Getting Divorced with Children in Florida: Complete 2026 Guide

Getting divorced with children in Florida requires filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, paying a filing fee of approximately $408-$409, completing a mandatory 4-hour parenting course, and submitting a parenting plan that establishes time-sharing under Fla. Stat. § 61.13. Since July 1, 2023, Florida law applies a rebuttable presumption that equal (50/50) time-sharing serves the child's best interest. At least one spouse must have resided in Florida for 6 months before filing, and no divorce can be finalized for at least 20 days after filing.

This guide covers every step of divorce with children in Florida, from residency and filing requirements through parenting plans, time-sharing, child support, and finalization. Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. (Florida Bar No. 21022) prepared this resource to help parents understand their rights and obligations under current Florida family law.

Key Facts: Divorce With Children in Florida

Filing fees as of January 2026. Verify with your local clerk before filing.

Residency Requirements for Divorce With Children in Florida

To file for divorce with children in Florida, one spouse must have resided in the state for at least 6 months before filing the petition, as required by Fla. Stat. § 61.021. This six-month rule is a jurisdictional prerequisite—if neither spouse meets it, a Florida court has no subject matter jurisdiction and the case will be dismissed. The requirement applies even if you were married in Florida.

Proving residency requires more than a claim. Florida courts require evidence of two factors: actual physical presence in Florida for the six months, and the intent to make Florida your primary residence during that period. Acceptable proof includes a Florida driver's license issued at least six months before filing, a voter registration card, a valid Florida ID card, or the sworn testimony of a corroborating third-party witness. A Florida appellate court must make a finding of residency based on this evidence or dismiss the case.

For parents, residency also affects which state has jurisdiction over custody. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), codified at Fla. Stat. § 61.514, generally requires that the child has lived in Florida for 6 consecutive months for the state to make initial custody determinations. This separate 6-month home-state rule for children can differ from the spouse's residency, so parents who recently relocated should confirm both requirements before filing.

How to File for Divorce With Children in Florida

Filing for divorce with children in Florida begins with submitting a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage to the circuit court clerk in your county, paying the $408-$409 filing fee, and serving your spouse. Because minor children are involved, you must also file a proposed parenting plan and a Family Law Financial Affidavit. The process is governed by Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes.

Florida is a no-fault divorce state. You do not need to prove wrongdoing; you simply allege that the marriage is irretrievably broken under Fla. Stat. § 61.052. When minor children exist, the court will not enter a final judgment based solely on the marriage being broken unless it is also satisfied that the children's needs are addressed through a parenting plan and child support consistent with the guidelines.

The core filing steps for parents are:

1. File the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the circuit court clerk and pay the filing fee.
2. Serve your spouse with the petition and summons, or file a signed Answer and Waiver of Service if uncontested.
3. Complete the mandatory 4-hour Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course within 45 days.
4. Exchange mandatory financial disclosure, including the Family Law Financial Affidavit.
5. File a proposed parenting plan and child support guidelines worksheet.
6. Attend mediation if ordered, then a final hearing.

Fee waivers are available through the Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status under Fla. Stat. § 57.081. Eligibility generally requires household income below 200% of the federal poverty level. A waiver covers the filing fee but does not cover service of process or mediation costs.

Filing Fees and Court Costs in Florida

The base filing fee to open a divorce case in Florida is $408 to $409, depending on the county clerk's published schedule. Additional costs include approximately $10 for issuance of a summons and roughly $3.50 per oath administered by a deputy clerk. These amounts are set by the Florida Legislature and applied through county clerks, so minor variation between counties is normal.

In South Florida's largest counties—Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach—the base dissolution filing fee is $409 on each clerk's current fee schedule. Smaller counties such as Collier publish the fee at $408.00. The differences between counties typically involve processing times, filing locations, and local administrative procedures rather than the base fee itself.

Beyond clerk fees, divorcing parents should budget for service of process (often $40-$50 through the sheriff or a private process server), the mandatory parenting course (commonly $25-$60 online), and mediation if the court orders it. For contested matters involving disputed time-sharing or child support, attorney fees represent the largest cost variable. An uncontested divorce with an agreed parenting plan costs substantially less than a contested case that proceeds to trial.

Filing fees as of January 2026. Verify the exact current amount with your local clerk of court before filing, as figures are subject to legislative change.

The Parenting Plan Requirement in Florida

Every divorce with children in Florida requires a parenting plan, a written document governing how parents will share decision-making and time with their children. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(b), the plan must, at minimum, describe how parents will share daily tasks, specify the time-sharing schedule detailing when the child is with each parent, designate who is responsible for health care and school-related matters, and address methods of communication.

A parenting plan that omits required statutory provisions is legally insufficient and will be rejected or remanded. In Hernandez v. Mendoza (Fla. 4th DCA 2022), an appellate court returned a parenting plan to the trial court because it failed to specify which parent could consent to the child's mental health treatment—a provision Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(b)3.a. requires. This illustrates why precise drafting matters even in amicable cases.

Florida distinguishes between two related concepts. Parental responsibility refers to decision-making authority over major issues such as education, health care, and religion; Florida courts strongly favor shared parental responsibility, meaning both parents retain decision-making rights. Time-sharing refers to the schedule allocating where the child physically resides. A parent can have shared parental responsibility while the time-sharing schedule is unequal, or the reverse. Both elements must appear in the parenting plan, and the court must approve the plan before entering a final judgment of dissolution.

The 50/50 Time-Sharing Presumption (2023 Law Change)

Since July 1, 2023, Florida law applies a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the child's best interest, under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(c). To overcome this presumption, a parent must prove by a preponderance of the evidence—meaning more likely than not—that a 50/50 schedule is not in the child's best interest. This was enacted through HB 1301, signed by Governor DeSantis on June 27, 2023.

This change reversed prior law. Before July 1, 2023, Fla. Stat. § 61.13 expressly stated there was no presumption for or against any specific time-sharing schedule. Now both parents enter court on equal footing, presumed entitled to equal time with their children unless evidence rebuts that starting point. The court must still evaluate all best-interest factors in Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3) and make specific written findings when it creates or modifies a time-sharing schedule, except where the parents agree and the court approves their plan.

The best-interest factors a court weighs include each parent's capacity to facilitate a close relationship with the other parent, the division of parental responsibilities, the geographic viability of the plan, the moral fitness and mental and physical health of each parent, the child's home, school, and community record, and the reasonable preference of the child if mature enough. Courts may consider evidence of domestic violence, substance abuse, or a parent's history of relocation or interference when deciding whether the equal-time presumption is rebutted.

The 2023 law also relaxed the modification standard. A substantial change in circumstances no longer needs to be unanticipated, and a parent's relocation within 50 miles now qualifies as a substantial change warranting modification of the time-sharing schedule. The Florida Bar Journal has analyzed whether the new presumption applies retroactively to parenting plans established before July 1, 2023, and concluded it generally does not.

Child Support When Divorcing With Children in Florida

Florida calculates child support using the Income Shares Model under Fla. Stat. § 61.30, which estimates what both parents would have spent on the child in an intact household and divides that obligation in proportion to each parent's net income. A parent earning 60% of the combined net income generally bears 60% of the baseline support obligation. The guidelines are mandatory, and any deviation must be documented on the record.

The calculation follows a defined sequence. First, the court determines each parent's gross income under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2)—including wages, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, rental income, and retirement benefits. Allowable deductions under § 61.30(3), such as taxes and existing support obligations, are subtracted to reach net income. The combined net monthly income is then applied to the statutory guideline schedule in § 61.30(6) to find the basic support need, which is split proportionally.

Additional costs increase the basic obligation. Health insurance premiums for the child and uncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses are added to the support figure unless ordered paid separately on a percentage basis. Childcare costs necessary for employment are also factored in. Courts may impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, basing support on earning capacity rather than actual earnings.

Time-sharing directly affects the amount. More overnights with the paying parent reduce that parent's obligation, and equal time-sharing is built into Florida's guideline worksheet. When both parents share roughly equal time and earn similar incomes, the resulting support transfer may be modest. Recognized deviation factors include extraordinary medical or educational expenses and a child's independent income.

The Mandatory Parenting Course in Florida

All divorcing parents with minor children in Florida must complete a court-approved parenting course before the court enters a final judgment, as required by Fla. Stat. § 61.21(4). The course, officially the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course, runs a minimum of 4 hours and is approved by the Department of Children and Families. This requirement applies to both contested and uncontested divorces.

Timing matters. In divorce cases, each parent must complete the course within 45 days of filing or being served the petition. Parents are not required to take the course together, and many complete it online for a fee commonly ranging from $25 to $60. The curriculum covers the legal and emotional aspects of separation on children, skill-based relationship education, the needs of children with special concerns, and information about spousal and child abuse, including a list of local assistance agencies.

Failure to complete the course carries real consequences. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.21, the court may hold a non-compliant parent in contempt, deny that parent shared parental responsibility or time-sharing, or impose other sanctions. Because completion is a court requirement, skipping the class is treated as a violation of a court order. Importantly, statements made during the course are confidential and may not be used in the adjudication of the case unless both parties stipulate otherwise in writing.

How Long Divorce With Children Takes in Florida

A divorce with children in Florida cannot be finalized for at least 20 days after filing, under Fla. Stat. § 61.19, but most cases involving children take considerably longer. An uncontested divorce with an agreed parenting plan typically resolves in 1 to 3 months, while a contested case involving disputed time-sharing or child support commonly takes 8 to 18 months or more.

The 20-day waiting period is a mandatory cooling-off minimum that applies to every Florida divorce, even a fully agreed uncontested case with a signed settlement. A judge cannot sign the final judgment until 20 days have passed from the filing date. In rare circumstances, a party may move to shorten this period by showing compelling justification, but courts grant such waivers sparingly and at their discretion.

Several factors extend the timeline for parents. Mandatory financial disclosure, the 45-day parenting course deadline, court-ordered mediation, and disputes over time-sharing all add time. Contested custody matters may require a guardian ad litem, parenting evaluations, or expert testimony, each of which lengthens the process. The table below compares typical scenarios.

Modifying Time-Sharing and Support After Divorce

A Florida parent can modify time-sharing or child support after divorce by proving a substantial change in circumstances and that the modification serves the child's best interest, under Fla. Stat. § 61.13. Since the 2023 amendments, the substantial change no longer needs to have been unanticipated at the time of the original order, lowering the threshold for modification compared to prior law.

The 2023 law specifically deems a parent's relocation within 50 miles a substantial change in circumstances justifying modification of the time-sharing schedule. Relocations beyond 50 miles for 60 or more consecutive days are governed separately by Florida's relocation statute, Fla. Stat. § 61.13001, which generally requires the relocating parent to obtain the other parent's written agreement or court permission before moving with the child.

Child support modification follows the same substantial-change standard, and a recalculation under the Fla. Stat. § 61.30 guidelines that produces a difference of at least 15% or $50, whichever is greater, generally qualifies as substantial. Common grounds include a significant change in either parent's income, a change in the child's needs, or a meaningful shift in the time-sharing schedule. Courts will not modify support retroactively before the date the modification petition was filed, so parents experiencing a change should petition promptly rather than relying on an informal agreement.