Practice Areas : Divorce
In order to file for divorce in the state of Florida you must satisfy three simple requirements. First, the person filing to dissolve the marriage must prove that one of the parties has been a resident of the state of Florida for at least six months prior to the date of filing. The residency must have been continuous and uninterrupted and without the intent to establish a residence in another state. This can be done by showing a valid Florida Driver’s License or Identification Card dated at least six months prior to the date of filing the divorce petition. If you do not have a Driver’s License or I.D. card, you can bring along a friend or family member as a witness who can testify or sign an affidavit that the party seeking the divorce satisfies the residency requirement.
The second requirement is that neither party to the divorce action can be a on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States or any of its allies. This dates back to the passage of the Soldier and Sailors Relief Act where a party may avoid a legal action as inconvenient if they are on active duty in the military. This requirement may be waived at any time by the party in the armed forces. For example, a person on active duty in the Coast Guard may seek to delay a divorce action instituted against him due to his status in the armed forces. This makes the defense of any divorce action more difficult as that person may be called away on short notice to other ports. However, if the serviceman is as anxious to move the divorce along this requirement can be waived, allowing the action to proceed.
Finally, the person filing for divorce needs to allege and prove that the marriage is "irretrievably broken". Florida used to require specific grounds or findings of fault before a party was allowed to divorce. Commonly, these grounds would have been things like adultery, abandonment, desertion, or other marital misconduct. The law has changed however, and Florida is now a "no-fault" divorce state. Simply stated, in order to obtain a divorce in this state the party seeking the divorce does not have to prove that either party was to blame for the failure of the marriage. The party must simply and concisely state the reason why they believe the marriage to be broken. Alleging that the parties have grown apart, have separated for an extended period of time and moved on, or that the parties no longer love one another is usually sufficient. The Court in a divorce action has the power to send the parties to Marriage Counseling if it will serve a useful purpose in the case. Typically, if one party says that counseling will not work, the Court will not compel the parties to attend.
Filing for divorce involves a consideration of many issues and it is not possible to address all of them here. Hopefully, this has answered a few of your general questions. We at Staack, Simms & Hernandez thank you for visiting our website. Please phone, write or e-mail if we can be of any further service to you.
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