How TalkingParents Helps a Florida Attorney with Family Law Cases
Family Law Attorney Manny Segarra is the Founder of Segarra & Associates, located in Miami and Orlando, Florida. He’s been a member of the Florida Bar since 2000 and previously worked with the Miami-Dade Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor, primarily in the domestic crimes unit. Segarra is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Law Mediator where he helps direct the mediation process neutrally to facilitate resolutions in contested cases.
- 3 min read
Court orders & stipulations
Manny Segarra initially found out about TalkingParents through his family law cases.
“It was one of the mechanisms by which parents were ordered to communicate when they don’t get along very well.”
In Segarra’s experience, if there’s an order requiring the use of TalkingParents, there are usually guidelines for communication as well.
“These guidelines typically pertain to how often you have to check TalkingParents and how long you have to respond to messages. In sporadic cases, there are also times that they require all telephone conversations to go through the platform.”
Segarra has incorporated the use of TalkingParents into an agreement between parties many times, but he says it’s especially key in cases involving domestic violence, restraining orders, injunctions, and criminal cases.
“This allows the parties to communicate in a way that won’t violate any orders or restrictions.”
Records & evidence
Segarra says he’s seen many family law cases resolved more quickly because there was a TalkingParents Record available.
“For example, one party might say they were never notified of what school the child was going to attend, or a medical appointment, or a reimbursement. Well, then, you just look at the PDF from the TalkingParents app and you can see whether those conversations occurred and when. I’ve seen that happen numerous times, which helps save quite a bit of back-and-forth in court.”
Segarra has primarily used TalkingParents’ Records as evidence for family law cases involving a motion for contempt or enforcement.
“Usually, either reimbursements weren’t made, timesharing was not complied with, or one parent is accusing the other of not involving them in important parental decisions.”
Though Segarra has seen opposing counsel object to the use of a TalkingParents Record as evidence before, he says it’s never been successful.
“What happens is that TalkingParents Records can’t be considered hearsay because the other party is making an admission. There’s an evidentiary rule called admission by a party opponent, which comes into play with divorce or family law cases where there are two different parties. It’s extremely hard to object in cases like this.”
Segarra says TalkingParents’ Records have made his job as an attorney easier.
“There’s a Record of any interaction between the parties, and that Record is made in such a way that allows for easy introduction for evidentiary purposes. It’s also extremely helpful from the client’s point of view. In cases where there’s controversy or question as to how a parent is behaving, you have that record there, and I think that keeps everybody a little more honest about what actually happened.”
Advice
Segarra says attorneys always need to read through the Record in its entirety.
“Don’t just cherry pick the parts that benefit your case. It’s important to read through the whole transcript or log so you have the full picture.”
Segarra also recommends that attorneys lean on the information provided by TalkingParents.
“TalkingParents has so many resources on their website and lots of different ideas on how to create or draft orders for these kinds of cases. Their team is also very responsive and open to feedback, so I highly encourage communicating with them about anything you’re encountering with the app or in court.”