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Divorce in
Florida
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DIVORCE FORMS
A Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce) is
an action to terminate the contract of
marriage. Divorce in
Florida is
governed by the laws of the Florida
Statutes and the Family Law Rules of
Procedure.
In what is called a
final
judgment of dissolution, all property,
support and child-related issues
ordinarily will be determined. To obtain
that judgment a person must file a
petition to start a lawsuit, legally
serve (notice) his or her spouse,
provide and obtain financial information
to and from his or her spouse, if
children are involved, take a parenting
class, and either have an agreement
and/or parenting plan prepared and
brought to the court at an appropriately
noticed final hearing or have a trial
before a judicial officer at which
evidence will be taken to allow the
judicial officer to make decisions.
To obtain a divorce, at least one of the
parties must have been a resident of
this State for a minimum of 6 months
prior to filing for divorce, and there
must be a legally acceptable reason for
a divorce. There is no requirement that
“fault” of either party be alleged. For
almost all dissolutions in Florida, the
ground asserted is that the marriage is
“irretrievably broken.” This ground must
be alleged in the petition and requires
testimony to the effect that nothing can
be done to save the marriage. If
the responding party to the action
disagrees that the marriage is
irretrievably broken, the court may,
especially where children are involved,
order the parties to counseling,
continue the action to enable the
parties to reconcile, or take such other
actions as may be in the best interests
of the parties or the minor children of
the marriage. If there are concerns
about whether your marriage is
"irretrievably broken", you may want to
consult with a marriage counselor,
psychologist, psychiatrist, minister,
priest, rabbi, or other qualified
person.
While a divorce is pending, a trial
judge may enter temporary orders dealing
with support, possession or maintenance
of any individual asset, where the child
or children will live, the time the
child or children will spend with each
parent, and attorney's fees and costs.
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Call 407-370-9661
Gwen J. Cryer, Esq.
Bay Hill Village Office Center
6100 S. Apopka-Vineland Rd., Ste. 3
Orlando, FL 32819
Facsimile: 407-370-9480
E-mail:
gcryer@lawgrp.net |
