Living in Florida means sunny weather most of the time and beautiful beaches nearby. Unfortunately, the lovely setting doesn’t make the aspect of ending a marriage any better. It also doesn’t make it any easier.
Florida calls a divorce a “dissolution of marriage.” It is a “no fault” state that allows for a divorce to occur easier than ever. As long as both of you agree that the marriage bonds are “irretrievable broken” then your divorce can go through pretty quickly. In this type of case, either party can file for the separation.
There is a residency requirement and this means that one of you must have been a resident of the state of Florida for at least six months before even filing for the divorce. This applies to military members as well.
The process is that one spouse files the documentation with the court and the other spouse has an opportunity to respond. This is where the sticky part begins.
If there is property or assets that you believe are yours, you may need an attorney to help you get what is rightfully yours. Assuredly, your spouse will, too. Getting an idea of what your assets are is a good first step. Don’t leave anything out because that will cause a major audit of the accounts you have, so ensure that everything is included.
The contribution of each spouse to the marital property and asset list will be of paramount importance. What were the economic circumstances that both of you were used to? How long did the marriage last? Did either of you have to stop work in order to run the home while the other worked?
These are all questions that will come up.
Are you beginning to see that you need someone experienced in this type of high asset divorce in order to protect yourself? You will be relieved to have a legal advocate on your team.
Source: FindLaw, “Divorce in Florida,” accessed June 16, 2015
