"Dissolution of marriage" is the term for a Florida divorce. Fault has been eliminated as grounds to obtain a Florida divorce. This is in order to minimize any harm to the parties and their children which can be caused by the divorce process. A Florida divorce only requires that the marriage be "irretrievably broken."
Either the husband or wife may file for a Florida divorce and will need to prove that a marriage exists, one party has been a Florida resident for six months immediately preceding the filing of the petition, and that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Another ground, that is infrequently used, is the adjudication of one spouse as incompetent for at least three years preceding the petition for dissolution of marriage. Even though fault is not a ground for a Florida divorce, it may be considered under certain circumstances such as, equitable distribution of marital assets and liabilities, alimony awards, and determina?tion of parental responsibility.
A Florida divorce begins with one spouse filing a petition for dissolution of marriage with the circuit court. This is the document that will state that the marriage is ir?retrievably broken and will set out what the person requests from the court. The opposing party must file an answer to the petition for dissolution of marriage within 20 days from the date of service of the petition of dissolution of marriage on that party. The answer will address the issues set forth in the petition and raise any new issues the answering party would like for the court to address.
In a Florida divorce, the court rules require that each party provide specific financial disclosure documentation along with a completed finan?cial affidavit to the other party within 45 days of the service of the petition or before any temporary relief hearing is held. If either party fails to provide financial disclosure to the other party, the court may dismiss the case or not consider that party's requests.
If parties in a Florida divorce are able to agree on the distribution of assets and liabilities, parental responsibility, and all other issues before the original petition is filed, they will enter into a written marital settlement agreement, which is signed by the parties and is presented to the court for acceptance. In some uncontested cases, a Florida divorce may be finalized in a few weeks.
Parties to a Florida divorce may disagree on some of the issues, but if they are able to work out their differences they may appear for a final hearing with a suggested settlement that may be accepted by the judge.
An alternative dispute resolution method is mediation. Mediation is used in a Florida divorce case to assist the parties in working out a settlement agreement in an effort to avoid a lengthy litigation process and a trial. The purpose of mediation is not to save the marriage, but instead to help the parties reach an agreement in their Florida divorce. In some Florida counties, the court will require the parties to attend mediation before it will schedule a trial.
Some parties are unable to reach an agreement on the issues involved in their case and a trial is required. In this case, the judge will make the final decisions on all of the contested issues in the Florida divorce case.
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