The official term for divorce in Florida is “Dissolution of Marriage".

Florida is considered a "no-fault" divorce state. This basically means that one spouse can not prevent a divorce from occurring if the other spouse indicates that she or he wants the divorce. There are only two requirements to obtain a divorce (1) one of the parties needs to have lived in Florida for a minimum of six months immediately preceding the filing for divorce; and (2) the marriage must be irretrievably broken.

The main issues in divorce include but are not limited to, Parental Responsibility, Equitable Distribution, Alimony and Child Support.

The procedure in a divorce is as follows:

1. The filing of the Petition
2. The other party is served
3. An Answer to the Petition is filed
4. Both parties submit a series of financial documents called “mandatory disclosure”
5. A mediation is scheduled, 90% of cases are settled at mediation
6. If a case is not settled at mediation a trial is set
7. Trial can be from a few hours long to several days
8. A Final Judgment is ordered in the case