How to File for Divorce in Florida

Ensure that either you or your spouse has been a resident of Florida for at least six months before filing. This is a mandatory requirement for the Florida courts to accept your divorce case. This requirement is proven with a Florida driver’s license or an Affidavit of Witness notarized by someone (a friend of family member) that qualifies and can provide a picture of his/her Florida driver license.

Florida operates under a “no-fault” divorce system, meaning you don’t need to prove wrongdoing by either party. The common ground cited is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.”​ Because of this the most important decision is to determine if the divorce is in mutual agreement or not. If it is you can skip getting your ex served divorce papers and even skip a final hearing. If it’s not in agreement then you must follow all of the following steps. If you do not know where your ex lives or works then you will need to do is do a divorce by publication. This type of divorce requires proof that you looked for your ex and a publication issued for 4 consecutive weeks.

A divorce in Florida requires more than just a petition. Documents must match the type of divorce you are filing and the supporting documents signed and notarized as well. If both parties are in agreement then the financial affidavit can be waived and the final hearing skipped as well.

99% of the courts in Florida (with the exception of Miami Dade) allows pro se litigants to file their divorce documents online through their eportal.

If your ex is getting served then you need to get the summons from the clerk and give it with the petition and supporting documents to a process server. Once your ex is served with the divorce documents he or she will have 20 calendar days to respond. Once the time is up, if an answer was not filed you can file default documents in order to have the court schedule a final hearing. If an answer was filed the next step will depend on what he/she filed, if he file he is in agreement you can request a final hearing, if your ex disputed your petition in any way the judge will send you both to mediation. After mediation if you both reached an agreement the mediator will file a report and then the judge assistant will schedule a final hearing. If an agreement was not reached then you will have to attend a trial.

If you both collaborate and are in agreement with EVERYTHING which includes the following:​
Property Division: Decide how to equitably split marital assets and debts.​
Alimony: Determine if spousal support is appropriate, including amount and duration.​
Child Custody and Support: Establish arrangements for parental responsibilities, living arrangements, and financial support for minor children.​
If everything is agreeable then a final hearing can be waived and you both can receive the final judgment in the mail in less than 6 weeks.