Divorce Resources in Florida: Court Forms, Legal Aid & Filing Guide

To file for divorce in Florida, you must meet the residency requirement under Florida Statute §61.021: at least one spouse must have lived in Florida for a minimum of six months before filing. You must corroborate residency with a valid Florida driver's license, Florida identification card, or voter registration card issued at least six months before filing, or through testimony or affidavit of a corroborating witness using Form 12.902(i). File your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage — Form 12.901(b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(3) depending on whether you have children and property — with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where either spouse resides. The filing fee is $408, payable to the clerk at the time of filing. You may file electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com.

After filing the petition, you must serve the other spouse with a copy of all filed documents. Service must comply with Florida Statute §61.043 and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070. The respondent may be personally served by a process server or the county sheriff. If the respondent's location is unknown, you may petition for service by publication under Florida Statute §49.011. The respondent has 20 calendar days after service to file a response. If no response is filed within 20 days, you may file a Motion for Default using Form 12.922(a) and proceed to a final hearing without the respondent's participation, though the court may still require evidence on contested issues.

Both parties must complete mandatory financial disclosure within 45 days of service under Florida Family Law Rule 12.285. Each party files a Financial Affidavit — Form 12.902(b) for income under $50,000 or Form 12.902(c) for income of $50,000 or more. Cases involving minor children also require a Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 12.902(e), calculated under the income shares model in Florida Statute §61.30. Additionally, each party must provide the other with tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and other financial documents specified in Rule 12.285, though these supporting documents are served on the other party and not filed with the court.

If the couple has minor or dependent children, both parents must complete a Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course under Florida Statute §61.21. The course is a minimum of four hours and must be completed before the court enters a final judgment. Approved course providers are listed by the Florida Department of Children and Families at myflfamilies.com. The court may hold a parent in contempt for failure to complete the course, and noncompliance may result in sanctions including denial of time-sharing. Additionally, the court may order mediation for any contested custody, visitation, or parental responsibility issues under Florida Statute §44.102 before the case proceeds to trial.

Florida is a no-fault divorce state under Florida Statute §61.052, meaning the only ground required is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Neither spouse must prove wrongdoing. To obtain a final judgment, the petitioner must attend a final hearing and present testimony establishing residency, the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and that all issues — including equitable distribution under Florida Statute §61.075, alimony under Florida Statute §61.08, and parenting arrangements — have been resolved by agreement or require judicial determination. The court will not grant a divorce until all mandatory disclosures, parenting courses, and any ordered mediation have been completed.

Florida law requires all parents in a dissolution of marriage proceeding with minor or dependent children to complete the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the court enters a final judgment. Under Florida Statute §61.21, the course is a minimum of four hours and covers the legal aspects of child-related issues, the emotional impact of separation and divorce on children, skill-based relationship education, and the particularized needs of children with special concerns. The Department of Children and Families approves all course providers, and a list of approved providers — including online, in-person, and virtual live options — is available at myflfamilies.com. Both parents must complete the course, but they are not required to attend together. The court may prohibit parties from attending the course together if there is a history of domestic violence. A parent who fails to complete the required course may be held in contempt of court, denied shared parental responsibility or time-sharing, or otherwise sanctioned under Florida Statute §61.21(5).

Florida courts have broad authority to order mediation in family law cases under Florida Statute §44.102. While mediation is not an automatic prerequisite to filing for divorce, courts in most circuits routinely order it for contested issues. In circuits with an established family mediation program, the court shall refer to mediation all or part of custody, visitation, or parental responsibility issues as defined in Florida Statute §61.13. Family mediation covers property division, parental responsibility, child support, time-sharing, alimony, and other emotional or financial considerations unique to family cases. Both parties must attend the ordered mediation but are not required to reach an agreement. Failure to appear without court permission may result in sanctions. Mediators must be certified by the Florida Supreme Court and have judicial immunity under Florida Statute §44.107. The court shall not refer a case to mediation if it finds a history of domestic violence that would compromise the mediation process under Florida Statute §44.102(2)(c).

Florida requires mandatory financial disclosure in virtually all family law proceedings under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285. Each party must file a Family Law Financial Affidavit — Form 12.902(b) for individual gross income under $50,000 or Form 12.902(c) for income of $50,000 or more — within 45 days of service of the initial pleading. The affidavit must detail all monthly income, expenses, assets, and liabilities under penalty of perjury. In addition to the affidavit, each party must serve (but not file with the court) supporting documentation including federal and state tax returns for the previous two years, pay stubs for the preceding three months, bank and financial account statements, loan applications, and corporate or partnership returns if self-employed. The only exceptions to mandatory disclosure are simplified dissolutions under Florida Statute §61.043 or cases where both parties execute a joint verified waiver of filing financial affidavits, a provision added by recent amendments to Rule 12.285 to protect financial privacy. A party who fails to comply with mandatory disclosure may face sanctions under Florida Family Law Rule 12.380, including exclusion of undisclosed evidence, attorney's fees, or adverse inferences.