I don’t have enough time to hire an attorney before the Shelter Hearing. What should I do?
You can come to the shelter hearing and advise the court of that. You can tell them that you would like to continue the shelter hearing. Typically, the court would allow that for at least 24 hours to give you a little bit more time to retain or consult with an attorney. Obviously, not in […]
I’m divorcing my spouse and they are an unfit parent. What are my options?
Within the petition for dissolution of marriage, you can make the court aware of what your safety concerns are for the child and ask the court to order a supervised parenting plan or a safety-focused parenting plan, where the court might impose tasks such as drug testing or counseling or have supervised visits with that […]
If I am a convicted felon can my wife who is not a convicted felon lawfully own a firearm?
Under Florida law, obviously convicted felons are not permitted to own fire arms or posses fire arms. Now in some circumstances, a person who’s a convicted felon might be married to one that is not a convicted felon. Now if the wife would like to own a firearm and her husband is a convicted felon, […]
If I mediate do I still need an attorney? Should I or may I bring an attorney to mediation?
While many people attend mediation and are representing themselves and don’t bring an attorney, that is absolutely something that you are able to do. I would always recommend hiring an attorney or bringing an attorney to mediation. The mediator’s role is very limited, and they can’t advise you on law. They can’t advise you as […]
If you cannot agree at mediation what happens?
If you’re unable to reach an agreement at all at mediation, the mediator at the conclusion of that files a report that would say no agreement. If you’re able to reach an agreement, they can file a report that would say they’ve reached an agreement. If you’re able to reach an agreement as to some […]
Is mediation legally binding?
At the conclusion of mediation, you may get an agreement, and that agreement can be enforceable if it’s executed by both parties. Once it becomes incorporated into a final order by the judge, it’s absolutely legally binding in the sense that the judge has ordered the parties to comply with the agreement that they’ve reached, […]
Is mediation workable when one of the parties or parents resides outside the State of Florida?
Absolutely. A party who’s not physically present within the state can appear by telephone or by satellite. Typically, it would need to involve either the agreement of the parties or an order by the court allowing that to happen but it’s absolutely workable with technology such as Skype, FaceTime, any of these other video messaging […]
Should I agree to a plea bargain?
That can be tricky. Any time that you enter a plea, typically you waive your right to appeal any issue that the judge or court has decided on, so if there was a motion to suppress that got denied, you’re waiving your right to appeal if you entered that plea. However, a lot of times, […]
Welcome from Rick Albritton
My name is Rick Albritton. I’m owner and founder of the Albritton law firm, in Panama City, Florida. I specialize in many different areas of the law including criminal defense and family law, elder law, including probate and wills and trusts. We tend to be a full service law firm for the area. We’re located […]
What are my rights at a Shelter Hearing?
Your rights at a shelter hearing and in a dependency case are in some ways very similar to the rights that you have in a criminal case. You do have the right to representation by an attorney, if you choose. You also have the right to call witnesses to testify for you at that shelter […]