Divorce can be a hard decision. The dissolution of marriage can be challenging and costly if you are unaware of the process. So if you are looking to file a low-cost divorce in Florida, keep reading.
Before litigating a divorce, you must be aware of Florida’s laws and the requirements to fulfill the process inexpensively. The amount of money you spend on your divorce is mainly dependent on the way you and your spouse approach it. Therefore, you must prepare for it to ensure it is successful, quick, and cheap.
To prepare you for divorce in Florida, let’s begin with the laws you need to know before starting the divorce process.
Divorce Laws in Florida
Florida has one of the friendliest laws for divorce in the USA. The state accepts no-fault divorces, which means that you can simply get a divorce by claiming that your marriage is broken and cannot be fixed. This option can save you on costs since you won’t have to prove anything in court.
Nevertheless, issues like domestic violence and extramarital affairs are of deep concern, which might make your case stronger. Therefore, you must gather all the relevant information and evidence to save the cost of divorce.
There are some points that you should consider before filing for divorce.
- Alimony. Also known as spousal maintenance, this is a payment from the higher-earning spouse to the other spouse who cannot support themselves sufficiently after the divorce. The decision of alimony is based on the income and wealth of each spouse, their age, and duration of the marriage.
- Property Division. Marital property is typically distributed equally between the spouses. Debts are also divided among the spouses after divorce depending on the income and expenditure of each partner. You might be in trouble if you are the one who spends recklessly! To keep yourself on the safe side, you should handle these matters amicably with your spouse.
- Child custody. It is crucial for the spouses to handle this issue themselves, if possible. However, if you fail to negotiate with your spouse, the decision of child custody will be made by the court. The court’s decision regarding child custody depends on the child’s preference, the spouses’ income, etc. Thus, if you are looking to keep custody of the child, you must prepare a strong case!
Requirements for Divorce in Florida
Before filing a divorce in Florida, you must meet the residency requirements. You or your spouse must have lived in Florida for at least six months, or you cannot file for divorce in Florida. Another essential point to remember is that the case should be filed in the circuit court where you live.
After meeting the residency requirement, you must have one of the two legal grounds to take your case to court. These legal grounds for divorce include:
- The marriage is irretrievably broken
- Mental incapacity of one of the spouses
Florida is a strictly no-fault state, which means that you don’t need to explain to the court why your marriage fell apart. However, the rules are pretty strict when choosing mental incapacity as the ground for divorce. The disability must be documented for three years, and proof must be presented to the court.
What are the Types of Divorce?
As mentioned above, all divorces in Florida are no-fault. After choosing the grounds for divorce, you must decide if you want to have an uncontested divorce or if you and your spouse will be contesting certain issues in court.
An uncontested divorce is a much cheaper option because there is no need for a court trial, and in many cases, no need to even hire an attorney. To have an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse must come to an agreement on all the contentious issues mentioned earlier (alimony, property division, debt division, child custody, and child support). This practice saves a lot of time and cost of divorce.
On the other hand, if you fail to agree with your spouse, you can file for a contested divorce in the court. In a contested case, the court decides for the couple based on different factors and evidence about the marriage. This option requires each spouse to hire an attorney to represent their best interests, and since court trials can draw out for a year or more, the overall cost becomes exorbitant.
If a couple can’t agree on some issues but wants to avoid a lengthy and expensive trial, they can choose mediation. The mediator is a neutral third-party that assists the couple in resolving their issues to finalize the divorce.
Cheapest Way to Get Divorce in Florida
The process of filing a divorce in Florida is straightforward. Once you are sure that you satisfy all the divorce requirements, just follow these steps to save time and costs.
- The petitioner (you) files the divorce case in the respective circuit court.
- The respondent (your spouse) must be notified about the petition and has 20 days to respond.
- If the respondent does not respond to the petition within the specified time, the court dissolves the marriage without further hearings.
- If the respondent replies with an agreement to divorce, the court hears all the relevant conditions and evidence and makes the decision accordingly.
Florida also has an option for a simplified dissolution of marriage where spouses apply as co-petitioners and avoid the procedure of serving divorce papers and saving on service costs.
Despite following these steps, you can encounter various challenges like a disagreement with the spouse over divorce terms, expensive lawyers, complications with paperwork, etc. Thus, the best, quickest, and cheapest method is to file for an uncontested divorce by agreeing with the spouse before moving to court.
Tips for Getting Low-Cost Divorce in Florida
Now that you are familiar with the rules and methods for getting the cheapest divorce in Florida, here are some more tips to save you money while getting a divorce.
- Florida allows lower-income applicants to file for divorce as indigent status. Complete an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status, and if you qualify, you can reduce your filing fees from $408 to only a $25 administrative fee.
- Use free consultations, hire a paralegal, or limit the use of attorneys. You don’t need to spend a fortune on legal assistance. If you just have questions about how to proceed, you can take advantage of a free consultation to get the answers you need. For help with paperwork or assistance through the process, you can hire a paralegal at a fraction of the cost. They cannot give you legal advice, but they understand the process well enough to help with the bureaucracy. If you do need a lawyer’s help, limit their support to where it is absolutely necessary. You may be able to do the paperwork yourself then just pay an attorney to check it over.
- Consider online divorce services. Many great online divorce companies can select and complete your divorce paperwork for thousands of dollars less than a lawyer. The process is simple, fast, and can all be done from the comfort of home. Sites like comwill also provide you with filing instructions and a court approval guarantee.
Hopefully, now, all your worries regarding the costs of divorce have been quashed. If you have read this article thoroughly, you can apply these methods to get a low-cost divorce in Florida.
