If you’re looking to get a divore in the state of Florida, the below information is for you.
Divorce laws differ for every state. So you want to be sure you understand the rules and regulations governing divorce before you file. Because if you don’t follow the process, you can end up causing more headaches for yourself than necessary.
Now, let us say you are living in Florida, and you decided that you want to divorce your spouse. How will you do it? What is the process of filing a divorce in Florida?
In this article, we will give you an overview of how to file for divorce in Florida. Even with this information, we highly recommend you find a good divorce attorney to help you out. This can be a very emotional and complicated process and a divorce attorney can guide you through it.
With that said, let’s get to the overview.
How To File For Divorce in Florida
For starters, to file for a divorce in Florida, you or your spouse need to meet the minimum residency requirement. The minimum residency requirement in Florida is at least 6 months. So you have to have lived in the state for at least that long to get a divorce there.
In addition to that, you will also need to file for the divorce in the county you live in.
Now let us say you meet that requirement, what is next?
Prepare Divorce Forms
To file for a divorce, you need to first prepare Florida divorce forms. You first need to complete a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” as well as “Summons.”
You will also complete different types of forms if you and your spouse have children.
Filing Your Forms
Your “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” has to be notarized before filing with the court. You will have to wait to sign your paperwork until you can sign in front of a notary.
The next step is to give your signed and notarized “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” to the clerk’s office in your local county. At the same time, you will have to pay your filing fee for a dissolution of marriage.
Serving Your Forms
The next step is to serve your spouse with the forms. There are a couple of ways to serve your spouse the divorce forms. You can do it through:
- Your or your spouse’s attorney
- Local sheriff
- A non-party over the age of 18 years old
You can ask your court clerk about alternative service if:
- You cannot locate your spouse
- Your Spouse is in the military
- Your Spouse is in jail
Financial disclosure
In Florida, you will also need to complete a financial affidavit. It must be done within 45 days.
You will also need supporting financial documentation. These documents include income, assets, debts, tax returns, bank statements, credit card statements, personal financial statements, and any other documents about financial information that your spouse or the court should know before the divorce.
There you have it! The step-by-step overview on how you can file for a divorce in the state of Florida. We hope that this helped you gain some insight on what to do first, who to contact, where to go, and what to prepare.
An Overview of The Process
To get an more general overview of this process, check out our general article on How To File For Divorce.