Florida Divorce Laws

Every newly married couple thinks that their union is strong enough to endure any obstacles and will last forever. However, that’s not always true. And although the exact circumstances may vary from one couple to another, in most cases, you’ll face many legal and financial difficulties if you want to split up with your spouse.

To make things significantly easier for both you and your spouse, it’s worth learning more about how to end one’s marriage easily and quickly. Luckily, if you reside in Florida, it is possible to terminate your marital union without too much stress and within a short period of time.

All you must do is to learn more about the state of Florida divorce laws and make sure you follow them precisely. To get through the process easily, simply ensure you follow the rules, the paperwork contains no errors and all the steps to getting a divorce in Florida are completed correctly.

In addition, when you split up with your spouse in this state, you don’t need the help of a lawyer. In reality, you can save a fortune if you avoid using the legal advice of attorneys.

To achieve this and invest minimal effort in the whole procedure, you should learn about contested and uncontested divorce. According to FL divorce laws, you have a right to divorce online as long as you are eligible for this type of dissolution. This method won’t cost as much as the usual divorce process and you’ll save yourself the trouble of attending endless hearings in court or facing other difficulties.

But to make sure it’s possible in your situation, you have to meet a number of Florida divorce requirements. Among them are residency demands. They include:

• One of the spouses has to be a permanent resident of the state for a period of at least six months.
• The prepared documents must be filed with the court located in the county where the filing party lives.

If you meet these and other divorce requirements in Florida, it is possible to move ahead quickly and complete the remaining phases. Among other things, you will have to inform your spouse that you’re filing the petition for divorce. Meanwhile, your spouse will have a restricted period of time to give a response to the complaint.

If your breakup is uncontested, one of the most important rules you’ll have to remember is to reach an agreement with your spouse about all the points related to the expected case. Florida divorce law requires spouses to resolve all the disputable issues in a peaceful way in order to divorce quickly and easily . Simplified divorce is only possible if:

• Both spouses agree that their marital union has fallen apart and cannot be maintained any longer.
• There are no dependent kids in the family.
• Both partners have reached a compromise regarding the distribution of personal items, alimony, child support, and procedures related to visitation and childcare.
• Neither of you wishes to go to trial to resolve disagreements with the help of a judge.
• Both spouses have signed the petition and are willing to be present at the final hearing.

If all these issues are resolved, divorce laws for Florida does not require you to attend multiple trials or face other obstacles on your way to divorce. However, before the procedure becomes final, you will need to ensure that all the debatable issues will not prevent you from getting a simple divorce without lawyers.

Divorce laws in Florida in greater detail

While divorcing in Florida, you’ll have to divide all shared valuables, common assets, and financial debts. All these things include the property and financial resources belonging to both spouses. The final verdict on this matter will depend on many factors. As a rule, however, the given state accepts the “equitable distribution” of shared possessions. But this doesn’t mean that the judge will split the possessions equally.

As stated in divorce law in Florida, the following points must be taken into consideration when the judge makes a decision about the distribution of your personal belongings:

• The contribution made by both spouses to the purchase of possessions throughout the marriage
• The financial circumstances and earning capabilities of each spouse
• The total marriage length
• The extent to which one of the spouses has helped the other to excel professionally or educationally
• The desire of either partner to get a particular item for business-related purposes, etc.

The evaluation of these and other points will help to make a well-informed and sound decision about how your shared possessions will be divided. Nevertheless, if it’s an online divorce, the process will be a bit simpler and the question of property distribution is resolved by the spouses without external help.

As for the divorce in Florida laws on spousal or child support, a few important factors are to be considered before resolving these issues, and you might also need to meet certain requirements. Regarding child support, it’s possible to solve this problem peacefully if you are on good terms with your spouse. If not, the court will consider the following issues when determining the amount and length of child support:

• Estimated costs
• Parental earning capability and one’s opportunity to pay alimony
• The demands and needs of the dependent children
• The number of kids in the family that require support, etc.

Thus, according to divorce law for Florida, unless you can resolve all the conflicting matters calmly together with your spouse, it’s likely that you’ll face some difficulties and all the above issues will have to be investigated by the court. For example, spousal support will be calculated according to your specific circumstances, which may even include the infidelity or wrongful behavior of the spouses.

Another important aspect is that FL divorce law changes in relation to alimony are also possible. In fact, it is suggested that child and spousal support rules are likely to be updated based on such factors as the length of the marriage and other considerations. Spousal support can be assigned either permanently or for a short term, and there are many other things to consider when asking for alimony. Regardless of your particular circumstances, various questions will have to be resolved before the court issues a final judgment.

How to begin the Florida divorce process

Any divorce may seem to be a real challenge for both spouses where the spouses have to defend their rights in front of a judge or argue with one another. However, divorce in FL may not necessarily be too hard or overwhelming if both partners agree on all the terms of your future case.

In Florida you can opt for a simplified divorce and your case may be finalized in about 30 days. Nevertheless, in this situation, the divorce process for Florida requires you to follow certain rules. The most important ones include making sure you have good enough reasons for dissolving your marriage and preparing the relevant paperwork correctly.

Fortunately, if your situation allows you to apply for an uncontested case, you won’t face too many difficulties when completing the documents. The online divorce procedure in Florida allows you to obtain your documents quickly and easily without wasting time or effort. And this process also means that you won’t have to hire a lawyer, saving you considerable amounts of money.

What are the grounds for divorce in Florida?

When you want to split up with your spouse in this state, you must follow certain rules and have confirmed grounds for the future breakdown of your relationship. In this regard, FL is often called a no-fault state because it accepts faultless grounds for divorce. Here you won’t have to blame your spouse for anything. Divorce rules in Florida state that there are just two valid faultless reasons for dissolving a marital union:

• Your relationship is completely ruined and you can’t carry on with your union any longer.
• One of the partners has an incurable mental illness with no possibility of recovery.

What the divorce process in Florida usually includes

There are various things you must remember when you wish to divorce as quickly as possible. If that’s your goal, you should first make sure that you know the actual divorce procedure in FL. After you confirm that you satisfy all the demands and can qualify for an online divorce, you can apply for the case in the courthouse.

The divorce in Florida process is initiated after one of the spouses provides the petition to the court. Here the person who is filing is referred to as the petitioner while their spouse is the respondent. After filing the petition, the petitioner provides copies of the documents to his/her spouse. This is referred to as serving the papers to the spouse before initiating the breakup.

You must ensure that the steps to divorce in Florida are followed accurately and flawlessly. Thus, before the process is launched by the court, the respondent must file their answer to the petition that should be legally approved and signed. The situation becomes more complicated if your spouse refuses to accept the documents. Under these circumstances, the copies may be served to the partner through the help of the sheriff in the region where your spouse lives.

There are other divorce steps in Florida that you must complete. For example, although an uncontested divorce doesn’t require you to go through multiple hearings, you might need to attend a final trial with your spouse before the case gets approved and becomes valid. At the final hearing, the court grants the verdict regarding your situation and the Decree for Divorce is signed. Then the state of Florida divorce process will come to an end and nothing else will be required.

You must ensure that your paperwork is in order and contains no flaws or mistakes. This will allow you to go through the procedure smoothly and without stress and it will also make the whole process much quicker and easier for you and your spouse.

Key facts about Florida divorce rules

As you can see, there are many requirements that you must abide by if you want to divorce as fast as possible and without spending too much money. The demands for the marriage dissolution include:

• Meeting the residency demands and having verified grounds for the breakup
• Checking if you have a right to choose a simplified procedure instead of a standard one
• Making sure that the paperwork is done correctly and contains no errors
• Submitting the documentation to the appropriate court situated in the right county
• Making sure that both partners agree to the conditions of the planned breakup case, etc.

Although the divorce rights in Florida permit spouses to opt for the simplified dissolution and carry out the procedure online, there still may be certain applicable legal demands and rules. In addition, all couples who want to get an uncontested divorce must follow these rules for divorce in Florida:

• The family must have no dependent kids below 18 years of age
• The wife mustn’t be pregnant
• The case should involve no alimony or other complications
• The spouses must meet the residency demands, reach a mutual agreement and confirm the fact that their marital union cannot be restored.

If these and other rules are met, the uncontested divorce proceedings in Florida won’t involve multiple trials, verifying the guilt of your spouse, or giving testimony regarding other aspects related to your breakup. More importantly, if you meet the necessary requirements, you’ll save yourself the trouble of paying sky-rocketing fees for additional services because there will be no unwanted costs.

States divorce law