When You Don’t Know Where Is Your Spouse and have minor children then you need to file a Divorce with Children by Publication.
If you have minor children and do not know the location of your spouse or he/she is in a different country. You will need to prove you cannot find your spouse and have a Notice of Action ran in a local newspaper for 30 days
How to Get a Divorce in Florida For Parents With Children When One Parent Is Missing
If you do not know where your spouse is then you can get a divorce by publication. If there are minor children the court requires an extensive search for your spouse as well as a Notice of Action to be published in a local courthouse for 30 days prior to getting a final hearing scheduled.
Get StartedWhat is a divorce by publication?
A divorce by publication means that you do not know where your spouse works or lives. Perhaps he/she left to another state or got deported. This process is available instead of getting your spouse served with a summons by a sheriff or private process server.
Regardless of where the marriage took place, if you live in Florida with the children you can file for this type of divorce as long as you have lived here for the last 6 months.
This process leaves the petitioner with the full responsibility with the children and no financial decisions made. In other words, alimony and child support will not be addressed in the divorce.
What are the steps for getting a divorce by publication?
There are a series of steps you will need to take and each step involves filing a petition, getting the documents you will need and making a final hearing to divorce.
Step 1. Documents need to be drafted and signed in front of a notary.
Step 2. A search must be done in order to prove to the judge your spouse cannot be found. Once the documents are are signed in front of a notary they can be filed. At this point the court will issue a Notice of Action and have it run in a local newspaper for 30 consecutive days.
Step 3. Once the publication expires then default paperwork is filed and the court will schedule a final hearing.
How long does it take to get divorced?
This depends on the court. In some counties it will take around 3 – 6 months on average.
Divorce QuoteWhat are the Costs?
- The court filing fee is $408 which can be waived if you are low income
- The publication fee will vary based on the county however if you qualify to get the court filing fee waived then the pubication fee will be waived as well
- There is a parenting class that you must take. This is a 4 hour class that can be taken online or in person.
In Conclusion
A divorce by publication is the process used when the location of the other spouse is not known. It takes around 3-6 months to be finalized and it takes several steps to get it done. No financial decisions will be addressed and the petitioner will most likely gain full parental responsability for the children.
Important Notice: We are NOT attorneys, and we cannot and will not, at any time, give legal advice.
