Florida Divorce Lawyer

This is a question only you can answer, but one of our Florida divorce lawyers can discuss your legal rights and responsibilities surrounding divorce so that you can make a more informed decision. Oftentimes, couples will seek counseling from a marital counselor to try to repair the marriage before making the decision to get divorced. You may still be considering divorce or experiencing one of the five stages of divorce. Whatever part of the divorce process you are in, Pinellas Family Lawyer is happy to consult you about how to handle your divorce best.

Florida law does not require the use of an attorney when getting divorced. However, it is highly recommended that you speak to a divorce lawyer before filing for divorce. A Florida divorce lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and advise you of the possible outcomes of your Florida divorce case, including alimony, property distribution, and child custody issues. A divorce lawyer can also help ensure that all of your divorce paperwork is completed correctly and assist you in completing the divorce process.

• The cost of divorce in Florida can vary greatly depending on the issues involved (Do the parties have children together? Do the parties own a home together? etc.) and whether or not the parties are in agreement or mostly in agreement about things like alimony, equitable distribution, and child custody. Our firm typically offers uncontested divorce representation for $1,500 – $2,500 (plus court fees). If parties are not in agreement about absolutely everything in their divorce, mediation may be required, increasing the overall cost of the divorce to $4,000 – $10,000 depending on how much discovery is needed and how extensive the parties’ finances are.
• When spouses cannot settle their case through the mediation process and need a formal divorce trial before a judge, it is not uncommon for each party to spend over $10,000 and, on rare occasions, closer to $100,000. The biggest aggravating factors in an expensive divorce are things like extensive discovery, including depositions, the involvement of forensic accountants (especially in cases involving family-owned businesses), extensive medical records (when mental health is at issue or when one party or their child has been a victim of domestic violence), or one party’s refusal to cooperate with the divorce process.

Typically, each spouse pays for their own attorney’s fees in Florida. However, in certain circumstances, one spouse may be ordered to pay the attorney’s fees of the other spouse. This can occur when one spouse can afford an attorney while the other does not. On rare occasions, the court may also award one spouse attorney’s fees for causing unnecessary litigation.

Everyone’s case is different, and while you may be able to find the oldest, the most experienced, or the most popular family law attorney near you, that doesn’t necessarily mean that lawyer will be the best family law attorney for you personally.  A family law attorney who has been practicing for many years may have seen a bit of everything and have a general idea of how to assist with your legal issue.  (They likely also charge a lot more than less experienced attorneys.)  But, if you are a mother trying to protect your children from an abusive father, your first pick likely wouldn’t be an attorney who focuses on “men’s only divorce.”  The better choice may be a child custody lawyer who has experience with domestic violence.  The point is that you have to find an attorney that fits your needs and your budget. Even with a seemingly simple divorce, it is always a good idea to have the assistance of a divorce lawyer to make sure everything is handled properly.  This can help save time, money, and headaches later. A great divorce lawyer will help you prepare for the future by helping you with equitable distribution, alimony, and creating a parenting plan that contemplates your current situation and possible life changes that may occur years later.

In Florida, anything spouses have accumulated during marriage is considered marital property and is subject to equitable distribution as part of the divorce. Property owned by one spouse before the marriage is not considered marital property and continues to belong to that spouse even after the marriage. Occasionally, non-marital property may become marital property depending on how the property is treated and/or titled after the marriage. There are little nuances within equitable distribution (such as how to value a family company or calculate appreciation of certain assets) that an experienced Florida divorce attorney can discuss with you in greater detail if they apply to your specific case. A Florida divorce attorney can also discuss protecting your assets by creating a pre- or postnuptial agreement before or after marriage.

The basis for paying alimony in Florida is the need and ability to pay, meaning if one spouse has the need for alimony, the other spouse has the ability to pay alimony. The court will consider the parties’ financial situation and determine if and how much alimony should be paid. Florida law recently changed to clarify the maximum amount of alimony one spouse should pay to another and spell out the maximum length of time the alimony or spousal support should be paid. Except for exceptional circumstances, “[a]n award of durational alimony may not exceed 50 percent of the length of a short-term marriage, 60 percent of the length of a moderate-term marriage, or 75 percent of the length of a long-term marriage.” Fla. Stat 61.08(8)(b)

This is often one of the most hotly contested parts of a divorce. Luckily, the Florida legislature has recently passed a law stating that equal time-sharing is presumed when making an initial child custody determination. However, this does not mean the court automatically awards both parents 50/50 time-sharing. The court must still review the 20 best interest factors in Florida Statute 61.13.

Married people who do not have children together can move out of state anytime but may be required to attend court in Florida. If a parent moves out of state after a divorce order and parenting plan have been entered by the court, the parents must agree on what the new schedule looks like or file a petition for relocation to seek the court’s assistance in determining the new long-distance schedule. If a parent moves before either party has filed for divorce, a petition for relocation may not be required, but the new home of the parent who moved out of state will have to be considered in deciding an appropriate parenting plan.

While there’s no easy answer to this one, there is a 20-day waiting period to get divorced in Florida, so the minimum time it can take to get divorced is 20 days. Our experience has shown that 30-60 days is typical for a simplified or completely uncontested divorce, but each judge’s calendar is different, and the case could take longer if the judge you are assigned has a busier docket. Contested divorces take longer as they require more discovery and exchange of documents between the spouses. If spouses can settle their differences through mediation, the process may take less than 6 months from start to finish, sometimes as little as 2-3 months. Cases that are heavily litigated may take 1-2 years or, in rare cases, even longer. How cooperative both spouses are during the divorce process will ultimately be the biggest factor in determining how long it will take to get your divorce finalized.