Greetings!
This is not the off-season for alimony reform! Much continues to happen every week. Last week FAR met with five different legislators. If additional meetings go as well as these, we can count on significant legislative support next year. We will need all the support we can get as we go up against the Florida Bar in bringing Florida's current alimony laws into the 21st century. We have read the chairman of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, David Manz's comments and understand he likes Florida's alimony laws "Just as they are."
The citizens of Florida do NOT like the laws as they currently are. Any reasonable person knows it is counterproductive to reward someone for not working and to penalize someone else for working. It's basic logic. Floridians believe that when a marriage ends there should be an opportunity for both people to move on with their lives without any financial strings still tying them together. That should be common sense in 2012.
Yes there are exceptions such as a disabled individual. Our laws must allow for these exceptional situations. But these should be the rare exceptions and not the judicial default. At some "reasonable" point in time, the financial ties must be cut. Dependency on alimony stunts a person's emotional growth. It's not healthy for our society.
We at FAR are talking face-to-face with our legislators, and will continue to educate them on the truth and consequences of Florida's current alimony laws. Please join us along with the Legislative Task Force and make your feelings known to your state Senators and state Representatives. An organized and educated group of constituents will demand their legislators' attention. Make a difference and get involved.
It's easy to let someone else do it. It's easy, but it's not very productive. And it's expensive. Help us help you. Get Involved!
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Women Affected By Alimony Needed NOW! 
Are you a woman paying alimony, or married to an alimony payer? Do you live in the Orlando, FL area or are willing to travel to Orlando?
We would like to arrange for you to be interviewed, LIVE, on camera, this coming Thursday, May 24th in the a.m. for a news segment regarding the negative effects of permanent alimony on the family.
You do not have to have an extreme story. If you are negatively impacted in any way, large or small, due to your own final judgment or that of your significant other, your story needs to be told. Don't worry about how you will do on camera. You will receive some training beforehand. If you get emotional because your situation is emotionally draining, don't worry about that either. Our legislators need to see what the current laws are doing to ordinary citizens.
THANK YOU!
Debbie Leff Israel
This is a wonderful opportunity to help the general public learn of the true consequences of Florida's current alimony law. No one can tell it like YOU! GET INVOLVED!
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Alimony Reform PAC
We have received some email concerning our need to form a PAC and have members contribute to it in order to help influence legislation that we need passed. The thought seems to be that we are trying to buy politicians' votes.
A political action committee (PAC) is any organization in the US that campaigns for or against political candidates, ballot initiatives or legislation. They have been in existence since 1971. There are almost 5,000 registered PAC's in this country. Companies large and small, unions, and special interest groups have PAC's.
PAC's are a way to let a politician know that we support their candidacy by "putting our money where our mouth is." It is one of many tools used to have influence in the complicated and competitive legislative landscape.
Candidates that we would support in this way would be ones that obviously believe in our cause. This is no different than individually going to a political fund raising event for a candidate you support by purchasing tickets to their event.
As you are well aware there are several special interest groups that oppose any form of alimony reform, most notably the Florida Bar. Many attorneys that belong to the BAR contribute individually to candidates.
We cannot outspend the Florida Bar nor is it our intent to do so. But by having a PAC it gives our organization a higher level of respect and equal footing with the groups that will be fighting us.
In today's political climate it is the right and positive thing to do. We hope you participate in this endeavor because if we are all not in this together, we lose.
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More Women Paying Alimony
According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, women are beginning to feel the effects of paying alimony. Click Here to read the AAML article.
HeadLIneNews also reported the story with Robyn Meade. Click Here to see HLN Morning Express
It should be obvious, with these reports, that we are no longer in 1950. Women have made huge social, educational, financial and career advances over the years. This is progress for our society.
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Billboards Going Up This Month
Two Billboards will be going up in the Tallahassee area on May 25th and will last for three months with the message:
DO NOT GET DIVORCED IN FLORIDA! Learn why at... DoNotGetDivorcedInFlorida.com This will bring people to a special website that will help educate our citizens to the reality of Florida's outdated alimony laws. Our goal is to expose the truth about Florida's alimony laws and the make them as fair as possible. As soon as the billboards are up, we'll post pictures of them. These two billboards are possible thanks to the association and collaboration with The Alliance for Alimony Reform. Thank You So Much! And Thank You to the Advertising Committee for continuing to find ways to promote our message: Do Not Get Divorced In Florida and learn why. These laws NEED Updating!
If we all keep focused on the goal of fair and meaningful alimony reform, we can ALL work together. These billboards are proof! If you have access to reasonably priced billboards and are willing to help sponsor one for a few months, please contact us. Thank You |
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EVENTS TO REMEMBER:
FAR STATEWIDE MEETING
WHEN; SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2012
WHERE: WMFE STUDIOS
115 EAST COLONIAL DRIVE
ORLANDO, FL 32817
- FAR will have its first Statewide Meeting on Saturday, July 28th at the WMFE Studios in Orlando. Rep. Workman will be there to help us with proper strategy for true alimony reform. Alan Frisher and others will be helping organize FAR members and friends for the months ahead. We will have much more information about the July FAR Meeting in future newsletters. For now, save the date and plan to attend. These meetings energize people, put faces to names you've heard, and help develop a camaraderie among alimony payers and those sympathetic to our cause.
- Please send FAR an email if you will be attending. It will help in planning and make this a Great Kickoff to the Alimony Reform we will help legislate in the 2013 Legislative Session.
NAPLES AND SW FLORIDA GROUP MEETING
WHEN: SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2012 at 12:00 NOON
WHERE: 1656 MEDICAL BOULEVARD
NAPLES, FL 34110
This will be an opportunity for those in SW Florida for an informal social get-together. This will also be an opportunity to meet FAR's core group. We're looking forward to it! Please send FAR an email if you will be attending. Thank You.
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Support the Legislators that Support FAR
If we are to be effective in Tallahassee, we have to build an organization that will be listened to. The Florida Bar knows about FAR and is concerned. The Truth about current alimony law will certainly cause change in these laws.
Please support those legislators that support True Alimony Reform. This is a good question to ask those legislators running for re-election. Know YOUR Senator and Representative. If we want change, we have to get political. It's a bi-partisan issue, but we need people in office who support True Alimony Reform. Please consider making a financial commitment to help End Lifetime Alimony and Start Life Again. Contribute Here |
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Forward this email to your friends, family, and co-workers NOW!!
They need an Alimony Education and we need a
BIG Alimony Army
Join the Florida Alimony Reform Movement |
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Social Media Power
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