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DIVORCE IN FLORIDA

GENERAL

The official word for divorce in Florida is "dissolution. Florida is one of the many states that has abolished fault as a ground for divorce. This law lessens the potential harm to the husband and wife and their children caused by the process of divorce. All that is required is that the marriage be "irretrievably broken." Either spouse can file for the dissolution of marriage. All that has to be proved is that the marriage is broken. (There is another, little-used ground: incompetence of one's spouse). Fault, however, may be considered under certain circumstances in the award of alimony, and determination of custody issues.
 

Each divorce case is unique and therefore settlements vary. Even though fault is not an issue, the division of the marital assets may become a contested matter. To obtain dissolution of marriage in Florida, at least one spouse must have been a Florida resident for six months or more before the case is filed. There are two ways of getting a divorce, or dissolution, in Florida. The usual way is called a "Regular Dissolution of Marriage". The second method is the "Simplified Dissolution of Marriage".
 

REGULAR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE

The regular dissolution process begins with a petition for dissolution of marriage, filed with the circuit court by the husband or wife, which states that the marriage is irretrievably broken and sets out what the person wants from the court. The other partner must file an Answer within 20 days maximum, which includes the matters within the initial petition on which the parties agree or disagree as well as any issues the answering party wishes to raise. Some couples agree on property settlements, child custody and other post-divorce arrangements before or soon after the original petition is filed. They then enter into a written agreement signed by both parties. In such an uncontested case, a divorce can become final in a matter of a few weeks.


Other couples disagree on some issues, work out their differences, and appear for a final hearing with a suggested settlement which is accepted by the judge.

Mediation is a procedure to assist you and your spouse in working out an arrangement for reaching agreement without a protracted process. Its purpose Is not to save a marriage, but to help divorcing couples in reaching a solution to their problems and arriving at agreeable terms for handling their dissolution. Many counties have mediation procedures available. Some are mandatory.

Finally, some couples cannot agree on much of anything and a trial--with each side presenting its case—is required. The judge makes the final decision on contested issues.

The equitable dissolution process is designed to make the divorce as fair as possible to both husband and wife, which usually means negotiation--and compromise--by both partners.

Attorneys have learned it is unrealistic to expect both partners to be "happy" with their divorce. The experience can be emotionally devastating. The financial upheaval of supporting two households instead of one causes hardship for the entire family.

SIMPLIFIED DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE:  Certain Florida couples are eligible to dissolve their marriage by way of a simplified procedure. These dissolutions are "do-it-yourself" and were designed so the services of an attorney may not be necessary. Husband and wife are responsible, however, for filing all necessary documents correctly, and husband and wife are required to appear before a judge together when the final dissolution is granted. The simplified dissolution of marriage process is designed for couples with no dependent children and no disputed property. Therefore, not everyone can qualify. A husband and wife can use the simplified dissolution of marriage only if:

Couples wanting to use the simplified process must meet all these conditions.

There are substantial differences between a simplified and a regular dissolution of marriage. In a regular dissolution each spouse has the right to examine and cross-examine the other as a witness, and to obtain documents concerning the other's income, expenses, assets and liabilities before having a trial or settlement of the case. With a simplified dissolution, financial information may be requested but it is not required to be given. In a simplified dissolution there is no trial and no appeal. Also, with a simplified dissolution neither the husband nor the wife can receive support from the other.

UNCONTESTED DIVORCE: If you do not qualify for the SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE, you and your spouse must file for an uncontested divorce if you and your spouse agree on the following points;

1 That you want a divorce

2 How your property will be divided

3 How your debts will be divided , and

4 Whether any alimony is to be paid, and if so , how much and for how long a period of time

If you have any minor children, you will also need to be in agreement on the following:

Florida statutes and case law provides for an "equitable distribution" of marital property. In essence, the marital property should be divided fairly or equitably (not necessarily equally) between the parties regardless of how the title is held. The division is based upon all facts of the case and the contribution of both spouses to the marriage.

The division of marital property (any asset acquired during the marriage by the efforts of one or both parties) is considered in conjunction with all other awards of alimony and interests in property.

There is no fixed way to determine how you or the court should divide the property. Liabilities as well as assets must be considered. Other factors include the nature and extent of the property and whether it is marital property or non-marital property; the duration of the marriage; the economic circumstances of each spouse. If you and your spouse can agree, and if your agreement is reasonable, it will be approved by the court. If you cannot agree, the court will divide the property after a trial.
 

ALIMONY: The court may grant alimony to either the husband or the wife. Rehabilitative alimony may be for a limited period of time to assist in redeveloping skills and financial independence or permanent alimony until the receiving spouse's remarriage or the death of either party or the Court may grant some combination of the two. Also the court may order through lump-sum alimony one party to pay the other party a lump-sum payment of money or property. Although adultery does not bar an award of alimony, the court may consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances of that adultery in determining the amount of alimony to be awarded.

In awarding alimony, the court considers all relevant economic factors, such as: the parties' prior standard of living; length of the marriage; age and physical and emotional condition of both spouses; each spouse's financial resources and income-producing capacity of the assets they receive; the time necessary to acquire sufficient educational training to find appropriate employment; and the services rendered in home making, child rearing, and education and career building of the other spouse. The court may consider any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the husband and wife.

You have the right to find out about all your spouse's income and assets through the use of discovery procedures which your attorney will explain to you.


TAXES AND DEBTS: There are very important tax considerations to be aware of in any divorce, including the dependency deduction for children, taxability of child support and alimony in their various forms and property transfers. It is important to find out how these laws affect you before you get divorced. Afterwards, it may be too late to correct mistakes that have been made. Often this may require the services of an accountant in conjunction with your attorney.

Any debts that the husband and wife may have should also be resolved at the time of the divorce. The question of who should pay mortgage payments, income tax liabilities, credit card debts, personal loans, car payments, etc., should not be overlooked.
 

SHARED PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN

Custody and Visitation

It is the public policy of Florida to assure each minor child frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents have separated or divorced, and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities of child rearing. The father is given the same consideration as the mother in determining custody regardless of their child's age, sex or other factors.


In most cases, parental responsibility for a minor child will be shared by both parents so that each retains full parental rights and responsibilities with respect to their child. This requires both parents to confer so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly.
 

You and your spouse may agree, or the court may order, that one parent have the ultimate responsibility over specific aspects of the child's welfare, such as education, religion and removal from the area, medical and dental needs. If the parents have a substantial conflict over any of these areas the court will decide for them. The court will also designate one parent's home as the primary residence of the child. The other parent is usually entitled to frequent and continuing contact with the child.

In rare cases, the court can order total parental responsibility and custody to one parent. To do so, the court must determine that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child.


The court may award to the child's grandparents certain visitation rights if it is deemed by the court to be in the child's best interest. Thereafter, the grandparents have the right to seek judicial enforcement of the visitation rights. The court may award grandparents visitation rights after the parent’s divorce, when it is in the best interest of the grandchild or when one or both parents of the child are deceased; or, when a parent of the child has deserted the child.

In considering issues between parents and their children, the best interest of the child is the primary consideration by the courts.

SUPPORT: You and your spouse each have a responsibility to support your children in accordance with their needs and your financial abilities. Support may be by direct payment or by indirect benefits, such as mortgage payments, insurance, or medical and dental expenses. Ordinarily, the obligation to support your child ends when that child reaches 18, marries, or becomes financially independent.

Some of the issues concerning child support which must be considered include: (a) the amount of support; (b) the method of payment; (c) ways to assure payments are made; (d) when child support may be increased or decreased; and (e) who gets the dependency deduction for tax purposes. Other questions may need to be answered, depending on the circumstances of your case. Guidelines for support which apply to many cases have been adopted by the state and will soon be mandatory.

If you have a problem getting support payments from your spouse or former spouse, or visitation and access to your child is denied, you should bring this matter to the attention of the court. It is not proper to withhold visitation or child support payments because of any alleged wrongdoing by your spouse or former spouse.


APPEALS: After a regular dissolution of marriage, if you feel the judge's decision was incorrect, you may appeal that decision, provided that certain procedural steps are taken. An appellate court does not, however, frequently reverse a trial judge's decision because the judge has broad discretion in divorce cases. Just because you do not like the judge's decision is not a reason for an appeal. If the trial judge makes an error of law, or has abused his discretion, the decision may be reversed.

When we prepare your divorce petition,, your divorce will be filed based on the grounds that the marriage is irretrievably broken. - From 61.052 of the Florida Statutes.
 

To meet the laws in Florida for residency requirements:  At least one party must have lived in the state of Florida for at least six months before filing the divorce papers. To prove your residence, you must have one of the following:

a. A valid Florida license, Florida ID, or Florida voter registration card;

b. An affidavit of corroborating witness; or

c. Testimony from someone who will say that you have lived in Florida for at least 6 months. -Form 12.902(i)


Only the Petitioner must appear in court for the final divorce hearing. Your spouse must be willing to sign an Answer and Waiver, which means he or she doesn't have to attend the final hearing, but will still receive a copy of the Final Judgment for divorce.

After you file for divorce in Florida, laws require you to wait 20 days before a final judgment can be entered, unless the court shows that an injustice would occur by the waiting period.

-From 61.19 of the Florida Statutes. [This information is current as of 10/2008.]
 

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If you are interested in our service, please click here. As soon as we receive your payment, we will send you a questionnaire that is going to help us to prepare your forms. You will receive all your forms via Priority Mail with delivery confirmation. We will forward your divorce forms to the Broward County Clerk of Court to initiate your divorce.