Florida Statutes 61.56 – Definitions
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As used in this part, the term:
(1) “Collaborative attorney” means an attorney who represents a party in a collaborative law process.
(2) “Collaborative law communication” means an oral or written statement, including a statement made in a record, or nonverbal conduct that:
(a) Is made in the conduct of or in the course of participating in, continuing, or reconvening for a collaborative law process; and
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 61.56
- Collaborative attorney: means an attorney who represents a party in a collaborative law process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Collaborative law participation agreement: means an agreement between persons to participate in a collaborative law process. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Collaborative law process: means a process intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal and in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative attorneys. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Collaborative matter: means a dispute, a transaction, a claim, a problem, or an issue for resolution, including a dispute, a claim, or an issue in a proceeding which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and arises under chapter 61 or chapter 742, including, but not limited to:(a) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and marital property distribution. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the Department of Revenue. See Florida Statutes 61.046
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Parenting plan: means a document created to govern the relationship between the parents relating to decisions that must be made regarding the minor child and must contain a time-sharing schedule for the parents and child. See Florida Statutes 61.046
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Party: means a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Person: means an individual; a corporation; a business trust; an estate; a trust; a partnership; a limited liability company; an association; a joint venture; a public corporation; a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Proceeding: means a judicial, an administrative, an arbitral, or any other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Florida Statutes 61.56
- Sign: means , with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
(a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or(b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process. See Florida Statutes 61.56- Tribunal: means a court, an arbitrator, an administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity which, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party's interests in a matter. See Florida Statutes 61.56
(b) Occurs after the parties sign a collaborative law participation agreement and before the collaborative law process is concluded or terminated.(3) “Collaborative law participation agreement” means an agreement between persons to participate in a collaborative law process.(4) “Collaborative law process” means a process intended to resolve a collaborative matter without intervention by a tribunal and in which persons sign a collaborative law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative attorneys.(5) “Collaborative matter” means a dispute, a transaction, a claim, a problem, or an issue for resolution, including a dispute, a claim, or an issue in a proceeding which is described in a collaborative law participation agreement and arises under chapter 61 or chapter 742, including, but not limited to:(a) Marriage, divorce, dissolution, annulment, and marital property distribution.(b) Child custody, visitation, parenting plan, and parenting time.(c) Alimony, maintenance, and child support.(d) Parental relocation with a child.(e) Parentage and paternity.(f) Premarital, marital, and postmarital agreements.(6) “Law firm” means:(a) One or more attorneys who practice law in a partnership, professional corporation, sole proprietorship, limited liability company, or association; or(b) One or more attorneys employed in a legal services organization, the legal department of a corporation or other organization, or the legal department of a governmental entity, subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.(7) “Nonparty participant” means a person, other than a party and the party’s collaborative attorney, who participates in a collaborative law process.(8) “Party” means a person who signs a collaborative law participation agreement and whose consent is necessary to resolve a collaborative matter.(9) “Person” means an individual; a corporation; a business trust; an estate; a trust; a partnership; a limited liability company; an association; a joint venture; a public corporation; a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality; or any other legal or commercial entity.(10) “Proceeding” means a judicial, an administrative, an arbitral, or any other adjudicative process before a tribunal, including related prehearing and posthearing motions, conferences, and discovery.(11) “Prospective party” means a person who discusses with a prospective collaborative attorney the possibility of signing a collaborative law participation agreement.(12) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.(13) “Related to a collaborative matter” means involving the same parties, transaction or occurrence, nucleus of operative fact, dispute, claim, or issue as the collaborative matter.(14) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:(a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or(b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.(15) “Tribunal” means a court, an arbitrator, an administrative agency, or other body acting in an adjudicative capacity which, after presentation of evidence or legal argument, has jurisdiction to render a decision affecting a party’s interests in a matter.