R. Jason deGroot,
Attorney at Law
Don't Go to Court Without Me If
(386) 668-0586 or
(386) 337-8239
My practice encompasses the following areas of the law:
Personal Injury
Family Law
Criminal Law
Wills and Estates
Guardianships
Adoptions
Bankruptcy and Collections
Real Estate and General Civil Practice
You have a permanent injury from an accident
You have been charged with a crime
You can't pay your bills
Someone is after you for child support
You need to go after someone for child support, or any other money owed to you
You need a will done
You are going through a divorce
if you need my services for any reason, I give you my word that I will do the very best that I can for you on a personalized basis.
I can only give legal advice about Florida law. The counties that I practice law in are Volusia, Seminole, Lake, Putnam, Orange, Hillsboro, Pinellas, Polk, Hernando, Pasco, Brevard, Duvall, Flagler, and Marion. Telephone conferences are available.
The hiring of an attorney is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertising. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about my qualifications and experience.
A FEW WORDS about ME
WHY choose ME
I have been practicing law in Florida for over 23 years. My law office is located in Debary, Florida. I center my practice on areas of the law that most people will need at one time or another in their lives: Family Law, Criminal Law, Wills and Estates, Guardianships, Adoptions, Bankruptcy, Collections, Real Estate and General Civil Practice. Recently, I've added Personal Injury from automobile accidents to the list.
The counties that I practice law in are Volusia, Seminole, Lake, Putnam, Orange, Hillsboro, Pinellas, Polk, Hernando, Pasco, Brevard, Duvall, Flagler, and Marion. Telephone conferences are available.
I offer a low flat rate fee in uncontested cases when the parties can agree on every single issue in the case. Did you know that divorces and other family matters can be uncontested?
Take a look at my prices then give me a call at either
(386) 668-0586 or (386) 337-8239.
Or send me an email at rjasondegroot_lawyer.com
Please do not think that you need to do it all yourself or that you can get all your legal needs satisfied with just a paralegal. I am here to help.
You are not alone. I can help.
Just give me a call at (386) 668-0586 or (386) 337-8239
or email me at rjasondegroot_lawyer.com
To give you an idea of what it takes to secure my legal services, the fees are usually as follows:
Divorces are a minimum of $1,000
Step parent adoptions are a minimum of $1,000
Bankruptcies are a minimum $1,800
In criminal misdemeanor cases the retainer is usually $1,500 minimum
I require at retainer of $3,500 for contested matters. However, for uncontested matters when the parties can agree upon every single issue in the case, I usually charge a lower flat rate. Remember that divorces and other family matters can be uncontested.
The above prices do not include any court costs.
Fees are negotiable, and payment arrangements can be made. Just give me a call at (386) 668-0586
and we will talk it over.
R. Jason deGroot
Give me a call at
or email me at
rjasondegroot_lawyer.com
I look forward to hearing from you.
If you send me an email and have a specific question about Florida Law, try to make it short and concise. I will be glad to answer it. If you do not put CLIENT in the subject box of the email, it will probably go into my junk folder and may not get answered.
Divorce in Florida
Divorce in Florida can either be easy, inexpensive, and swift, or long, drawn out, very expensive and emotionally draining. The best way to make sure that your divorce is easy and swift, is to agree upon the resolution of each and every issue in your case. The issues in your case depend upon whether you have children, real estate, joint assets, joint debts, how long the marriage has lasted, and the income of the parties. If you can agree upon child support, custody, and visitation; what to do with the real estate; who gets which assets; and who pays which debts, and whether alimony will be paid or waived, your divorce can be uncontested. However, if you cannot agree upon the resolution of just one issue your case will be contested. When a contested case is filed, mediation has become a mandatory process that the parties must go through. This means that the parties must hire, and each pay half of, a mediator, who will charge up to $400.00 per hour, in an attempt to help you resolve all of the issues. About 92% of the divorces filed settle without going to trial. Once two attorneys get a good view of the issues in a case, they can usually get their clients to agree upon the issues, as long as both attorneys are reasonable, and the clients are reasonable. If the parties have minor children, shared parental responsibility must be ordered, child support is determined utilizing the net income of the parties, the cost of medical insurance for the child, and daycare costs, if any, along with a table in a statute. Visitation is a standard type of arrangement depending upon where in the state you live.
One common misconception about Florida Family Law is that child support and visitation are somehow linked together. They are not. Another misconception is that if one party puts an asset, let's say a car, in his or her name only, it is not a marital asset. The law is that if property comes into possession of the parties during the marriage, that property is a marital asset, regardless of whose name it is in. This does not apply to an inheritance. The way I look at is that there is a big cloud above the County Courthouse, which contains all of the assets and liabilities of all of the people who are going through a divorce. Those things remain in the cloud until either a Judge picks them out and distributes them evenly between the parties, or they decide what to do with those things themselves. Florida is an equitable distribution state, not a community property state.
The law recently changed from what was known as Shared Parental Responsibilites to what is now called a Parenting Plan. This change in the law started many years ago when what is known as Rotating Custody became an option in settling contested custody battles. The Statute which guides the Court in determining where the child or children should live was changed substantially. It is best to get along with your soon to be ex husband or wife regarding all matters concerning the children, because if you do not, the Court will look at which party is being unreasonable about matters effecting the children, and that party may well lose the battle. Children are not to be used as spies or questioned about their time with the other parent. People who do not let the other parent share time with the children, without proper cause, can be held in contempt of Court.
Criminal Law in Florida
There is far too much to say about Criminal Law in Florida. This is just a little bit. The State Attorney's Office is charged with the duty of prosecuting crimes in Florida. As in most other States, the State must prove each and every element of a crime beyond and to the exclusion of a reasonable doubt. It is interesting to note that the presumption of innocence only applies to a jury, when it is impaneled. Crimes are divided into two groups, felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies include those crimes that could land a person in prison for five or more years. Misdemeanors are punishable at most by only a year in the county jail. The County Court handles misdemeanors. The Circuit Court handles felonies. In many cases the Criminal Defense attorney and the Assistant State Attorney can usually come to a reasonable plea arrangement for the Defendant. However, sometimes we just have to take the State to the limit and go to trial. It seems that the two most prosecuted crimes are Driving Under the Influence and Domestic Violence, both of these are first degree misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in the County Jail, probation and fines. Every police officer in the state knows exactly what to say when called to testify in a trial: his gait was staggered, his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot, he fumbled for his license, and there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from him. If the cops are called out on a domestic violence case, and if there are any bruises on someone, they can immediately arrest whoever they think caused the bruises.
Felonies in Florida fall into a number of categories. Third Degree felonies are those punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Second Degree felonies are those punishable by up to 15 years in prison. First Degree felonies are punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and Capital Felonies are punishable by death. In certain circumstances, the punishment for crimes can be enhanced, such has habitual and violent habitual offenders, or prison release reoffenders.
Only about ten percent of those charged with a crime can afford to hire an attorney. Most use the public defender.
Bankruptcy in Florida
The changes in federal bankruptcy law which came into effect in October of 2005, have made it a bit harder to file bankruptcy for those people above a certain income level, depending upon the mean income of the state that the debtor resides in. For a vast majority of people, the affect of the new laws will only require them to get certified by a consumer credit counseling agency that they cannot be helped, and take a personal financial management course. They will also have to pay more to an attorney to represent them in filing a Bankruptcy.
In Florida homestead property is what I call "sacred." No one can force a sale of your home except the mortgage company. A creditor who has a judgment against you obtains what is known as a charging lien on any property you own in any county in which the judgment is recorded. The Constitution of Florida protects your home plus $1,000 of personal property, $2,000 if you are married. In addition, the statutes in Florida protect any retirement funds you may have, annuity contracts, any pre-paid college funds, and up to $1,000 of equity in a single motor vehicle. Your creditors cannot get at these things.
Not only did the law change in 2005, the bankruptcy judges recently got together and changed some of the forms and added some new forms to fit the changes.
Probate in Florida
If you have a will from another state, you should get one done in Florida. This makes the probate of an estate much easier. There are three basic types of probate in Florida, full blown probate, summary administration, and what I like to call administration without administration. A full blown probate is when the estate has more than $75,000.00 in assets. It is the most time consuming and costly type of estate in Florida. Summary administration is utilized when there is less than $75,000.00 and this form of probate can be quick and easy. Probate without Probate (actually known as Distribution of Personal Property without Administration)is when there is less than $5,000.00 in personal property only, in an estate. Regardless of the type of probate, it is best to hire an attorney. It is also best to have an attorney draft your will. There are a few basic ways of avoiding probate. It is my practice to give advice on how to avoid probate for each person I do a will for. Usually an elderly couple come to me for wills, and I tell them that when one of them dies, the survivor should turn the home, cars and bank accounts into joint tenancies with rights of survivorship with their children. Many people ask about a Living Trust, which is a written complex document utilized to avoid probate as much as possible. These are not necessary for the usual couple in Florida, because their entire estate is not going to be subject to State and Federal Estate Taxes. The same goal can be reached by turning assets into joint tenancies with rights of survivorship.
Interesting Links
Florida Statutes can be viewed here:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/
The United States Code can be viewed here:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/browse.html
Here is an interesting real estate site that can give you a guesstimate on the value of your home:
http://www.zillow.com
Most of the counties now have websites where you can find all sorts of information about real estate, criminal cases filed, divorces filed, and other suits. Indeed, most of the states have sites where you can view thier statutes or codes.
Here is a link to a TV News story with me in it: http://www.wesh.com/video/18026925/?taf=orl and then another news story on the same case: http://www.wesh.com/video/18245047/?taf=orl
The outcome of the case was that my client was found not guilty on the felony count, but guilty on the misdemeanor. I'll take that any day. That is me with the pony tail.
