Summer Nichols

Summer R. Nichols is an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Florida. Mrs. Nichols received her Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in English from Florida State University. Her outstanding achievements at Florida State won her the Florida Governor’s Scholarship to attend Florida Coastal School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor Degree. Mrs. Nichols gained a wealth of experience while volunteering her services at Three Rivers Legal Aid in Jacksonville, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, and the Family and Child Advocacy Clinic during her second and third years of law school. While in the Clinic, Mrs. Nichols handled many cases, including dissolutions of marriage, child custody, and termination of parental rights. Upon becoming a member of the Florida Bar, Mrs. Nichols began her professional practice under senior attorney John C. Kenny at the Law Offices of John C. Kenny. While there, she continued to focus on family law matters. Within one month of her arrival, Mrs. Nichols won her first appeal before the First District Court of Appeals and continued to consistently secure favorable outcomes for her clients. In January, 2010, Mrs. Nichols opened the Law Office of Summer R. Nichols, LLC. Making the decision to hire a lawyer is a both a personal and professional one. Professionally, the attorney needs to be skilled in the particular area which you need representation. Family law is unique from any other type of practice and requires individuals who can excel in this particular area. Personally, you must feel comfortable working with the attorney you choose. As a little girl, Mrs. Nichols would assist her parents in their family business. As a result, the experience taught her the value of putting clients’ needs first and exceeding client expectations. The people she meets with in her office every day are going through some of the most difficult and emotional times of their lives, and she understands how important it is for them to feel comfortable with her and place their trust in her skills.

Are you thinking of relocating with your minor child? As discussed in a previous blog on this topic, Florida’s relocations statute (Section 61.13001) has many important requirements that must be fulfilled before a parent will be permitted to relocated more than 50 miles away with a minor child. However, it is important to remember that…

Are you a parent who has chosen to go back to school and not work — after having children and having court ordered child support in place? Be careful with expecting an automatic reduction in child support due to your new “student” status, as the Court may still inpute income to you as if youwere…

InGreen v. Green, Fla. 4th DCA (June 6, 2012), the Former Wife withdrew $30,000.00 from the parties’ joint savings account just prior to the Former Husband filing for divorce. The Court found this was not dissipation of marital assets because there was no finding of misconduct by the Wife. The Wife had used those funds…

ou may not have known that there are certain situations in which Grandparents CAN have court ordered rights to see their grandchildren, even over a parent’s objection. For instance, if a parent is employed by the U.S. Military and receives military orders, such as deployment, which will make it impossible for that parent to exercise…

An administrative child support action is different from a circuit court child support action. An administrative child support action is based on your paternity having already been established by the appearance of your name on a child’s birth certificate, even if you were never married to the mother or have ever had a court order…

During a divorce or paternity action, many parents agree to share any medical costs for their child 50/50. However, if you earn less money than the other parent, you do NOT have to agree to that. Unless you do, the Court must order you and the other parent to share those expenses at a rate…

I have a pending Florida child support caseinvolving Egyptian parties who were previously divorced inEgypt and the Husband (who resides in Florida) has never paida dime of child support for theparties’ minor child, who lives solely with the mother (in Egypt).As it turns out, the parties Egyptian divorcedecree makes no provision, noreven a mention of,…

Even if the author of a DCF (Department of Children & Families) report is available to testify, the hearsay within the report which is testified to must have a hearsay exception of its own, otherwise the report will be inadmissible.Davis v. Davis, Fla. 5th DCA Case No. 5D11-1534, January 2013,citingReichenberg v. Davis, 846 So. 2d…

When including a provision in a settlement agreement or court order that one or both spouses must maintan life insurance policies to cover child support in the event of that parent’s untimely death, it is the children, not the parents, who must be named as the beneficiaries. It is irreversible error for a court to…

When a party requesting an award of attorney’s fees is found by the court to be voulntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court can deny the request of fees, even when there is a large disparity in income between the parties.SeeSpenceley v. Spenceley, 746 So. 2d 505, 506-07 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). A court may look…