- DivorceIn a dissolution of marriage, family law courts are considered courts of “equity” that base its decisions on what it determines to be “fair.” During the divorce proceedings, the court will make what is called an “equitable distribution” of marital assets and marital liabilities. In determining equitable distribution of assets and liabilities, the court will look to statutory provisions in Chapter 61, Florida Statutes as well as to how this has been interpreted by Florida courts. The statutory provisions and cases demonstrate that the court must first determine which property and which liabilities are marital and which are non-marital. In simple terms, assets or property obtained during the marriage are usually considered marital assets regardless of how these assets are titled. Similarly, debts arising during the marriage are considered marital liabilities regardless of whose debt the name is in. There are some exceptions to this general rule, such as an inheritance which is not commingled with marital assets. In that case that inheritance may be a non-marital asset and will not be subject to division by the divorce court. In addition, the determination of marital property and liabilities may be resolved differently if the parties have a Pre-Nuptial Agreement (also known as a Pre-Marital Agreement). Once the determination is made of whether property is marital or non-marital, Florida Statutes, Chapter 61 requires the court to start with the premise that the division should be equal. However, the court may make equitable adjusts to this premise based on considerations set forth in Chapter 61. Some of these considerations include the length of the marriage, the economic circumstances of the parties and the contributions to the marriage by each spouse. Notwithstanding these statutory guidelines for distribution of marital assets and liabilities, ultimately the court has significant discretion in how to make an equitable distribution. For this reason, in contested divorce proceedings involving significant property or liabilities, a spouse should retain an experienced family law or divorce attorney to protect his or her rights in obtaining an equitable distribution.
- Child SupportFlorida child support guidelines are based on the Income Shares Model for calculating child support. The monthly support amount determined by applying the guidelines is divided proportionally according to each parent¹s income. These two support amounts are then offset to establish which parent will pay the other parent for support of the child. All income is typically verified by examining past W-2’s and child support worksheets are available at the courthouse.
- Child Custody and VisitationThe court will determine all matters relating to custody of each minor child of the parties in accordance with the best interests of the child and in accordance with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. It is the public policy of this state to assure that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys, of childrearing.
- Adoption
- PaternityThis firm handles all of the legal issues associated with fathers’ rights, including paternity issues, adoptions, and the divorce process, including child support, custody, and visitation.
- Premarital AgreementDivorce, custody disputes, child support, establishment of paternity, domestic violence injunctions, prenuptial agreements, adoptions – these are just some of the issues that we handle on a daily basis. Particularly, I wanted to spotlight two separate types of actions that you might want to consider that may fit your needs – Enforcement and Modification.
- GuardianshipAlthough fathers of children born out of wedlock do not have any immediate legal guardianship rights, we can represent you in establishing paternity and enforcing your rights once paternity has been determined.
- Spousal SupportNot all cases involve support or alimony from one spouse to the other. The obligation of one spouse to support the other financially for a temporary or permanent basis is decided on a case-by-case basis as agreed to by the parties or at the court’s discretion.
- Legal SeparationConsolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act ( COBRA ) is a federal law that requires employers to of a certain size to provide employees the opportunity to continue their health insurance coverage after events such as termination of employment, reduction in hours, legal separation or divorce, eligibility for Medicare coverage or loss of dependent status.
- Criminal DefenseHer career as a paralegal began after arriving in Tallahassee, Florida where she first worked for a worker’s compensation attorney. After that position, she transitioned to a new firm where she worked primarily in family and criminal law. It was in this position that she discovered her interest in family law. In January 2013, Colleen began working at Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley for Attorney Scott W. Smiley as his paralegal. It is here that she developed her niche working with families during some of their most difficult and trying times.
- Wrongful DeathExample: Sam operates a trucking company as a sole proprietor. One of his drivers causes an accident that kills or severely injures several people. If the company’s insurance and assets are inadequate to cover the damages awarded in the wrongful death suit, the plaintiffs may try to enforce the judgment against Sam’s personal assets.
- MisdemeanorsThough often confused, torts and crimes are two separate legal entities. Torts are civil wrongs against an individual exposing the tortfeasor to liability. Crimes are wrongs against society or the state and are punishable by incarceration or fines. Some actions, however, can be both a tort and a crime. For example, someone who used force to cause bodily injury has committed a tort called battery and is liable to the victim for damages. Battery is also a misdemeanor under Florida law and punishable by up to one year in prison. Thus, a person could be prosecuted and convicted of battery, and later face a civil lawsuit brought by the victim.
- Corporate LawRisk Management / Corporate Governance / Contracts / Discrimination Harassment/ Whistle Blower / Litigation Management Intellectual Property / Drafting & Review of Policies & Procedures/Corporate Formalities / Mediation/ Arbitration / Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)/Labor & Employment
- Business DisputesMallory is a member of the Florida Bar, as well as the Federal Bars for the Northern District of Florida, the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. She is also admitted to the Georgia Bar and to the Northern District of Georgia. Mallory is involved in all practice areas of the firm including discrimination, probate, business law, and estate planning.
- Intellectual Property
- Workers CompensationShortly after moving to Tallahassee, Karen began her career in the legal field. Before joining Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley, Karen worked for a variety of law firms including insurance defense firms, a plaintiff workers compensation firm, a private mediator and the Office of the Attorney General’s Office. Karen has extensive paralegal experience, including document production, e-discovery software, document review, class action suits, and medical history summaries.
- Wrongful TerminationEven if the employer believes the complaint is unjustified, the employer should to conduct a reasonable investigation in order to minimize the possibility of legal liability. Likewise, the employer may not fire or take other adverse employment action against the person accused of the harassment without first conducting an investigation. Employers who do so may face claims of wrongful termination, retaliation, defamation and/or reverse discrimination.
- Employment DiscriminationSince the establishment of Thompson, Crawford, Brown, and Smiley, Mr. Thompson’s primary practice had remained in the litigation field, both as plaintiff and defense counsel. In addition to serving many local clients, he has served as counsel for various agencies in the state of Florida, Superior Insurance Company, Philadelphia Insurance Company, 21st Century Insurance and Nova Casualty and self-insured companies including Budget Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc., Prestige Home Centers, Inc., and Westinghouse Electric Company. In addition to defending tort, contract, and insurance coverage claims, Tom has extensive experience litigating employment discrimination, whistleblower, and retaliation actions on behalf of the employer.
- Employment ContractEmployment contracts include written agreements signed by the employer and employee, as well as implied contracts created by employee handbook terms or verbal agreements. An employment contract can govern the length of employment, vacation, benefits and stock ownership, circumstances under which the employee may be fired, and whether the employee may compete with the employer after he or she has left the job. These may include the agreement not to complete with an employer’s business under certain circumstances.
- Employment LitigationEmployment Law Attorneys William Crawford and Tom Thompson of the Tallahassee business law firm Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley defend companies and their executives in labor issues and employment disputes in North Florida.
- Sexual HarassmentSexual harassment is a form of gender-based discrimination that is barred by federal and state law. Sexual harassment may involve a hostile work environment, where the behavior of one’s co-workers creates an environment so bad that the victim of the harassment cannot carry on their job duties. Some examples of behavior that could create a hostile work environment include offensive language or jokes, inappropriate pictures, unwelcome touching directed at an employee. Sexual harassment also may occur when a supervisor requests sexual favors in exchange for employment benefits, such as a raise or promotion, and threatens the employee with adverse employment action for refusing the favor.
- Real Estate LitigationMr. Crawford currently handles the firm’s commercial litigation, bankruptcy, corporate, family law, and real estate matters in addition to assisting with defense litigation. Clients include Transamerica Commercial Finance Corporation, Advanced Data Systems, Artistic Pools Spas, Communication Connection, and Fortune Homes, Mike’s Moving, Prestige Auto Services, the local Dunkin Donuts franchise and Tri-State Roadway Specialties. Mr. Crawford has also acted as co-counsel on behalf of a number of institutions including First Nationwide Mortgage, First National Bank of Chicago, Ford Consumer Finance, Empire Banking Company, Essex Savings Bank, St. Joe Paper Company, Hartford Insurance and Liberty Mutual Insurance.
- Premises LiabilitySince 1993, Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley has assisted North Florida clients in the areas of automobile and premises liability litigation, family law, commercial law, probate, real estate, bankruptcy, ERISA and construction law. Its attorneys have practiced in a variety of courts, including state appellate, U.S. District and U.S. Bankruptcy.
- Construction LitigationAfter graduating with honors with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Florida, Tom was hired as a legal assistant with the Tampa law firm of Haas, Boehm, Brown, Rigdon, Seacrest, and Fisher. While employed by the firm, Mr. Thompson worked in the field of insurance defense with an emphasis on property and commercial liability claims. Mr. Thompson later joined the construction litigation department of Johnson, Blakley, and Pope in Clearwater before he entered law school.
- Personal InjuryPersonal injury law is all about torts. Broadly defined, a tort is a harmful act (or failure to act) for which the law provides a remedy. There are many different kinds of torts. Injuring someone is a tort; so is damaging a person’s property or character, or wrongly denying someone his or her liberty. The basic principle of tort law is that injured persons should be compensated by those responsible for their injuries. Thus, a victim of a tort has the right to sue the person committing the tort (called a tortfeasor) for damages.
- Medical MalpracticeBefore coming to Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley, Rachel started as a legal receptionist in a small private practice that focused on personal injury, insurance, and medical malpractice. She was promoted to a Legal Assistant and discovered a passion for family law. Rachel strives to learn more every day to assist our attorneys and paralegals in helping our clients.
- Estate PlanningThey made it easy to get our estate planning in order. All the prep work was done over phone and email and we just stopped by to sign everything. It feels good to have it all in place in case you need it!
- WillsA last will and testament is a document that states who is to receive the assets of a deceased person (the decedent). Of all the legal documents prepared by lawyers, wills still require the most formality in signing. Wills not signed in accordance with the requirements of Florida law are void. One must sign wills at the end of the document in the presence of at least two witnesses who are both present at the same time and place with the testator (person making the will). Also, wills are usually signed in front of a notary public in addition to the witnesses so that the will is “self-proving” in case of death. Self-proving wills can be admitted to probate after the death of the testator without having the witnesses come to the courthouse.
- TrustsA living trust may be revocable and subject to change or terminated by the settlor or be irrevocable. Either type of trust may be designed to accomplish the purposes of property management, assistance to the settlor in the event of physical or mental incapacity, and disposition of property after the death of the settlor of the trust.
- Power of AttorneyWe had put off taking care of our wills, durable powers of attorney, health care...forever. UNTIL we met Thomson, Crawford and Smiley....( a referral by Rick Theobald. our Financial Advisor)The process was started by Rebecca who eased our nervousness and set our minds at ease. We started the progress, answered our questions, reassured us that it would be just what we wanted.The final meeting with Mr Thompson went remarkably smoothly We couldn't have been more pleased with all involved.5 stars are not enough!!!Lee and John
- Probate
- BankruptcyWhen it comes to commercial bankruptcy law, trust William Crawford of Thompson, Crawford, Brown & Smiley to represent you with class. He’s spent years resolving bankruptcy disputes for clients, and his thorough counsel is based on diverse experience. His dual interests in real estate and commercial litigation complement his North Florida bankruptcy cases.
- Tax Law