Tampa Family Law Attorney
Family law cases rarely arrive at a convenient time. A marriage fracturing, a custody dispute escalating, a support order that no longer fits your financial reality. These situations demand a lawyer who actually knows Florida family law in practice, not just in theory, and who understands what Hillsborough County courts expect from the people who appear before them. The Law Office of Laura A. Olson, P.A. has been doing exactly that for South Tampa families for over 30 years.
As a Tampa family law attorney, Laura A. Olson handles the full range of matters that affect how families are structured, how children are raised, and how assets and obligations are divided when circumstances change. From initial filings through contested hearings and post-judgment modifications, the office provides the kind of personal attention that larger firms rarely offer. When you call, you speak with the attorney. When something happens in your case, you hear about it.
Family law in Florida carries layers of statutory detail and local court procedure that can make even straightforward-seeming situations complicated. Whether you are at the beginning of a dissolution proceeding or trying to enforce an order that the other party has ignored, the decisions made now will shape your family’s daily life for years to come. This is not the area of law to navigate without someone who has genuinely spent decades inside these courts.
The Full Scope of Family Law Matters This Office Handles
- Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage: Florida is a no-fault divorce state, meaning the filing spouse need only establish that the marriage has suffered an irretrievable breakdown. Even so, the process of resolving property division, support, and custody can be highly contested, and the choices made in settlement negotiations have long-term consequences that a skilled negotiator must anticipate.
- Child Custody and Parenting Plans: Florida courts decide custody based on the best interests of the child, weighing factors like each parent’s relationship with the child, stability of home environment, and ability to facilitate a relationship with the other parent. Every custody case in Florida must result in a detailed parenting plan, and disagreements over timesharing schedules are among the most litigated issues in Hillsborough County family courts.
- Child Support and Modification: Florida uses an income shares model to calculate child support, taking both parents’ incomes and the timesharing arrangement into account. Support orders can be modified when there is a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances, such as a significant income change or shift in parenting time.
- Alimony and Spousal Support: Following changes to Florida law in 2023, permanent alimony is no longer available. Courts may now award bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony, with the length and amount tied to factors including the length of the marriage, the standard of living established during it, and each spouse’s financial resources and earning capacity.
- High Net Worth Divorce and Asset Division: Florida follows equitable distribution, meaning marital assets and debts are divided fairly, though not always equally. Complex estates involving retirement accounts, real property, business interests, or investment portfolios require careful analysis to ensure proper classification and valuation.
- Paternity and Fathers’ Rights: Establishing paternity in Florida opens the door to legal rights regarding timesharing and decision-making for unmarried fathers. This office handles both the establishment of paternity and, when circumstances warrant, the disestablishment of paternity as well.
- Post-Judgment Modifications and Enforcement: Final judgments are not necessarily final. When a court order is no longer being followed, contempt proceedings are available. When life circumstances have genuinely changed, modification of custody, support, or alimony may be appropriate, though the legal bar for modification requires meeting specific legal thresholds.
- Adoption and Guardianship: The office handles stepparent adoptions, grandparent adoptions, and guardianship matters, helping families formalize the caregiving relationships that already exist in practice.
Why Families in South Tampa Choose Laura A. Olson
Laura A. Olson has practiced family law in Tampa for over 30 years, building a reputation that her peers in the legal profession have formally recognized. She holds an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer review rating that organization awards, reflecting high marks in both legal ability and professional ethics from attorneys who know her work. That kind of recognition does not come from volume; it comes from doing the work well over a long period of time.
Laura is a South Tampa native. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and her law degree from Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. She clerked for the Honorable Judge Dennis Alvarez, Chief Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit, and for the Honorable Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich of the U.S. District Court. That courtroom experience at the judicial level gives her a perspective on how judges evaluate evidence, weigh testimony, and make decisions that most attorneys simply do not have.
Clients who have worked with the office describe an attorney who keeps them informed at every stage, responds to calls and emails, and approaches even difficult circumstances with integrity. For a family law attorney serving Tampa, that matters as much as technical skill. These cases are personal. The process is stressful. Having an attorney who communicates consistently and treats clients as partners rather than files makes a real difference in how people experience the legal process.
The office is built around a small firm model intentionally. You will not be handed off to a paralegal and forgotten. Laura personally handles the cases she takes on, which also means she is selective about what she takes. The firm accepts cases where it believes it can genuinely serve a client’s needs and get results they will be satisfied with. That selectivity, combined with the dedicated divorce and family law representation that the office is known for, reflects a practice philosophy centered on quality over volume.
What the Florida Family Law Process Actually Looks Like
Understanding the procedural shape of a family law case helps clients make better decisions at each stage. Most family law proceedings in Hillsborough County begin with a petition filed in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, which handles all circuit court matters in Tampa, including domestic relations cases. The courthouse at 800 East Twiggs Street is where hearings, mediations scheduled through the court, and trials take place. Knowing that building, the judges who rotate through family court, and the local administrative practices is a genuine advantage for an attorney who has worked there for decades.
After a petition is filed and served, the other party typically has 20 days to respond. Both parties are required to provide mandatory financial disclosures, including financial affidavits and supporting documentation, usually within 45 days of service. These disclosures are not optional. Courts take them seriously, and failures to comply can affect how the court views a party’s credibility throughout the case.
Most cases in Florida are ordered to mediation before trial. Mediation gives the parties a chance to reach their own agreement with a neutral third party facilitating the process. Laura Olson has extensive experience with mediation as a tool, and clients benefit from having an attorney who understands when a proposed agreement protects their interests and when it does not. If mediation does not produce a resolution, the case proceeds to an evidentiary hearing or trial, where the judge hears evidence and makes final rulings.
One of the most common mistakes people make in Tampa family law cases is treating early informal agreements as binding. Florida courts will not enforce agreements that are not properly memorialized and incorporated into a court order, no matter how confident both parties seemed at the time. Getting everything in writing, through proper legal channels, is not formalism for its own sake. It is how you protect yourself when the other party later changes their mind. Another frequent error is waiting too long to seek modification of an existing order after circumstances have changed. The longer you wait, the more complex and expensive the process can become.
Questions Tampa Residents Commonly Ask About Florida Family Law
How does Florida decide what is a marital asset versus a separate asset?
Florida distinguishes between marital and non-marital assets for the purpose of equitable distribution. Generally, property acquired during the marriage with marital funds is marital property, subject to division. Property owned before the marriage, or received during the marriage as a gift or inheritance specifically to one spouse, is typically non-marital and remains with that spouse. The lines can blur when separate property is commingled with marital funds, which is why thorough financial documentation matters in any contested divorce.
Can a parent move out of state with the children without the other parent’s consent?
No. Florida law requires either the written agreement of all parties with parental responsibility or a court order authorizing the relocation if a parent intends to move with a minor child more than 50 miles from their principal residence for more than 60 days. Relocating without complying with this requirement can result in serious consequences, including contempt findings and changes to the custody arrangement. The burden is on the relocating parent to show that the move is in the child’s best interests.
What factors does a Florida court consider when determining alimony?
After the 2023 changes to Florida’s alimony statute, courts evaluate a number of factors including the length of the marriage, each spouse’s financial resources and earning capacity, the standard of living established during the marriage, contributions to the marriage including homemaking and child-rearing, and the physical and emotional conditions of each party. The duration of any alimony award under the current framework is capped based on the length of the marriage, with specific guidelines for short-term, moderate-term, and long-term marriages.
What is a parenting plan and what does it need to include?
Every Florida divorce or paternity case involving minor children must produce a parenting plan, which is a formal document that describes how both parents will share the responsibilities of raising their children. It must address daily timesharing, holiday and vacation schedules, how major decisions about education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities will be made, and how the parents will communicate with each other. Courts will not finalize a dissolution of marriage involving children without an approved parenting plan in place.
Is Florida a 50/50 custody state?
Florida law does not mandate equal timesharing in every case, but there is a statutory presumption that equal timesharing is in a child’s best interests unless specific factors suggest otherwise. Judges have discretion to award unequal timesharing when the evidence supports it, such as when one parent has a history of domestic violence, substance abuse, or inability to provide a stable environment. The starting assumption in most cases is that both parents will play meaningful roles in the child’s life.
Can I get a divorce in Florida if my spouse does not want one?
Yes. Florida does not require both spouses to agree to the divorce. One spouse filing a petition for dissolution based on an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage is sufficient to start the process. The other spouse can contest specific issues like property division or alimony, but they cannot prevent the divorce itself from moving forward simply by refusing to participate. A non-responding spouse may result in a default judgment.
How is child support calculated if parents have equal timesharing?
Florida’s child support guidelines incorporate a formula that accounts for both parents’ net incomes, the number of overnights each parent has with the children, and certain allowable deductions like health insurance premiums and daycare costs. Equal timesharing affects the calculation, but the parent with the higher income will typically still pay some amount of child support. The formula is mechanical in some ways, but deviation from the guideline amount is possible when the court finds a reasonable basis to depart from it.
What happens if the other parent refuses to follow the parenting plan?
When a parent violates a court-ordered parenting plan, the other parent can file a motion for contempt with the circuit court. Florida also has a specific statute addressing parenting plan violations that can result in makeup timesharing, payment of attorney’s fees, community service, or in serious cases, modification of the existing timesharing arrangement. Documenting each instance of non-compliance carefully, with dates, communications, and any witnesses, is important before filing.
How long does a contested family law case typically take in Hillsborough County?
The timeline varies considerably depending on the complexity of the issues, the parties’ ability to reach agreements, and the court’s docket. Uncontested matters can sometimes be finalized within a few months. Contested cases involving significant asset disputes, custody battles, or business valuations can take a year or more. The Hillsborough County family courts have procedural timelines that govern how quickly certain stages of the case must move, but litigation timelines are rarely predictable with precision.
Can my prenuptial agreement be challenged during divorce proceedings?
Yes. Florida law allows prenuptial agreements to be challenged on specific grounds, including that the agreement was not executed voluntarily, that it was the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or that one party did not receive a fair and reasonable disclosure of the other’s assets and debts before signing. Courts enforce prenuptial agreements that were entered into properly, but they scrutinize the circumstances surrounding the signing. The Law Office of Laura A. Olson handles both the enforcement and the challenge of prenuptial agreements.
Does domestic violence affect how a Florida family court divides assets or determines custody?
Yes, in meaningful ways. Evidence of domestic violence is one of the factors Florida courts consider in timesharing determinations. Courts may restrict or deny timesharing to a parent who has committed domestic violence against the other parent or the child, and they may require supervised visitation in some circumstances. On the financial side, evidence of domestic misconduct does not automatically change property division under Florida’s equitable distribution standard, but it may factor into alimony determinations in certain situations.
Family Law Representation Across Tampa and the Surrounding Bay Area
The Law Office of Laura A. Olson, P.A. serves clients throughout the Tampa Bay region from its location in downtown Tampa, just minutes from the Hillsborough County courthouse. The office works with families across South Tampa neighborhoods including Hyde Park, Palma Ceia, Ballast Point, and Bayshore Beautiful, as well as Davis Islands, Harbour Island, and the Channel District. Clients from the greater Tampa area come to the office from Westchase, Carrollwood, Temple Terrace, and New Tampa, along with communities in Brandon, Riverview, and Valrico to the east. The firm also serves families in Plant City, Apollo Beach, Sun City Center, and throughout the Hillsborough County communities along Interstate 75 and the Selmon Expressway corridor. For clients in the northern portions of the metro area, the office serves Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, and Wesley Chapel, as well as those coming from Seminole Heights, Ybor City, and the Westshore district. If you are located anywhere in Hillsborough County or the broader Tampa Bay area, the office’s location and flexible scheduling options, including weekday, evening, and weekend appointments by arrangement, make it accessible for most families navigating a Tampa family law proceeding.
Speak with a Tampa Family Law Attorney at Laura Olson’s Office
Family law decisions do not wait for a convenient moment. Whether you are at the very beginning of understanding your options or already deep into a proceeding that has become more complicated than expected, having a Tampa family law attorney with decades of Florida court experience in your corner changes what is possible. Laura A. Olson has spent over 30 years helping South Tampa families work through these situations with the seriousness and personal attention they deserve.
The office offers a 30-minute initial consultation by phone and a range of fee structures designed to fit different circumstances. Reach out to The Law Office of Laura A. Olson, P.A., to talk through your situation with a knowledgeable member of the team and get a clear sense of what your options actually are.
