Divorce in Florida: Filing for Divorce in Florida
In Florida, only a court can dissolve your marriage. You must fulfill two requirements to file for divorce in Florida, otherwise a court cannot consider you petition for dissolution of marriage (the document that officially begins the divorce action).
The first requirement is that you must have resided in the State at least six (6) months before filing the divorce action.
The second requirement is that the respondent (the other spouse) must receive notice of the lawsuit after it has been filed, either by having been served a copy of the paperwork - known as "personal service" - or through any other method specifically approved by statute.
Personal service on the respondent is done through a sheriff or authorized process server. Personal service is mandatory when you know the whereabouts of your spouse, and there are penalties when one tries to evade complying with this requirement.
When the respondent receives "the divorce papers," he or she has twenty (20) calendar days (excluding holidays determined by the court) to file an answer with the court, which should (but need not) include a counter petition for divorce. A copy of the answer must be sent to the other party or his or her lawyer.
When you do not know the whereabouts of your spouse, the statutes provide a procedure to meet this requirement. A divorce using this notice process has certain limitations and will take longer to complete.
The rest of this information is directed only to the process of divorce when the requirement of service on the other spouse has been complied with. From that point, the divorce can proceed by mutual agreement (an uncontested divorce) or litigation (a contested divorce).
Uncontested and Contested Divorces
Uncontested divorces may take less time, sometime as little as three weeks; and tend to be less expensive than a contested divorce. It is worth noting that no attorney can represent both parties and that the mere fact that the parties are adversaries by definition creates an inherent conflict and prohibited by the rules governing lawyers. But the fact that each party has its own lawyer does not mean that theirs cannot be an uncontested divorce, and many divorces are concluded in this way without being as expensive as the public anticipates.
If your divorce is not uncontested, then it is a litigated divorce. Fortunately, there are many opportunities to turn a litigated divorce into an uncontested one as the action progresses through the system.
Litigated divorces tend to be lengthy and costly, with both sides receiving legal representation by their lawyers. Each party to a dispute has the right to require proof of claims made by the other party, to take sworn statements (depositions) from the other party or any witness or both, and so on. All this must be done according to rules of procedure and evidence, and each of these mini-processes costs money in terms of the time of the lawyers, cost of copies of documents, stenographers for depositions, etc.
Added to these factors is the high number of divorces filed annually as well as old actions that need modification of the final judgment, resulting in a slow process because the time available to the courts is limited.
Grounds for Divorce in Florida
The Florida statutes recognize only two grounds for divorce in Florida. One is irreconcilable differences between the couple and the other is the mental incapacity of one of the spouses.
The State of Florida is a "no-fault " divorce state. This means that, in Florida, there is no grounds for divorce because of abandonment, cruelty and adultery-which were historically the necessary legal grounds for dissolving a marriage. Nor is there a requirement that the respondent spouse consent or agree to the divorce. Simply the parties are unable to reconcile differences and one of you decides to legally terminate the marriage.
Benefits of Divorce
Because marriage is a legally recognized relationship, each spouse has rights and obligations arising from the marriage.
According to the facts of each case, the divorce decree (legally know as a final judgment of dissolution of marriage) makes clear the rights of each party as to sharing custody and child support, division of property and debts, the right to alimony by one or the other of the spouses and the right to contribution to the legal fees and court costs of either spouse.
Costs Associated with the Process of Divorce
In filing for divorce in Florida courts, the petitioner must pay the court a fee of $409 to open the case in court. This charge is independent of any fee paid to a lawyer. Additional costs include costs of translators, stenographers, etc. If the divorce papers are going to be served because it is a contested divorce, there is an additional $10.00 fee for the summons -the official notice to the other spouse that a divorce action has been filed. Recently, some counties have added an addition cost for filing a counter-petition.