Family law is the whole practice
Not a department. Not one desk among twenty. Every matter here is a marital and family law matter, and has been for thirty-five years. Choose a category to see how Shelley can help.
Ending a marriage well is a discipline. These practice areas cover every way a Florida divorce can run — cooperative to contested, civilian to military.
Divorce & Dissolution
Contested and uncontested dissolution of marriage, from filing through final judgment.
Learn more →Military Divorce
Service-connected divorces: SCRA protections, military retired pay, and benefit rules done correctly.
Learn more →Property Division
Equitable distribution of the home, retirement accounts, businesses, and debts under § 61.075.
Learn more →Florida builds parenting cases around parenting plans and time-sharing — the vocabulary is different from TV's "custody battle," and so is the goal: a schedule your children can actually live in. And when a family's shape changes — a stepparent stepping up, a grandparent stepping in — the law has doors for that too.
Custody, Timesharing & Parenting Plans
Parental responsibility, time-sharing schedules, and plans built around your children's real lives.
Learn more →Paternity
Establishing legal fatherhood — and the time-sharing and support rights that come with it.
Learn more →Stepparent Adoption
Making the parent who's already doing the job the legal parent — Florida's streamlined path for stepparents.
Learn more →Temporary Custody & Guardianship
Court-ordered authority for grandparents and relatives caring for a child — Chapter 751 temporary and concurrent custody.
Learn more →Support in Florida is more formula than argument — but the numbers that go into the formula are where cases are won and lost. Start with the estimator, finish with exact figures.
Child Support
Florida's income-shares guidelines, time-sharing adjustments, deviations, and enforcement.
Learn more →Alimony & Spousal Support
The four current forms of Florida alimony after the 2023 reform — and what each is actually for.
Learn more →Child Support Estimator
A guideline ballpark from the actual statutory schedule. Estimate only — not legal advice.
Try it →When safety is the issue, speed and precision both matter. Shelley represents petitioners seeking protection and respondents answering an injunction — both deserve counsel who knows the process cold.
The strongest family law is often preventive: agreements made clearly, fairly, and early — before anything is a dispute.
Describe it in plain words. That's enough.
Most family situations touch several of these areas at once — a divorce is also a property case, a parenting case, and a support case. You don't need to diagnose it before you call. Tell the office what's happening in ordinary language, and the consultation will sort the legal categories out.
Request a ConsultationBefore your consultation
Most consultations happen by phone or FaceTime — ten minutes of gathering documents doubles what that first session can accomplish.
See what to have available →Talk to Shelley before you decide anything
Thirty-five years of Polk County family law practice, rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell. Tell us a little about your situation and the office will reach out to schedule a confidential consultation.