Understanding the Florida Laws of Divorce

A marriage dissolution petition can be processed through the county circuit court where the petitioner is resident. The respondent couple has to be notified about the petition. Where the respondent is not satisfied with the nature of that petition they might choose to file a counter-petition denying or disagreeing with grounds of the petition. If such a situation occurs, then the petitioner is at liberty to file a trial notice and go ahead with the contested divorce. At this point, it is worth mentioning that there are two categories of divorce in Florida I.e. the contested divorce and the uncontested divorce.
The contested divorce situation occurs when the couples have no common ground all matters pertaining to the divorce. The differences can be heard and determined through a trial hearing or through mediation. The final ruling on the divorce cannot be arrived at until after 20days have passed following the filing of the divorce petition. The only circumstance under which the ruling can be delivered earlier is a situation where the court is satisfied that by delaying the judgment an injustice will have been committed.
According to the Florida divorce laws, a respondent should file a response within the space of 20 days after the divorce papers are served to them.  If the respondent fails to file a response then the petitioner can file for a default motion with the court clerk. After the paperwork has been filed the final hearing session will take place.  It is the responsibility of the petitioner to notify their spouse of the hearing. Where the respondent agrees with the grounds of the petition and all the mandatory disclosure requirements have been met as well as all necessary documents filed then a final hearing can be set. The uncontested divorce has to be compliant with the specified conditions.

• The spouses must have reached a consensus that the marriage is irretrievable
• The couple must not have any minors or children below the age of 18 whether adopted or not
• The wife must not be carrying a pregnancy
• Both parties must be at a consensus with respect to debt and property division
• No party should be seeking alimony
• The spouses must also be willing to forfeit their right to appeal and trial
• The spouses must not be demanding further financial information from what is provided in the financial affidavits approved by the court
• The spouses must also be willing to sign the dissolution petition at the clerk’s office
• The spouses must also be ready to attend the final divorce hearing

The time and date for the court appearance are obtained from the office of the court clerk after the paperwork has been filed. Both parties will be required to attend a hearing before a judge together. If every detail is in order, it is at the discretion of the judge to render their final judgment in a simplified divorce situation. The situation might be a bit different with contested divorce bearing in mind that some or most issues are not agreed upon.

Factors That Influence the Cost of a Florida Divorce

Due to the simplicity of uncontested divorce, they cost anywhere between $495 and $795. These amounts cover the fees paid to an attorney. The range of the cost can vary depending on the involvement of children. On the other hand, contested divorce processes can be quite expensive.  In contested divorce situations the parties fail to have consensus on some of the contentious issues.  The legal work that goes into handling a contested divorce is often enormous. Most spouses who wish to file for divorce often contend with the issue of cost. Most want to know the exact amount of money it will cost. It is, however, not possible to give an accurate figure in the case of contested divorce due to the dynamic nature of the legal issues entailed. The mentioned costs for an uncontested divorce are largely accurate.
It is normal practice for divorce attorneys to charge their clients on an hourly basis for contested divorce.  This is because they cannot accurately predict the time it will consume to handle and finalize each contested issue. The factors that will likely influence cost include whether issues to do with child support, custody, timesharing, visitation etc. are involved. In instances where issues of alimony or fundamental issues with debt and property sharing are involved, the divorce in Florida cost is likely to escalate.
There are circumstances where analysts or expert or paid witnesses are required. Their inclusion can also influence the divorce costs. There are circumstances where the divorce attorney requires the services of an accountant to assist them in handling complex financial issues. This will also affect the total costs. Such are the issues that make it quite difficult to accurately estimate the cost of Florida contested the divorce. Another reason contested divorce costs estimation gets more difficult is the likelihood of one party appealing a decision by the judge. The reason might be that they don’t agree with the decision they could be trying to frustrate the other party. Such a situation can further increase the cost. It is important to note that divorce cases in Florida are not heard before any jury.
It is also important to note that the hourly charges by divorce attorneys are not standardized. This means they can vary from one divorce attorney to another. The reason for the differences is mostly the level of experience. The cost of filing, making copies and serving other parties to a case can also influence the cost.  There are circumstances under which your spouse can be obligated by the court to reimburse the total amount you spent on costs and fees paid to your attorney in a contested divorce. This only happens where one of the spouses has no financial ability to meet the cost but the spouse is in a position to.