family Law, P.A. Kest Family Law, P.A. is a law firm handling dissolution of marriage, paternity matters, and all related issues.

Can a parent that doesn’t like a court-appointed psychologist’s parenting plan recommendation sue the psychologist? No,...
05/24/2026

Can a parent that doesn’t like a court-appointed psychologist’s parenting plan recommendation sue the psychologist? No, according to this recent case. Central Fla. Psychological Consultants, Inc. v. Comas, 5th DCA, May 8, 2026. The husband in this divorce case sued the court-appointed psychologist for negligence in the preparation of his report. The psychologist argued that the common law litigation privilege provided absolute immunity from suit and the case should be dismissed. The trial court refused to dismiss the case, but the appellate court agreed with the psychologist. After a rather extensive discussion of the litigation privilege (and one of the few exceptions, i.e. malicious prosecution), the appellate court found that Florida statute 61.122 related to only attorney’s fee-shifting and did not change the common law litigation privilege. Hence, the lawsuit against the psychologist was dismissed.

If you are looking for a mediator for your family or appellate case, please contact my fantastic paralegals for my availability. [email protected] and [email protected]

Even with the contentiousness of divorces, we don’t often see arguments over who gets the family photos, especially sinc...
05/19/2026

Even with the contentiousness of divorces, we don’t often see arguments over who gets the family photos, especially since everything is digital now. But, in this case, the husband refused to give the wife any of the family photos or videos that were on his hard drive. Carter v. Carter, April 29, 2026. Even when the wife requested photos to use at her recently deceased mother’s memorial service, the husband refused, and the judge entered an interim order telling him to provide the photos within 48 hours. Nonetheless, at the trial, the judge did not distribute the remaining photos and videos as marital assets. The appellate court found that this was error. Because the photos and videos were “clearly the fruit of the couple’s activities depicting their married life and memories with their child,” they were marital assets that the trial court should have distributed. The appellate court remanded the case for the photos and videos to be distributed between the parties.

If you are looking for a mediator for your family law or appellate case, I would love to help. Please contact my awesome paralegals for my availability. [email protected] and [email protected]

In divorce mediations, we regularly resolve the disputed value of, for example, a family business by splitting the diffe...
05/10/2026

In divorce mediations, we regularly resolve the disputed value of, for example, a family business by splitting the difference. And that’s exactly what the trial judge did in this case – but it resulted in a reversal on appeal. Winegar v. Winegar, 4th DCA, April 29, 2026. The problem was, of course, that judges are not allowed to take the approach of King Solomon and just “split the baby”. Instead, the judge generally has to choose one of the valuations presented at trial because the evidence supports one or the other, but not the median. This is an important point for litigating parties to understand when they are deciding whether to settle their case or go to trial.

I love mediating family and appellate cases. For my availability to mediate your case, please contact my awesome paralegals Jill and Massiel at [email protected] and [email protected].

One of the speakers at this year’s Board Certification review course questioned whether nominal alimony was still availa...
05/03/2026

One of the speakers at this year’s Board Certification review course questioned whether nominal alimony was still available now that Florida does not have permanent alimony. This case from February makes clear that nominal alimony is still an available option, at least in the 4th DCA. Atkinson v. Atkinson, 4th DCA, February 18, 2026.

The opinion also points out that all issues were resolved through mediation, except “the type and amount of alimony.” That is a good reminder that even a partial resolution a mediation can save clients time, money, and anxiety by narrowing the trial.

Please contact my wonderful paralegals, Jill and Massiel, for my availability to mediate your family or appellate case. [email protected] and [email protected].

Does the Standing Admin Order shift the burden of proving that spending during a divorce was for a marital purpose? Yes...
04/19/2026

Does the Standing Admin Order shift the burden of proving that spending during a divorce was for a marital purpose? Yes, according to the concurring opinion to this PCA. Stoutenburgh v. Stoutenburgh, 6th DCA, April 2, 2026.

In this case, the Standing Admin Order prohibited the parties from disposing of assets during the divorce. The husband nonetheless sold a boat and two motorcycles for $36,000. He deposited the proceeds into his business account and then proceeded to spend it on his girlfriend “including a $2,900 handbag, expensive dinners, vacations, ‘staycations,’ expensive jewelry, liposuction surgery, and expensive clothing.” The husband tried to argue that his wife did not meet her burden of proving that his spending was not for a marital purpose. However, the concurring opinion said that because of the Standing Admin Order, it was his burden to show it was for a marital purpose.

For my availability to mediate your family or appellate case, please contact my fantastic paralegals at [email protected] and [email protected].

How are adoption subsides divided between divorcing parents? Per the timesharing percentages, according to this recent ...
04/06/2026

How are adoption subsides divided between divorcing parents? Per the timesharing percentages, according to this recent case. Roby v. Roby, 2d, DCA, March 27, 2026. The child support is first calculated ignoring the subsidy, then the subsidy is divided between the parents according to the percentage of overnights that they each have. The Roby case has a complicated discussion of the child support payments made, credits to be given, and retroactive versus prospective application of the ruling. But the basic holding is that because the subsidy belongs to the child, it is against public policy for the parents to agree to divide up the subsidy other than as a percentage of their timesharing.

I am now handling appellate mediations as well as family law mediations. Please contact my amazing paralegals for my availability. [email protected] and [email protected].

Are there different kinds of unpaid child support? Yep. Does the type of unpaid support matter? Yep again, according ...
03/29/2026

Are there different kinds of unpaid child support? Yep. Does the type of unpaid support matter? Yep again, according to this recent case. Mathieu v. Dept. of Revenue, 3d DCA, March 4, 2026. In this case, the trial court imposed a lien on the father’s personal injury claim to secure payment of child support. However, because the child support was “retroactive” but not yet an “arrearage”, it was improper to impose the lien.

An arrearage occurs when support is ordered by a court but is not paid. Retroactive support is simply an amount that a court determines was owed in the past but had not yet been ordered.

Another distinction between the two is that prejudgment interest is available only on arrearages, not on retroactive.

If you are looking for a mediator for your family law case, I would love to help. Please contact my awesome paralegals for my availability. [email protected] and [email protected]

Given the infamously bad behavior of parties involved in family law cases, it is notable when a court calls out a party ...
03/22/2026

Given the infamously bad behavior of parties involved in family law cases, it is notable when a court calls out a party for “instability or vituperativeness”, as the court described the mother in this paternity case. Bowman v. Kardash, 2d DCA, February 25, 2026. The mother’s behavior was so concerning that a mental health evaluation was conducted. The evaluation recommended equal timesharing, but also that the mother continue with therapy and her prescribed medications. The trial court awarded equal timesharing but did not require the mother to continue with therapy and her medications. The appellate court remanded for the imposition of those required conditions.

Interestingly, even though the mother was awarded equal timesharing, the appellate court said that her parental responsibility should have been limited. This was because “nearly every institution related to the minor child had difficulty working with the Mother.” Therefore, shared parental responsibility was not in the child’s best interest.

I would love to mediate your family law case. For my availability, please email my awesome paralegals at [email protected] or [email protected].

Who has the burden of proof to show that a pension is marital? Well, according to this recent case, that depends on whi...
03/15/2026

Who has the burden of proof to show that a pension is marital? Well, according to this recent case, that depends on which DCA you are in. Harris v. Harris, 6th DCA, January 9, 2026. In the 5th and 6th, the burden appears to be on the spouse claiming that the pension is marital. In all other DCAs, the burden appears to be on the spouse claiming the pension (or a part of it) is non-marital.

The actual opinion in Harris v. Harris is only two sentences. But the dissent provides an excellent discussion of the law around pensions and the two ways to divide them. Key for the Harris case was that the wife was apparently not able to put on evidence related to the husband’s pension and, therefore, the majority affirmed the trial court’s denial of her receiving any of the pension. The dissent explains that at least part of the reason she was not able to put on the evidence was because the husband refused to provide it. Indeed, “the former husband defied orders to sign documents releasing his military records and was ultimately held in contempt and sentenced to ninety days in jail for his failure to do so.” The dissent argues that this is a classic example of why the burden should be on the spouse owning the pension.

I would be honored to mediate your family law case. Please contact please contact my fantastic paralegals at [email protected] or [email protected].

Is an attorney allowed to marry their client? If so, can the attorney still represent their new spouse? Yes, and yes, ...
03/09/2026

Is an attorney allowed to marry their client? If so, can the attorney still represent their new spouse? Yes, and yes, according to this recent case. Rivera v. Rivera-Chong, 1st DCA, February 18, 2026. After years of post-dissolution of marriage litigation, the former wife’s counsel married the former wife. The former husband, predictably, moved to disqualify the former wife’s counsel/new husband as her counsel. The trial court granted the disqualification to avoid a predicted “train wreck” just before or during trial if the new husband had to testify. But, the appellate court reversed because the “train wreck” concern was based on speculation, not evidence, and because the disqualification was too broad. Even if disqualification was appropriate, it should have been limited to the matters or phases of litigation where the new husband would be a witness.

I would be honored to mediate your family law case. For my availability, please contact my wonderful paralegals at [email protected] or [email protected].

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