Florida Divorce Law Residency Requirements for Divorce in Florida

One of the spouses must have been a resident for 6 months prior to filing for dissolution of marriage. The dissolution of marriage should be filed in either: (1) the county where the defendant resides or (2) the county where the spouses last lived together prior to separating.
[Florida Case Law and Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.021].

Legal Grounds for Divorce in Florida
 

  1. No Fault Divorce: Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
    [Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.052].
  2. General Divorce: Mental incapacity for at least 3 years.
    [Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.052].

Legal Separation in Florida
A spouse may file for separate maintenance and child support.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.09].

Simplified/Special Divorce Procedures in Florida
Florida has a procedure for a Simplified Dissolution of Marriage. In order to qualify to use this procedure, the spouses must certify that:

1. There are no minor or dependent children of the spouses and the wife is not pregnant
2. The spouses have made a satisfactory division of their property and have agreed as to payment of their joint obligations
3. That 1 of the spouses has been a resident of Florida for 6 months immediately prior to filing for dissolution of marriage
4. That their marriage is irretrievably broken

The spouses must appear in court to testify as to these items and file a Certificate of a Corroborating Witness as to the residency requirement. Each must also attach a financial affidavit to the Simplified Dissolution Petition. Specific forms and an instruction brochure are available from the Clerk of any Circuit Court. In addition, sample forms for various aspects of a standard dissolution of marriage are available in the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. Financial disclosures are now mandatory in Florida.
[Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Appendix 1; Rules 12.105 and 12.285 and Family Law Forms 12.900+].

Divorce Mediation or Counseling Requirements
If there are minor children involved, or if 1 of the spouses denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court may delay the proceedings for up to 3 months and may order the spouses to seek counseling, order the spouses to attempt reconciliation, or order the spouses to attend mediation sessions.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapters 61.052 and 61.183].

Divorce Property Distribution
Florida is an "equitable distribution" state. The spouse's non-marital property will be retained by each spouse. Non-marital property is all property acquired prior to the marriage, property acquired by gift or inheritance, and any property considered to be non-marital according to a written agreement between the spouses. The court is required to begin with the premise that all marital property should be equally divided. All of the spouse's marital property may be divided on an equitable basis, based on the following factors:

1. The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker
2. The length of the marriage
3. The age and health of the spouses
4. The amount and sources of income of the spouses
5. The estate, liabilities, and needs of each spouse and the opportunity of each for further acquisition of capital assets and income
6. The standard of living established during the marriage
7. The time necessary for a spouse to acquire sufficient education to enable the spouse to find appropriate employment
8. Any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the spouses

Marital misconduct is not specified as a factor in any division of property. There are also specific rules which govern whether a party is entitled to setoffs or credits upon the sale of the marital home. Regarding credit or setoffs upon the sale of a marital home, the court shall consider the following factors:

1. Whether exclusive use or possession of the home is awarded and the basis for such award
2. Whether alimony or child support is awarded to the spouse in possession of the home and whether such alimony or child support is awarded to cover the mortgage, taxes, or other home-related expenses
3. The value of the use and occupancy of the home to the spouse in possession and to the spouse not in possession
4. Which party will be able to claim any home-related tax deductions, including any capital gains event
5. Any other factors

[Florida Statutes Annotated: Chapters 61.075 and 61.077].

Alimony and Spousal Support
The court may grant rehabilitative or permanent alimony to either spouse in either lump-sum or periodic payments or both. Adultery is a factor in the award. Other factors which are considered are:

1. The time necessary to acquire sufficient education and training to enable the spouse to find appropriate employment and that spouse's future earning capacity
2. The standard of living established during the marriage
3. The duration of the marriage
4. The comparative financial resources of the spouses, including their comparative earning abilities in the labor market
5. The contribution of each spouse to the marriage, including services rendered in homemaking, childcare, education, and career-building of the other spouse
6. The age of the spouses
7. The physical and emotional conditions of the spouses
8. Each spouse's share of marital assets and liabilities
9. Any other factor the court deems just and equitable

Alimony payments made be ordered to be paid through a state depository.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.08].

Spouse's Name After Divorce
There is no legal provision in Florida for restoration of a spouse's name upon divorce. However, there is a general statutory provision that allows for a person to change his or her name by petition filed with the court.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 68.07].

Child Custody After Divorce
Joint or sole custody may be granted. Joint custody is referred to as "shared parental responsibility" and is preferred over sole custody. Both parents are given equal consideration in any award of custody. Custody is granted according to the best interests of the child, based on the following factors:

1. Which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the non-residential parent
2. The love, affection, and other emotional ties between the parents and the child
3. The ability and desire of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical or remedial care, and other material needs
4. The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity
5. The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home
6. The mental, physical, and moral fitness of the parents
7. The home, school, and community record of the child
8. The preference of the child if old enough to understand and express a preference
9. The willingness of each parent to encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship with the other parent
10. Any evidence that a parent has supplied false information to a court regarding domestic violence
11. Any evidence of spouse or child abuse
12. Any other relevant factors

No preference is to be given because of parent's sex. Grandparents may be awarded visitation. Custody and visitation may not be denied based on the fact that a parent or grandparent may be infected with human immunodeficiency virus.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.13].

Child Support After Divorce
The court may order either parent to pay child support during and after a dissolution of marriage proceeding in an equitable amount, based on the nature and circumstances of the case. There are specific child support guidelines set out in Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapter 61.30. In addition, there are specific factors for consideration upon which the child support guidelines may be adjusted:

1. Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses
2. Independent income of the child
3. The custodial parent receiving both child support and spousal support
4. Seasonal variations in a parent's income or expenses
5. The age of the child, taking into consideration the greater needs of older children
6. Any special needs of the family
7. The terms of any shared parental arrangement
8. The total assets of the parents and the child
9. The impact of any IRS Dependency Exemption
10. Any other reason that should be considered in order to make the child support payments equitable

Health insurance for the child and life insurance covering the life of the parent ordered to pay support may be required by the court. Child support payments may be ordered to be paid through a state depository.
[Florida Statutes Annotated; Chapters 61.13 and 61.30].

Continue to Georgia Divorce Laws
 
Resource Article:

How long does it take to rebuild trust?
By Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW


How long does it take to rebuild trust?

Sometimes it’s couples where one partner has had an affair. Other times it’s between parents and a teen where the teen has stolen, lied or has been doing drugs. The issue is trust and the question is, “How long does it take to rebuild trust when broken?”
Trust refers to being able to rely, depend or have confidence in someone or something. It is not simply based upon a statement of intention given at some place or time. It’s certainly more than a promise, which too is a statement of intent, but perhaps asserted with greater intensity giving the impression of greater meaning. Between people, real trust is an outcome of observed behaviour over time where one’s commitments are consistently met.

Depending on either the severity of the non-trustworthy behaviour or the frequency of non-trustworthy events, the length of time to redevelop trust can vary greatly.

A low frequency, high intensity event such as an affair can undermine trust so significantly that the rebuilding process can take years. Other events such as a child stealing change on an intermittent basis may also take time to repair, not because of the intensity of the event, but due to the ongoing and intermittent nature of the event. Single, low intensity events generally take the shortest time to repair.

The key to rebuilding trust is understanding that rebuilding takes more than just time and an apology. While an apology is an important part of the rebuilding process, as stated above; rebuilding real trust is a function of observable behaviour over time where one’s commitments are consistently met. Thus trust is an outcome of behaviour, just as lack of trust is also a function of behaviour.

Given the non-trustworthy behaviour, the person who broke the trust will have to understand that for the present and foreseeable future, they cannot be taken at their word. Their trustworthiness will be a function of their deeds or actions. Hence, their behaviour must be observable and subject to scrutiny. Those who have had an affair will have to better account for their time. Those who gamble will have to account for their money. Those who steal will have to account for their whereabouts and those who make inappropriate use of the Internet may have their access restricted or use monitored. The person who violated the trust will have to appreciate that this burden is the consequence of their non-trustworthy behaviour. Talk and promises are no substitute for observable behaviour over time to the rebuilding process.

The rebuilding process continues generally to the satisfaction of the person whose trust was violated. It may be that certain safeguards will be required for a substantial length of time, such as regular attendance at sobriety meetings or phone calls during the day to state one’s whereabouts. In other cases, the rebuilding process may bring the level of trust quickly back to the pre non-trustworthy event and hence further ongoing efforts to scrutinize behaviour would no longer be necessary. The length of time to satisfy the person whose trust was violated will vary according to the significance of the event and prior or ongoing other non-trustworthy behaviour the other person displays. Hence, once must be fully trustworthy in all aspects.

Want to rebuild trust then? Start with an apology and then commit to observable and appropriate behaviour. Where necessary, repair or put in safeguards to protect against further non-trustworthy behaviour. Repair may require counselling or attendance at special programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. Repair may also require restitution. Safeguards may include regular phone calls home or accounting for one’s whereabouts.

Remember, the responsibility for rebuilding trust lies with the person who demonstrated the non-trustworthy behaviour and to the reasonable satisfaction of the person whose trust was broken. The process will take as long as it takes!
 
 

Divorce Factoid:

Divorce rates in Australia

Divorce rate in Australia in around 40%. Meaning, about 40 percent of marriages can be expected to end in divorce. Adding a small fraction for marriage breakdowns which are never formalized by divorce, it is estimated that about 43 per cent of marriages end in separation within 30 years of the marriage.

Divorce rate in Australia stands at around 3 divorces per 1000 marriages. Census records show that more than 55,000 divorces were granted in 2001. During the same period around 103,000 marriages were registered.

The 'no fault' provisions of the new Act enabled many people to divorce sooner than they would have done under the previous law, and led to a heaping of divorces into one year, 1976.

Some facts about Divorce rates in Australia

The divorce rate in Australia for second marriages is little higher than that of first marriages.

Unilateral no-fault divorce legislation was introduced in Australia in 1975. There were 52,500 divorces granted in 1996, the second highest since the record number of 63,230 in 1976 following the introduction of the Family Law Act.

The median age at marriage has increased from 23.4 years for grooms and 21,1 years for brides in 1971 to 27.6 years for grooms and 25.2 for brides in 1996.

Cohabitation before marriage has increased from about 18 per cent in 1975 to almost 60 per cent today.

Disclaimer:
This website is not intended to give legal advice or service.
It is an informational website and should only be used as such.
For legal issues seek a competent legal counsel or advisor. A man that represents himself has a fool for a client.



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