Florida Child Support Guidelines Worksheet

In Florida child support for divorcing couples is almost always mandatory, and is generally calculated before the judge signs the final order of dissolution of marriage. Sometimes when a couple has agreed upon an amount for child support, the court will approve that amount. But, unless the agreed upon amount is close to the amount which would be awarded in the child support guidelines, the judge is likely to reject it. Whether parents have agreed upon an amount or not, the child support calculation is necessary. 

 Pro se litigants and some document preparers struggle to prepare the child support guidelines worksheet as the form itself may seem daunting. For reasons way above my pay grade, the automated calculator on the Florida Supreme Court's site has been removed. I have located an unofficial calculator - https://floridachildsupportcalculator.com/calculator – which works almost as well. The unofficial version does not create the form like the Florida Supreme Court approved form did, however, the form itself is easy enough once you have the amount calculated. 

The first thing to realize is that there is no way to calculate child support until both parents' Florida Family Law Financial Affidavits are side by side. And, the parents need to have decided how many overnight visits the children will have with each parent. Then follow the steps on the form or plug the numbers into the calculator. 

 Besides each parents' net income (Line 27 on their financial affidavit); you also need to know: 

which parent is paying for the children's medical insurance, and uninsured medical bills, and how much; 

which parent is paying for the children's daycare or after school care and how much, if any; 

the children's number of overnights with each parent; 

*the parents' combined incomes associated with the number of children subject to this child support. 

 *You'll find this number in the Florida Statutes and also in the Florida Supreme Court approved form and the unofficial form. Use the table to find the number to start with. Go down the rows from the column heading at the top that says: Combined Monthly Available Income. Then once you find the column for the correct number of children, you've also found the starting amount for child support. The unofficial calculator finds that number for you, but its good for you to know how this actually works.

 If you are a pro se litigant and need help calculating your child support. Please contact us at 800-515-0496.

Preparing Legal Documents from Home

 

By now, during the pandemic, everyone who was inclined or able has made adjustments in their work life to work “remotely”. Now that the pandemic is really and truly winding down, some people are itching to get back to the office, others are more than content to continue working remotely from home.

I've been working from home since 2010, since I started my document preparation business and the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers. The pandemic trend to work from home has not even been a blip on my personal work life radar. For me, nothing changed.

Preparing documents for consumers is an ideal work from home business. The only products are information and completed documents. Information can be provided to the customer either in a telephone call or an email. Completed documents can be sent via email.

Weigh it out. You know yourself better than anyone. Many people worked from home during the height of the pandemic for the first time. Some people loved it, others didn't.

You can also carve out a hybrid option for yourself. Work from home sometimes, and meet face to face with customers at other times. You may also discover that meeting with customers via video conferencing is the best of both worlds.

Experiment until you find what works best for you and your customers. Above all else, make sure that you enjoy your work, feel good by doing good.  

Here are some of the pros and cons of an at home document preparation business.

PROS

CONS

Solitude. There are only interruptions under your own control. Autonomy. You can set my own schedule to be the most productive and come and go as you please. No one looking over your shoulder, no walk-ins. Convenience. Working from home means there is no commute, and no need to go out to lunch everyday. Minimal overhead. No need to lease office space or keep up with the expense of a professional wardrobe. The lack of division between work and the rest of life may be a plus for some people. Rather than work/life balance, some people strive for work/life integration.

Isolation. The lack of in person human contact is stressful for some people. Distractions at home may make it difficult to stay on task. Things like the lure of the TV; family wanting attention; and afternoon naps are top distractions. It's more difficult to create rapport and trust with customers without seeing them face to face. It can be more difficult to create credibility with customers if they know you work from home. There may be very little division between work and the rest of life. Some people might find this exhausting.

I'm back!

 Hi everyone,

After nearly a six month hiatus, I'm back, The air and the internet seemed too full of noise. I had to back off for a while. I didn't want to add to the noise, and wasn't sure that my voice would be heard anyway. Maybe the world has calmed down some, as we trudge our way to normal. Maybe it's a normal that will never come. Could be -- this is it. 

And, if this is it. Fine by me. We'll manage just fine. Nothing is ever static - as it is - change being the only constant. 

I have gone through some personal troubles right along with the world spinning out. I'm better now. As we go forward I'll write here regularly, my take on social issues; pro se rights; the legal document industry; and the world as I see it. 

Thank you for reading, and please comment.

Ruth Tick

Document Preparation Training Courses

 

People sometimes wonder about the legitimacy of the legal Document Preparation industry. Because document preparers are not licensed by the State of Florida in any way and there are no specific criteria to be a legal document preparer some people think that anyone can just decide to become a legal document preparer. Technically that's true, but there's a lot more to it then just proclaiming yourself to be a legal document preparer. 

The Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers - FALDP, has member document preparers who have years of experience working for attorneys and cumulatively have a wealth of background, experience, and knowledge they use to help consumers.  

Sometimes when a prospective member contacts us, one of their questions is whether the market is saturated with document preparers. They want to know whether it is a good idea for them to pursue a business as a legal document preparer, and whether the field is too crowded. My answer is always no, there is a lot of room for growth in our industry -- there are many many consumers who are under served. 

 

 

 No one seems to keep detailed statistics about pro se litigants - who is pro se; the number of consumers who proceed pro se; their reasons; and their success rates. We have maintained a survey for pro se litigants on our website. And we've compiled some responses to the survey, that might shed some light on just these questions. For example in our survey we found that most of the responders were females aged 50 to 65 who found the survey online. The survey is on our website – www,faldp.org - and we have done little or nothing to promote the survey until recently. We found that of those responders 45% were college-educated with English as their native language. Almost 43% were involved in or dealing with a civil case and of those 60% were defendants. In other words, they were involved in a court case, not by choice, but to defend themselves.  

25% researched online before deciding to proceed pro se; and 16% consulted with an attorney before deciding to proceed pro se. Most striking, however, was that 35% of the survey responders stated that they were proceeding pro se because they could not afford an attorney. This underlines the pervasive Justice Gap, the difference between those who can and those who cannot afford an attorney. And the implication that for those who cannot afford an attorney, no justice is possible.  

We maintain our website in part to educate consumers about the types of issues that they may have encountered like family law, bankruptcy, and civil matters. We also maintain our website to support the legal Document Preparation Industry as a whole. 

In order to help our members in document preparers grow and expand their businesses, we offer online legal Document Preparation training courses. And, we have bundled are courses together into what we call our All Course Bundle which consists of 16 online legal Document Preparation training courses. Our courses are available to anyone, you don't need to be a member of our association or even a document preparer to take our courses. 

 The price for the 16 course bundle, the All Course Bundle $2399... This offer represents substantial savings compared to taking all of our courses one by one. Call – 800-515-0496; Email staff@faldp.org; Visit – www.FALDP.org

How Does the Judge Decide Child Support?

How does the judge decide child support?

The short answer is that the judge doesn't decide child support at all. Child support is per Florida Statute 61.30 Child support guidelines, and is based on a few bits of information and a mathematical formula applied to it. The information required is the same information required for the Family Law Financial Affidavits and Parenting Plan. Once both parties' financial affidavits and the parties' parenting plans are available the child support amount can be calculated.

The information required is:

Both parties' net income;

Which parent is paying for and amount paid for after school care or child care (if any);

Which parent is paying for the child or children's medical insurance and uninsured medical expenses; and

Number of overnight visits the children spend with each parent.

All of this information, except for the number of overnight visits, is taken from the parties' financial affidavits. The number of overnight visits is taken from the parenting plan.

Within the Florida Statutes and also on the form Child Support Guidelines Worksheet there is a table to find the amount of child support that both parents need to contribute based on the parents' combined incomes. The table has rows to find combined income amounts, and columns for the number of children. Once that amount is found, all the other information is applied.

Frequently, parents' incomes are not identical, and the number of overnight visits are not exactly half and half. So a percentage of child support is assigned to each parent, and the difference between the two amounts is paid to the parent earning the lesser amount or having the child with them the most. The Florida Supreme Court has a web form that automatically calculates the amounts. But, preparing the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet is not difficult, with a calculator and a little time.

Because of the information required to calculate child support, the financial affidavits and the parenting plan must be completed first.

Sometimes, especially in magistrate's court, the parties will be told to simply provide their last three pay stubs, and somehow, child support is calculated from that information alone. Beware this process, as it does not provide a full financial picture.

The court recognizes that although a child support order is a binding court order -- circumstances change over time. The basis for a modification of a child support order is the existence of substantial change that affects any of the parties.

"Substantial change" has many definitions. Specific definitions of substantial change are best found in case law. However, in general, substantial change for modification of child support is involuntary, unanticipated and permanent.

LEARN MORE.

12 Things To Do During the Corona Virus Pandemic

1. Follow common sense health precautions like diligent hand washing, social distancing, and unnecessary contact with others.
2. Work from home if you can.
3. Embrace your inner introvert. Enjoy a time of staying home alone or home with your family.
4. If you have children, take the time to home school them while they're school is closed. Its a good time to work with them one on one on their favorite or weakest subjects.
5. Read a book, instead of spending too much time on social media or watching the news. My suggestions in honor of these times are: “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And yes, it is set during a cholera epidemic in South America, but it is also a love story and a modern classic. I have read this book many times, and it is one of my all time favorites. Another book I recommend due to its timely setting is “The Decameron” by Giovanni Bocaccio, which is set during the 14^th century black plague epidemic. Its about a group of friends who go to a villa in the Italian countryside to escape the Black Death in the city. The book is the stories they tell to entertain each other during their confinement. I have not yet read The Decameron, but have ordered online. I'll let you know how I like it.
6. Go on virtual tours of the world's museums. Follow the links on this page:

Enjoy! https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

7. Like something more physical? Clean. Cleaning can be very therapeutic and satisfying. Putting your house in order can give you a sense of control over your environment and help beat anxiety and depression. Even if you're a world class housekeeper, there's always that closet or those junk drawers or the garage that could use some organization.
8. Catch up on things you've put off. Get those taxes done; complete that online course; or work on your secret manuscript.
9. Stay in touch with others. Talk on the phone, face time, and skype are all good ways to stay “in touch” without touching. Some people need human contact as much as they need water, so don't deny yourself the sustenance. Depending on your personality, isolation from others can be easy or extremely difficult. Know yourself.
10. Home improvement or craft projects. Many people have a backlog of materials and to do lists for projects that they haven't had time to complete. Well, now's the time. You'll gain satisfaction from a completed project, and it will help pass the time in a constructive way.
11. Draw or paint. Play music. Write a book. Learn a new song. Anything creative will give you satisfaction and help avoid stress.
12. Get outside. Open up the windows. Fresh air and sunshine were heroes in battling the 1918 flue epidemic. Here's an article now circulating online: https://medium.com/@ra.hobday/coronavirus-and-the-sun-a-lesson-from-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-509151dc8065https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

The Public Charge Rule goes into effect on February 24, 2020

Many legal document preparers prepare immigration forms for consumers. And, while, document preparers may not advise their customers about any aspect of immigration – what someone should or should not do – document preparers can certainly provide their customers with information. Even better, refer their customers to authoritative sources to find the answers they're looking for.

But, as with many subjects these days, there is way too much information for many people to absorb. I did some research about the Public Charge Rule, because I wanted to know more. And, I felt that if I were confused, then others must be as well. I asked a few of my colleagues who specialize in preparing immigration documents, and was unable to find the information I wanted. So I took to the internet and the USCIS site to see what I could find out.

My first question was whether under the Public Charge Rule, if someone who is a legal alien resident gets injured, and his health insurance does not provide adequate coverage, so the legal alien resident applies for and receives Medicaid – does that then put him at risk of deportation as a public charge?

The answer I found, (please do your own research or see an attorney if this is your scenario), is that – it depends. Yes, he may be a public charge if he receives Medicaid for 36 months. But, if its a medical condition that arose after becoming a legal resident alien, then he will probably not be subject to deportation. I can't tell whether this means after receiving his permanent resident alien status, or if this would be true while his permanent resident status is temporary.

Another question is my mind relates to the predictive nature of the public charge rule. Apparently, the factors considered are meant to predict whether an individual is likely to become a public charge in the future, and if so, the application for a green card could be denied. For example, even though someone might meet all the criteria to NOT be a public charge at some point, the applicant's age is still considered. What if, the applicant has the required income and assets, is in good health, has never received public assistance, has education or skills – but is age 61 or older. Does that mean his application could be denied? Just on age?

And, to me, the financial requirements are troublesome. The median income in Florida, for all households is around $55,000. per year. Median income means half of the population earns more, and half of the population earns less. So that means there are far more households who earn less than the median income, since over $55,000. per year increases indefinitely. According to the article excerpted below, the financial threshold has risen from 125% of the federal poverty guidelines up to 250% of those guidelines – approximately $41,000. for a household of two.

I relied heavily on an article on boundless.com – following are excerpts from that article.

What will change under the new DHS “public charge rule”?

DHS plans to dramatically expand the definition of “public charge,” so that green card and other visa applicants could be denied not for being “primarily dependent on the government for subsistence” (the current standard) but instead for being “more likely than not” to use certain public benefits at any point in the future.

It’s important to understand that the great majority of people applying for green cards are not even eligible for the very benefits that the DHS public charge rule seeks to penalize. 

Likelihood of future use of government benefits. Although the following general criteria are defined by Congress, DHS plans to greatly expand the number of specific factors that immigration officers must take into account when determining whether or not a visa applicant is likely to become a “public charge” at any point in the future.

.

The new public charge rule would apply to the vast majority of applicants for green cards (permanent residence). This includes green cards based on:

• a family relationship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, for which over 800,000 green cards were granted in 2016 (the most recent year for which DHS has published data)
• sponsorship by a U.S. employer (140,000 green cards granted per year)
  

Exemptions

The public charge rule will not apply to visa applicants whom Congress has exempted from the public charge test, such as refugees, asylees, individuals who have experienced domestic violence, and other special categories.

Given that the new public charge rule creates an entirely new income requirement for visa applicants (not just their sponsors) and would set this household income threshold as high as 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, the following possible impacts have been estimated:

What about permanent residents seeking U.S. citizenship?

Changes to the definition of “public charge” could ultimately expand the ability of DHS to deport some immigrants who already have green cards (“lawful permanent residents”).

Congress states that a permanent resident can only be deported on public-charge grounds within the first five years of obtaining their green card — and only if they became a public charge based on circumstances that existed before they obtained their green card. (For example, a healthy person who obtains a green card, gets in an accident, and then needs government assistance would not be deportable on public-charge grounds.)

In practice, given the constraints set by Congress and court precedents, plus the fact that recent green card holders are typically ineligible for welfare, very few green card holders have been deported on public-charge grounds.

By expanding the definition of “public charge,” however, the administration could create new uncertainty for millions of immigrants.

U.S. law allows for the deportation of immigrants who have become “public charges” within five years of admission if their reason for seeking help preceded their entry to the United States - for example, if they had a chronic health condition that was not disclosed.

Marketing & Sales, a symbiotic relationship

Marketing and sales are a pair of complex beasts, like ostriches and zebras. These wild animals enjoy a true symbiotic relationship – just like marketing and sales. Although each could survive on its own, they are both more powerful and safer together. Neither zebras nor ostriches are fast runners, at least not fast enough to avoid common predators, so they must always be on the alert for danger. Zebras have great eye sight, ostriches have a keen sense of smell, so they group together for mutual protection.

Sales and marketing can occur without the other, but survival is tenuous. There are few things more frustrating than to put time and effort into bringing your service to market, but not being able to make sales. A sale can happen out of the blue, but without knowing how to do it again, you're left happily scratching your head.

Never, never, never, underestimate the importance of the famous cliché – SELL BENEFITS NOT FEATURES. If you don't know what in the world that means, and you're in business – find out.

Here are a few things I discovered about marketing to men or women:

Are you marketing to women? Here are some psychological triggers or WHY a woman would buy from you, that you can use in your marketing to increase conversions:

• To belong or be relevant
• To be right or not wrong
• To fulfill one of the four basic needs: Relationship, wealth, happiness, spirituality
• To have security
• For memories or loyalty

If you want to make advertise to men in their 50’s, what emotional marketing strategies would you use?

If you said “scare them senseless,” you would be right. Marketing to men in their 50’s is best done by frightening them, because they feel so responsible for their families.

How about marketing to men in their 20/30’s?

You would use the emotional branding strategy of shaming them into buying your product. Peer-pressure is very strong with this group, and that can be used to really make your brand more than just a service or product.

As you can see, emotional branding can be used in just about every situation where you are marketing to men or women, so get out there and figure out what motivates your customers. But remember, if you’re not solving a problem or showing your audience “what’s in it for them” then you’re losing their interest straight away.

New laws 2020

Some new laws went into effect on January 1, 2020. It pays to stay abreast of these legal changes, as some may directly affect you.

• Officers started issuing tickets for the texting and driving law. This law went into effect July 1, but law enforcement had been using the first six months to issue warnings to drivers. The new law makes texting and driving a primary offense, which means you can now get pulled over for it.
• The minimum wage went up 10-cents starting January 1, 2020 in Florida. That means workers will make at least $8.56 an hour which is above the national minimum wage. The wage for servers and tipped based professionals will also increase by 10 cents, from $5.46 to $5.56. 
• For the first time, Floridians can execute wills online, and notaries can affix their seals and signatures to legal documents signed out of their presence, if they witness the signature via live, two-way video links. Third-party witnesses needed for wills and other documents may also appear remotely.
• County court jurisdictional thresholds increased to $30,000 on January 1, 2020, and to $50,000 on January 1, 2023.
• Small claims cases on January 1, 2020, will include cases up to $8,000
• Filers will be required to include a civil cover sheet specifying the dollar amount in dispute in cases exceeding $8,000 in value.
• Have your own business and been looking to have a store front? It's not much but taxes for a commercial leases dropped from 5.7% to 5.5% starting January 1.

Why FALDP?

Why indeed. We've used a marketing piece for some time that explains the “what” of FALDP, among other statements, it says: “FALDP is an industry leader – empowering the people – and working everyday to make Florida a better place to live”. I believe those words are true, I fervently hope that we are, in fact, making Florida a better place to live.

But, why? Why did we form FALDP? Why is there a need for us? What is our reason to be? Our raison d'être ? The phrase, « find your why » has been bandied about of late, and has sunk from a catch phrase to a cliché by now. But, phrases become over used for a reason. Its because they resonate, hit a nerve, and yes, sometimes the last nerve.

The simple reason we exist is that people need us. People need document preparers. Not want, need. Our services are steadily in demand.

''You can't fight for your rights if you don't know what they are .'' Chief Justice John Roberts

''One of the primary reasons our nation’s founders envisioned a vast public education system was to prepare youth to be active participants in our system of self-government. The responsibilities of each citizen were assumed to go far beyond casting a vote; protecting the common good would require developing students’ critical thinking and debate skills, along with strong civic virtues/.''

BY AMANDA LITVINOV (3/2017)

Low knowledge of essential facts

The 2018 Annenberg civics knowledge survey, released for Constitution Day (Sept. 17), found that many people do not know how the branches of government work:

• A quarter (27 percent) incorrectly said the Constitution allows the president to ignore a Supreme Court ruling if the president believes the ruling is wrong;
• But a slim majority (55 percent) knows that a 5-4 Supreme Court decision is the law and must be followed, about the same as last year.

Annenberg Public PolicyCenter, (9/2018)

Why am I telling you this? And what does this have to do with FALDP? We're document preparers, we don't need to know about rights? Oh, really?

We can't give legal advice … but, the fact is that everybody gives everybody legal advice all the time.

• Don't drink and drive;
• Wear your seat belt;
• As an employer or landlord, you should not discriminate based on gender, race, or national origin. Its against the law;

According to the State ofTexas:

What is Legal Advice?

Court users are asking for legal advice when they ask whether or not they should proceed in a certain fashion. Telling a member of the public what to do rather than how to do it may be giving legal advice. Legal advice is a written or oral statement that:

 Interprets some aspect of the law, court rules, or court procedures;

 Recommends a specific course of conduct a person should take in an actual or potential legal proceeding; or

 Applies the law to the individual person’s specific factual circumstances.

What is Legal Information? Clerks and court personnel may:

 Provide public information contained in dockets, calendars, case files, indexes, and other reports.

 Recite common, routinely-employed court rules, court procedures, administrative practices, and local rules, and explain generally how the court and judges function.

 Refer self-represented litigants to a law library or the court’s website for statutes, court rules, or forms.

 Explain the meaning of terms and documents used in the court process.

 Answer questions concerning deadlines or due dates (without calculating due dates).

 Identify and refer self-represented litigants to court forms.

According to Find Law:

What Legal Advice Is

Advice from friends or family does not constitute legal advice. True legal advice forms an agreement between an attorney and his or her client based on a particular legal matter the client is experiencing.

In a nutshell, legal advice has the following characteristics:

• Requires legal knowledge, skill, education and judgment
• Applies specific law to a particular set of circumstances
• Affects someone's legal rights or responsibilities
• Creates rights and responsibilities in the advice-giver

Unlike legal information - such as information posted on a street sign - legal advice proposes a specific course of action a client should take. For instance, it's the difference between telling someone what to do (legal advice) as opposed to how to do it (legal information).

Examples:

• Selecting, drafting, or completing legal documents or agreements that affect the legal rights of a person
• Representing a person before a court or other governing body
• Negotiating legal rights or responsibilities on behalf of a person
• Speculating an outcome
• Selecting or filling out specific forms on behalf of a client

Specific legal advice questions may include:

• Should I file for bankruptcy?
• Does my disability qualify for federal assistance?
• What kind of recovery can I receive for my accident? injuries

What Legal Advice is Not

While legal advice is specific, direct, and proposes a course of action, legal information, on the other hand, is factual, generic, and does not address any one particular cause of action. To help avoid the confusion that often comes with legal information, websites and individuals will often go to great lengths to clarify that any information contained in their site should not be construed as legal advice nor form an attorney-client relationship.

Examples that do not constitute actual legal advice:

• Legal information obtained from free online legal websites, including a law firm or attorney's own website
• Advice from friends, family members, or former clients of a lawyer
• Information you hear on the radio
• Information you read on social media websites
• Information you see in news periodicals or on billboards
• Responses to legal questions posted in online Q&A boards, even if provided by a licensed attorney
• Printed materials listed in a "how to" guide
• Legal "self help" forms

Specific legal information questions might include:

• Where can I find the Federal Medical Leave Act?
• What does the acronym EEOC mean?
• What are the gun laws in my state?

Confused yet?

Yes. I think everyone is confused, including the courts. As an experienced document preparer I can point to many instances where a court clerk most certainly has told a pro se litigant what form to file. It happens all the time. So, as nonlawyers, the clerks of court, routinely select forms for pro se litigants, even though selecting forms for pro se litigants is a prohibited act.

And, do we ignore a customer's request for advice? Yes, but, the technique is to turn their request for advice into a request for information and then point them to the information. Is this word play -- semantics? Yes.

Think about these scenarios:

A customer comes to you and says that the landlord won't fix the leaking roof. And that customer asks you what he should do. Beware the “should” word. Telling someone what they should do might be giving legal advice. A better practice, particularly if you frequently prepare documents for landlord/ tenant issues, is to point him to a source of information, like Top 10 Landlord Legal Responsibilities in Florida , let the customer explore his options.

Another customer comes to you because she has been served a complaint for a past due credit card debt. She says that she knows she owes the debt, but it was years ago, and she thought the credit card company had written it off. It is helpful to know the following:

Florida’s statute of limitations varies for different types of debts. For written contracts such as personal loans, the statute of limitations is five years. So once this type of debt is more than five years past due, the lender can no longer sue in order to collect owed money. For other debts, the statute is shorter. Oral contracts and revolving accounts such as credit cards have a statute of limitations of four years.

https://www.debt.org/faqs/americans-in-debt/consumer-florida/

And point your customer to that information. However, that information isn't quite enough, because the pro se litigant must bring up the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense in their Answer. That information is in the Florida Statutes and can also be found here - https://blog.credit.com/2019/07/seven-ways-to-defend-a-debt-collection-lawsuit-62166/

In my experience, I've found that pro se litigants can figure out the basic substantive law. It is procedural law that stymies them. And, its my understanding that we can explain procedure providing we don't cross over the boundary between explaining procedure, into using procedure as strategy. We can explain what comes next, procedurally, as in: after the defendant/ respondent is properly served he has 20 days to file an answer. But, to tell a pro se defendant / respondent that instead of filing an answer, as long as he files something within 20 days, may be using procedure as strategy.

The reason FALDP exists is to help consumers and pro se litigants navigate the court system; and provide a hub for Florida document preparers. We're proud of what we do, mainly because we think we're helping make Florida a better place to live.

FALDP Turn Key Business Bundle - Annual Conference Special Offer

The Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers (FALDP) is offering a special offer along with the Turn Key Business Bundle. Purchase of a Turn Key Bundle also includes the $95 conference fee.

We offer our Turn Key Business Bundles to motivated applicants who possess the qualities that will promote success. Drive, ambition, empathy, persistence, honesty, and attention to detail; combined with integrity, and a true moral compass. Ultimately, the key to your future is in your hands. We do our best to promote the success of our Turn Key Owners, but can make no guarantees. Are you up to the challenge?

Our Turn Key Business Bundle has helped many document preparers successfully launch their business. The Bundle includes courses, FALDP membership, a custom website and more. 

Learn more about our association, more about our conference, and more about FALDP membership. Call 800-515-0496 with any questions ... or just to say hi.

What IS Medicaid Planning? Part I

If you're confused, you're not alone. Most of us know that Medicaid is a federal health insurance program for low income people. Ok. But how are you supposed to plan to have Medicaid? Or worse, does Medicaid Planning mean planning to be low income? The short and confusing answer is – yes and no.

First, let me make clear that I am not any sort of attorney, let alone an Elder Law Attorney. Yet, I think I have knowledge and insight into all of this from my personal experiences with my mother. My mother was on Medicaid the last two and a half years of her life, and if she had not qualified for Medicaid her last years would have been much different. Without Medicaid she literally could not have been able to afford to live in an Assisted Living Facility. Mom had no assets. She had sold her house years before, did not own a car, had no investments – she only owned her furniture and personal items. Some of this was likely purposeful on her part. She had rented a condo from me at least 10 years earlier and when I asked her if I could add her name to the deed so that she could homestead the property, she refused. She said no, that in case she had to go in a nursing home, she didn't want them to be able to take the property. That's really not the rule. She was wrong on that. But, I know now how she was thinking and probably why she didn't own a house or condo anymore.

I am a Florida legal document preparer and strictly forbidden by the Florida Supreme Court and the Florida Bar to assist anyone with Medicaid Planning. However, I think, and hope, the right to free speech, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is still in place and on my side in trying to explain how Medicaid Planning works. This article only speaks about Medicaid Planning in Florida. Because, although Medicaid is a federal program each state has different rules as to how they administer the program.

This is Part I of a series, and first I'll explain my mother's financial situation and why she qualified to begin with. Mom was 96 years old when she applied (rather we applied for her), she was in relatively good health, and her only income was her social security income. She received around $1800. per month in social security.

For a time, she actually could and did manage financially to live in an apartment on her social security income alone. But with age she became forgetful. When we found out that Mom wasn't paying her utility bills on time, my sister asked Mom to sign a Power of Attorney and took charge of her finances. Looking to Mom's future needs, my sister and I started looking around for an Assisted Living Facility. Mom had glaucoma for many years which was controlled by using daily eye drops. She could see, but as she grew older her eyesight diminished. When she couldn't safely cook her own meals anymore, she came to live with my husband and me.

Having Mom in our house was difficult. I was happy to be able to help, and thankful that she didn't need any personal care. But, I cooked, cleaned, washed her clothes, took her to her doctors, and set up social activities for her. The social thing was the hardest for my mom, she liked being around people. I think she found my husband and I boring. Our company wasn't enough to entertain her. I was exhausted.

I was aware that Mom was entitled through her Medicaid to receive 10 hours per week of home health care. I called an agency, but they never returned my call so I just kept doing what I was doing. By now Mom had a caseworker through her Medicaid and besides knowing that Mom was entitled to home health care, I learned that she was also entitled to long term care because of her Medicaid.

So we looked around for an Assisted Living Facility that was affordable and that fit her criteria. She requested that the facility be at the beach and that she have a private room. We found one that fit the bill. If she were to self pay the cost would have been around $2400 per month -- $800. more than her monthly income. But, since she had Medicaid long term care through United Health Care, Medicaid picked up the difference. The various facilities that accept Medicaid have contracts set up with the long term care insurance providers and subsidize the costs. About a year later, when I noticed that the ALF was going downhill we moved her to a different one. The second one was slightly more expensive. Self pay would have been $3000. per month. But the difference in the self pay cost made no difference in my mother's finances. She handed over her $1800. and she received the same services as if she had paid entirely out of pocket.

My mother was able to live in an Assisted Living Facility with absolutely no out of pocket expenses. By law, she was entitled to keep $54 per month of her social security income for incidental expenses, like haircuts, and snacks. The amount sounds excessively paltry until you consider that she didn't have anything to spend her money on anyway. She was happy and comfortable with activities to engage in, and a staff to help her. The medical staff at the ALF gave her eye drops twice a day as prescribed, and gave her other pills or medications as needed. The structured environment suited her as the meals were at a set time everyday and she had menu choices. The few times that she was late for a meal, someone would knock on her door to make sure she was alright. I was close enough to the facility so that I could visit as often as I liked, and tried to go see her at least a couple of times per week. And, most importantly to her, there was always someone around to talk to.

As of October 2018, the income cap to receive Medicaid was $2250. For a single person, the asset ceiling is $2000. In my mother's scenario she automatically qualified because her circumstances neatly fit the criteria, but what about people whose income is too high, or have assets valued at more? And what about married couples?.

In parts II, III, and maybe IV, I'll try to explain these other scenarios. Both my sister and I are college educated, but finding the information, keeping up with the paperwork, and understanding the options was still daunting. Whether you're reading this for yourself, or for mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa – educate yourself as much as possible. You may ultimately need to see an elder law attorney, but having the information in advance, may save you time and money in the long run.

5 Reasons Consumers Love Legal Document Preparers

1. Cost. Document preparation services are not the same as attorney services, nor are they meant to be. Document preparation fees are much lower than attorneys' fees, because legal document preparers do not offer legal advice, and do not provide representation. Document preparation fees for things like divorce, bankruptcy, and small probate can be as little as 10% of what consumers would expect to pay an attorney to prepare these same documents.
2. Control. Consumers always remain in control of their legal action. It is up to the consumer, the pro se litigant, to educate himself about the issues and to construct his own strategy. Having control of the case strategy allows the self-represented litigant to be more agile in making compromises, and by being in control may be able to avoid long drawn out litigation.
3. Communication. Legal document preparers are generally superb communicators and are happy to keep their customers informed about their work. Many document preparers teach their customers how to check their case docket, deal with the court clerk, and efile their documents.
4. Court procedure. Many legal document preparers are former paralegals with years of experience working for law firms. Florida court procedure is confusing, but most document preparers are well aware of the minutiae of timelines, formats, and court rules.
5. Access. The pro se litigant is a customer to the legal document preparer – a valued customer. The level of customer serviced offered by legal document preparers includes easy access to the document preparer. Most document preparers operate solo or have a very small staff, so the customer almost always communicates with the same person preparing his documents.

Please sign our petition!

Dear Customers and Friends:

I need your help. The organization I belong to, the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers, is working to convince the Florida Bar to remove the shackles placed on our profession. I only just recently learned I can ask folks other than just our membership to help us get this goal reached. Here are the points involved in this battle (and it is a battle), to cause the Bar do the following:
1. Investigate Unauthorized Practice of Law when there is consumer harm. Not when there is "potential" harm.

2. If the Florida Bar demands that we follow their rules, make those rules clear, and set out in a fashion in which document preparers can easily find and refer to the rules.

3. Lighten up on the investigation of document preparers altogether. We feel we are being bullied and harassed by an entity that does not supervise us. The Florida Bar is authorized to investigate UPL but putting document preparers out of business is counterproductive all around.

4. Give us some recognition for what we do. We are part of the solution to the ongoing justice gap. Until consumers are being served fully, there is no need for us to be perceived as a threat to lawyers.

I’m asking you in all sincerity to please, follow the link below, and vote for our freedom to help those who can’t help themselves in these issues.

Here are some comments which have been left by others who have joined to support our cause:

"Attorneys are very expensive and there are many things that can be handled by an individual if they have the right forms."
"Many people need help in the courts and cannot afford a huge retainer fee just to get any kind of justice."
"Stop beating on the little people in the business

To each of you who I have helped type up legal paperwork, I’ve explained how, even if we have a college degree in Paralegal Studies, unless we work directly for an attorney, we aren’t allowed to call ourselves by that title. With no written guidelines, we are expected to know what we can and cannot say to a customer to avoid Unauthorized Practice of Law. Many unsuspecting paralegals in this situation have put themselves in the path of losing their right to help folks by calling themselves that title. People can by law,  get help from us to get their legal forms filled out, with the same accuracy and at a much lower cost than if they had to hire an attorney. This not only is wrong for the document prep folks, it hinders everyday people from saving money. The link I’m providing in this letter leads to a Petition our Petition.  You can truly be of help to right a wrong.

Here is the link to the petition: https://www.change.org/p/the-florida-bar-allow-nonlawyer-legal-document-preparers-to-continue-to-help-consumers-without-interference

Every signature counts. We now have over 400 signatures. Need 500.

Thank you so very much for your support!

Ruth Tick and the FALDP Team.

If a machine can do it - its NOT UPL.

The U.S. Appellate Case for the Second Federal District, Lola v. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, No. 14-3845 (2d Cir. 2015) interests me for reasons other than its stance on labor laws. I'm interested in the part about, if a machine can do it, then its not UPL.

David Lola who brought the case along with others who were in the same position, while working for a legal temporary employment agency reviewing documents. For this he was paid $25. per hour. His job was to go through the documents and search for certain words and phrases; categorize the documents; and mark other words and phrases to be redacted. (It sounds mind numbing). His place of employment was at a law firm in North Carolina [Skadden, et al].

Lola worked more than forty hours per week, but wasn't paid time and half for hours over forty. His employers' position was that he was not entitled to overtime pay because he was a professional and an attorney. They cited exemptions in the labor laws for overtime pay for professionals and attorneys. Lola argued that the work he was doing was not practicing law, because the work required absolutely no legal judgment.

He eventually won his case. The opinion included some interesting language.

“The gravamen of Lola’s complaint is that he performed document review under such tight constraints that he exercised no legal judgment whatsoever—he alleges that he used criteria developed by others to simply sort documents into different categories. Accepting those allegations as true, as we must on a motion to dismiss, we find that Lola adequately alleged in his complaint that he failed to exercise any legal judgment in performing his duties for Defendants. A fair reading of the complaint in the light most favorable to Lola is that he provided services that a machine could have provided. The parties themselves agreed at oral argument that an individual who, in the course of reviewing discovery documents, undertakes tasks that could otherwise be performed entirely by a machine cannot be said to engage in the practice of law.”

The reason I find this so interesting is that document preparers are frequently investigated for the unauthorized practice of law (UPL). And if the law of the land is that if it could be automated then its not practicing law, we could use that argument in almost every investigation against one of us. Its not exactly the law of the land, it is the law in the Second Federal District, but still persuasive.

Document preparers prepare documents. We don't provide legal advice or legal judgment. Certainly a lot of what we do could be done by artificial intelligence (AI), aka machines, aka computer software. Our activities may not be commonly done by AI but they could. A computer could automatically format documents, intake information, ask questions, and so on. A computer program can certainly know when to ask additional questions and use if/then logic.

So … since a computer could certainly do what I do in preparing documents, then that must mean that nothing I do can be considered the unauthorized practice of law. Right?

Florida Family Adoptions Made Simple

Florida adoptions are governed by Florida Statute 63. Private adoptions and adoptions of someone who is not a close family relative require a home study, background check, or the MAPP course (Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting). However, Florida family adoptions have no such requirements, making the process faster and more affordable. While adoptive parents can certainly retain counsel to oversee the family adoption process, there may be no need. If all parties are in agreement, there is usually no need to hire an attorney.

Stepparent Adoption

In Florida a stepparent adoption is considered a family adoption. The petition for stepparent adoption and most of the required forms are Florida Supreme Court approved forms and can be downloaded for free from the Supreme Court's website. Stepparent adoptions are almost always consensual. Usually one of the child's biological parents has primary or sole custody of the child, and the other parent is not actively participating in the child's life. The biological parent's role is to simply sign the consent form, which must be notarized, and witnessed by two people.

If the biological parent pays child support, he or she will be relieved of that obligation once the adoption is final. This, in itself, can be a motivation for the biological parent to sign the consent form, particularly since he or she has been paying child support for a child he rarely sees. The consent form not only consents to the adoption, but also terminates the biological parent's rights.

Sometimes a judge may sign the order of adoption even though the biological parent has not consented. For example, if the biological parent is in prison, has had no contact with the child for a number of years, and stubbornly refuses to sign the consent form, a judge may grant the adoption without that consent.

Relative Adoptions - Within three steps of consanguinity

Florida also recognizes as family adoption, adoptions by close family relatives. For adoption purposes, a close family relative is defined as “within three steps of consanguinity”. Consanguinity means blood relation. Following is a handy chart to help make it easier to see who is a close family relative.

PERSON

1. PARENTS

2. GRANDPARENTS

3. GREAT GRANDPARENTS

1. CHILDREN	2. SIBLINGS
2. GRAND CHILDREN	3. NIECES/NEPHEWS and AUNTS/ UNCLES

3. GREAT GRAND CHILDREN

There are no petition forms for any type of family adoption except for stepparent adoptions on the Florida Supreme Court's site. However, most of the required forms are identical except for the petition forms. A couple Florida counties have local forms for grandparent adoptions. The main differences in the process are in stepparent adoption, there is only one biological parent that needs to consent. In other family adoptions, both parents need to consent.

Whereabouts Unknown:

Occasionally that the whereabouts of a biological parent are unknown. In that case, a diligent search must be conducted, and an Affidavit of Diligent Search must be filed along with the other required documents. If the parent is not located during the search, then he or she can be served legal notice through constructive service. Constructive service is notice by publication. A Notice of Action form is filed with the clerk of court after all efforts to locate the parent have been exhausted.

Form requirement oddities

A search or the putative father registry is required in all Florida family adoptions. The intent of the putative father registry is to preserve the paternity rights of an unwed father, if, for example, he fathered a child and then he and the mother parted company. The original intent was that the father could register that he was the likely father of a child and then the child could not be adopted without his consent and further proceedings. As it is, since all adoptions require the search, even when the identity of the father is known, a search must be conducted.

Another form that may seem odd to some filers, is the Indian Child Affidavit. This affidavit states that the child is not an (American) Indian child. It is a federal form that is required in all Florida adoptions.

We can help.

Although people can certainly hire an attorney to oversee the adoption proceedings, there may be no need. If all parties are in agreement, and there is no dispute, a Florida legal document preparer can prepare the documents for a stepparent adoption or a relative adoption. If you need help with adoption forms, contact us at 800-515-0496, or visit us online at ADOPTION.

Why Choose an FALDP member as your legal document preparer:

Why Choose an FALDP member as your legal document preparer:.

A legal document preparer is never a substitute for an attorney. However, if all a consumer needs is properly prepared documents, a legal document preparer may be just the right choice. Legal document preparers may not provide legal advice or representation, but if no advice or representation is needed, consider the services of a legal document preparer. Members of the Florida Association of Legal Document Preparers must meet certain standards in order to join this association. Among these requirements are: 

• Completing our Online Courses - INTRO & a content specific course, or;
• Two years experience preparing Florida legal documents, or;
• Two year paralegal course, or;
• A combination of related professional experience and education, and
• Above average proficiency in spoken and written English;
• Acknowledges and agrees to follow the rules set forth by the Florida Bar Association and the Florida Supreme Court regarding UPL;
• Agrees to refrain from offering legal advice, and to refrain from representing themselves as legal experts.
• Agrees to abide by the FALDP Pledge.

Six Ways our Members Help Consumers

1. Providing Legal Information. A document preparer can assist consumers by locating laws, cases, and court rules. Although, the interpretation of this legal information is considered legal advice, locating them and providing them to consumers is perfectly fine. For example, on many of the instruction sheets for Florida Family Law Supreme Court approved forms, a Florida Statute is referenced, but the statute itself does not appear. Many Florida Statutes are straight forward and do not require legal interpretation. Providing the statute itself to the consumer may be all that is needed for the consumer to make an informed decision.

2. Explaining Procedure. Many consumers are stymied by not knowing the steps in their case. A document preparer can explain procedure so that the consumer knows what to do next, or what to expect next. And the consumer can also get a better idea of time frames and deadlines once he has a basic understanding of legal and court procedure.

3. Preparing Documents. Document preparers help consumers by preparing complete and proper documents to file in their case. Sometimes a form's instructions includes a list of which additional forms must be filed at the same time. However, sometimes the list is incomplete or more forms that must be filed at the same time are listed on yet another form's instructions. While a document preparer may not select forms for a consumer to file, showing the consumer which forms are required according to the court's written instructions helps the consumer follow the court's rules and moves their case along.

4. Formatting Documents. While many consumers may be able to fill out forms themselves, consumers may not be aware of specific formatting requirements, such as font, font size, margins, etc. By providing the court with properly formatted documents the consumer

4. Active Listening. Legal document preparers may not offer legal advice, but there are no rules to say a document preparer should not actively listen to their customers. Asking questions that help the customer arrive at their own decisions or acting as a sounding board may be the most valuable aspects of hiring a legal document preparer.

5. Flat Fee Pricing. Most document preparers offer flat fee pricing for various form sets. The flat fee pricing allows consumers to know in advance how much to expect to spend. And, rolled into the flat fee pricing plan, most document preparers also include corrections and minor revisions at no additional charge.

6. Affordability. Since consumers are only paying document preparers for limited nonlawyer services, the fees document preparers charge are much lower than an attorney might charge for similar document preparation services. By definition, document preparers do not provide legal advice, and if the consumer has no need for legal advice then there is no reason to pay for it.

So, for consumers who do not require legal advice or representation, a legal document preparer may be their best option.

CALL TODAY 800-515-496 OR VISIT WWW.FALDP.ORG

Summary Administration and Homestead Real Property

Most Florida homeowners know that Florida has the strongest homestead laws in the country. Besides, a discount on property taxes, homestead laws provide protections from creditors. But, many homeowners don't realize that some of these protections extend to their heirs or beneficiaries when they die. And, even though the value of the homestead property exceeds the estate value of $75,000. to qualify for a summary administration of estate, the summary process can still be used.

Florida summary administration of estate is a faster way to settle an estate, and does not require an attorney. Here is the statute:

Florida Statute 735.203

(1) A petition for summary administration may be filed by any beneficiary or person nominated as personal representative in the decedent’s will offered for probate. The petition must be signed and verified by the surviving spouse, if any, and any beneficiaries except that the joinder in a petition for summary administration is not required of a beneficiary who will receive a full distributive share under the proposed distribution. However, formal notice of the petition must be served on a beneficiary not joining in the petition.

An estate with a value of more than $75,000 is called a formal administration of estate and an attorney is required.

When someone with Florida homestead property dies, the real property, the decedent's home is considered an exempt asset. The value of the homestead property is excluded from the $75,000 ceiling amount to qualify for the summary process and retains its protections as it passes to the heirs or beneficiaries.

For example, when Louise dies, she has as estate assets: her home which is homesteaded, and $5000. in a bank account. The value of her home as shown on the tax assessor's website is $200,000. and the bank account is in her name only. Even though the value of the estate exceeds $75,000. her estate can still go through the summary process, because the value of the homestead real property is excluded and exempt.

The benefit to her heirs or beneficiaries in being able to use the summary process are (1) no attorney is required; and (2) the filing fees are lower; and (3) the process is faster. The summary process is generally complete in 6-8 weeks, while the formal process can take 1-2 years. Since an attorney is not required, a beneficiary or personal representative can file the documents to settle the estate. So, Louise's heirs or beneficiaries can save money and receive their inherited assets in much less time.

The homestead exemption also provides protection against claims of creditors. Let's say, in this same scenario, Louise left outstanding credit card debt of $18,000. The credit card company could place a claim against the estate and be entitled to the funds in the bank account, but the credit card company would not be entitled to place a lien on the homestead property or force the sale of the homestead property for the remaining amount Louise owed.

Many of our FALDP members prepare documents for Summary Administration of Estate. Please contact us if we can help you with a Summary Administration of Estate. Visit our site or call 800-515-0496.

Early Termination of Probation

One thing that all probationers have in common is that they want to get off probation. Even though someone may be ever so thankful that they're on probation rather than in custody, most people just want to get off any form of supervision and get on with their life. For first time offenders of nonviolent crimes, the jail sentence is often reduced to probation - hopefully with adjudication withheld,

Many probationers are well aware of their responsibilities and conditions of probation. However, the support of family members who also educate themselves about the probationer's rights and responsibilities can be helpful to the probationer so that he or she can successfully complete a probationary sentence. Probation is a frightening, intimidating, and demeaning experience. Some of the rules and conditions can become difficult to comply with or carry out. The standard prohibition of staying within the county, for example, can be especially difficult for some. If a probationer resides in one county, but their work is in another county, this should be addressed with the court right away. Otherwise a traffic stop on the way to work could spin out of control into a violation of probation, which can mean instant incarceration.

No small wonder probationers just want to get off probation to go on with their lives. Courts look for specific factors in determining whether a probation sentence should be ended – but the early termination of probation is never guaranteed, it is always to the judge's discretion. The factors considered in early termination of probation are:

• The probationer has completed approximately half of his probationary sentence;
• The probationer has not violated his probation or re-offended;
• Conditions such as courses, community service, etc are complete; and
• The probationer has paid all fines, fees, court costs, and restitution, if any.

Even if the Order of Probation states: No Early Termination. The probationer still has a right to request it. Keep in mind that it is up to the judge's discretion whether to grant early termination of probation. See Arriaga v. State, 666 So.2d 949 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). And, more recently, the Second District Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court may not impose a condition of probation indicating "no early termination of probation." Murphy v. State, 976 So.2d 1242 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008).

During probation the offender is required to follow certain rules, and may also be required to complete specific tasks. These are called “conditions of probation”. According to Florida Statute 948.03, some of the most common standard conditions are:

948.03 Terms and conditions of probation.—

(1) The court shall determine the terms and conditions of probation. Conditions specified in this section do not require oral pronouncement at the time of sentencing and may be considered standard conditions of probation. These conditions may include among them the following, that the probationer or offender in community control shall:

(a) Report to the probation officer as directed.

(b) Permit the probation officer to visit him or her at his or her home or elsewhere.

(c) Work faithfully at suitable employment insofar as may be possible.

(d) Remain within a specified place.

(e) Live without violating any law. A conviction in a court of law is not necessary for such a violation of law to constitute a violation of probation, community control, or any other form of court-ordered supervision.

In addition the court may impose additional conditions such as community service, classes, and restitution. There are also other additional conditions for sex offender probation, drug offender probation, and domestic violence probation.

According to the ANNUALREPORT FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2016-2017

“Probation Probation is a court-ordered term of community supervision under specified conditions for a specifc period of time that cannot exceed the maximum sentence for the offense. It is the most common type of community supervision. The offender on probation is required to abide by all conditions ordered by the court. Offenders on probation must comply with standard conditions of supervision, including but not limited to: no violations of the law, monthly reporting requirements, not changing residence or employment or leaving the county without the consent of the probation officer, submitting to random drug testing and searches, and paying the costs of supervision. The sentencing judge will often impose special conditions of supervision, including but not limited to, substance abuse or mental health treatment, victim restitution, and community service hours. Willful non-compliance or a violation of any of these conditions may result in modification of the sentence or revocation by the court. Additionally, courts may decide to impose the original sentence that was served by the probation.”

Over the years, I have prepared documents for hundreds of people seeking Early Termination of Probation, Modification of Probation, or Early Termination of Community Control. As far as I know, almost all of these have been granted. I know that one was denied where the probationer had been sentenced to seven years of probation for offenses that included trafficking cocaine. I think this person had a very good criminal defense attorney at trial, and was very lucky to be on probation rather than in prison. Another that I know was denied, was a woman who was on probation for child endangerment. Her request for early termination of probation was denied, probably, at least in part, because she insisted on including in her written request that she was pregnant again.

Sometimes probationers must appear at a court hearing and explain to the judge why they're seeking early termination of probation, and answer the judge's questions about their life. For some, this is too intimidating, and for those people, we suggest that you retain counsel. However, for people who are confident that they are now on the straight and narrow, and have, in fact, rehabilitated themselves, a court hearing is their chance to explain their new found life and goals to the judge.

One woman for whom I prepared documents had been in prison for seven years, and then on supervised release probation for an additional seven years for vehicular homicide. While in prison she had taken every possible program and course to improve her life. Upon release she got married, and at the time she requested probation was pregnant with her first child. She had transferred her probation from Florida to Michigan. The court required her to travel to Florida for a hearing regarding her request for early termination of probation. The hearing was the first week of December, and she was petrified that she would be traveling all the way to Florida, while pregnant, just to be denied. The judge did not rule at her hearing. But, on Christmas Eve, she received the Order Termination Probation in the mail. She told me it was the best Christmas present she ever imagined.