Divorce & Dissolution
Dissolution of marriage is what Florida calls divorce. Whether yours is agreed on a Sunday afternoon or fought over eighteen months, the process is the same — and having someone who knows it well changes how it goes.
Florida is a no-fault state. Neither spouse has to prove the other did anything wrong; one of you simply has to state that the marriage is irretrievably broken. What the court still has to decide is everything that comes after: how property and debt are divided, whether either spouse pays alimony, and — if there are children — the parenting plan, the time-sharing schedule, and child support.
Uncontested dissolution
If you and your spouse agree on all of it, the case can move quickly and inexpensively. It is still worth having a lawyer draft and review the marital settlement agreement. An uncontested divorce that is documented badly becomes a contested modification two years later, and that costs far more than doing it properly the first time.
Contested dissolution
When you do not agree, the case runs on a longer track: mandatory financial disclosure, discovery, temporary relief hearings where somebody needs support or exclusive use of the home right now, court-ordered mediation, and — if mediation fails — trial. We handle each stage, and we tell you before each one what it costs and what it buys you.
What we will ask you for early
Florida's mandatory disclosure rule requires both spouses to exchange a defined set of financial documents: tax returns, pay stubs, bank and retirement statements, credit card statements, and a sworn financial affidavit. Gathering these early is the single most useful thing a client can do. Cases stall on missing paperwork far more often than they stall on disagreement.
Issues decided in a Florida dissolution
- Equitable distribution of marital assets and marital debts
- Alimony — bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational or permanent
- The parenting plan and time-sharing schedule
- Parental responsibility — who makes decisions about school, medicine and religion
- Child support, calculated on Florida's statutory guidelines
- Exclusive use of the marital home during and after the case
- Attorney's fees, where there is a disparity in income
- Restoration of a former name
Common questions
What is the residency requirement?
One spouse must have lived in Florida for at least six months before the petition is filed. Proof is usually a Florida driver's license, voter registration, or the testimony of a corroborating witness.
Is Florida a 50/50 state?
For marital property the starting point is an equal split, but the statute lists factors a judge can use to depart from it — the length of the marriage, each spouse's contribution, the intentional waste of marital assets, and others. Property that is genuinely non-marital is not divided at all.
Do I need to prove my spouse did something wrong?
No. Florida abolished fault-based divorce. Conduct can still matter to specific issues — dissipation of marital assets, or a parenting arrangement where a child's safety is in question — but it is not a ground for the divorce itself.
How much will it cost?
That depends almost entirely on how much you and your spouse disagree, not on how we bill. We give a written fee arrangement at the outset and flat fees where the work is predictable. Ask us at the consultation; we would rather have an awkward conversation about money on day one than a surprise on day ninety.
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Tell us what happened. We will tell you where you stand, what it is likely to cost, and what the next step is — before you commit to anything.