Divorce

Florida is a "no fault" divorce state, which means that if either party wants to get a divorce and claims that the marriage is "irretrievably broken," then the Court will dissolve the marriage.  In order to dissolve a marriage in Florida the parties must be residents for at least six months, but there is no required waiting period (beyond twenty days from filing) like many other states.  There is also no legal separation in Florida, parties remain married until the judge enters a Final Judgment of Dissolution.

Although there is no required waiting period, a contested divorce usually takes a few months to reach a resolution.  Even when the parties have no children together all of their assets and debts must be divided by the Court.  In Florida we divide assets and debts using "equitable distribution," which permits the Court to offset the parties contributions and/or dissipation to reach a fair and balanced result.  From the day the parties are married all of their assets and debts go into the same pool regardless of whose name is attached to that particular asset or debt, although parties may claim a "special equity" in assets which they acquired by gift or owned prior to the marriage.  See Florida Statute '61.075.


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