Dissolution of Marriage in Florida: Residency, Disclosure, and Alimony

Dissolution of marriage in Florida is the state’s legal term for divorce, and getting one requires that at least one spouse has lived in Florida for the six months before filing, that you state the marriage is irretrievably broken, and that you work through property, support, and parenting issues before a judge signs the Final Judgment. The process is governed by Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes and runs through the Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse lives.

Residency and the No-Fault Ground

Florida Statutes § 61.021 requires that at least one spouse have resided in the state for a minimum of six months immediately before the petition is filed.¹ A Florida driver’s license, voter registration, or testimony from a third party who can confirm you live in the state will satisfy the proof.

Florida is a no-fault state. You do not have to prove adultery, abandonment, or any other wrongdoing. The only ground you need to allege is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. One narrow alternative exists: a court can grant a dissolution when one spouse has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated for at least three years before filing.²

Which Track Applies to You

Most Florida dissolutions follow the regular process, but a shorter track called simplified dissolution exists for couples who agree on everything. To use it, you and your spouse must agree the marriage cannot be saved, have no minor or dependent children, confirm the wife is not pregnant, reach a full agreement on dividing all assets and debts, and neither of you can be seeking alimony.³ You both waive the right to trial and to appeal, sign a joint petition, and both attend the final hearing. If you don’t qualify, or either spouse wants to preserve any issue for a judge, you’re on the regular track.

Filing, Service, and the Waiting Period

You open a case by filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse lives. Filing fees generally run between about $398 and $409 depending on the circuit.⁴⁵

Once the petition is filed, it has to be formally delivered to your spouse through service of process, usually by a sheriff’s deputy or a private process server. Your spouse then has 20 days from the date of service to file a written response. If no response comes in that window, the court can proceed without their input and may enter a default judgment.

Florida Statutes § 61.19 requires a mandatory 20-day waiting period from the date the petition is filed before any final judgment can be entered.⁶ A judge can shorten the period only by finding that the delay would cause injustice. After the waiting period passes and the issues are resolved, a judge holds a final hearing, reviews the evidence and any settlement, and signs the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. The marriage is legally over once the clerk records that judgment. Keep a certified copy for your records; you’ll need it to update identification and financial accounts.

If the other spouse denies the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court can order counseling with a therapist, psychologist, or member of the clergy, or pause the case for up to three months for reconciliation efforts. The court can still enter the dissolution if it ultimately finds the marriage is broken.

Mandatory Financial Disclosure

Florida does not leave financial transparency up to the parties. Under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, both spouses must exchange a detailed set of financial records within 45 days of serving the initial petition, and this happens automatically without a request.⁷

Pull these documents together before you start filling out forms:

A Family Law Financial Affidavit. Use the Short Form (12.902(b)) if your gross annual income is under $50,000 and the Long Form (12.902(c)) if your income is $50,000 or more.⁸
Federal and state income tax returns for the past three years.
W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s for the past year, plus pay stubs for the three months before you file your financial affidavit.
The last three months of statements for checking accounts and the last 12 months for savings accounts, money market funds, and certificates of deposit.
Any financial statements or loan applications prepared in the 12 months before your financial affidavit.
Deeds from the past three years, promissory notes from the past 12 months, and current leases.
The most recent statement and summary plan description for every 401(k), IRA, pension, or similar account.
Declarations pages and recent statements for all life insurance policies, plus current health and dental insurance cards covering either spouse or the children.

If you have minor children, you also complete a UCCJEA Affidavit (Form 12.902(d)), which tracks each child’s addresses and living arrangements for the past five years so the court can confirm it has jurisdiction over custody matters.⁹ Missing documents stall the case, and inaccurate figures hurt your credibility with the judge.

Dividing Property and Debts

Florida follows equitable distribution. The court divides marital assets and debts fairly, which starts from a presumption of a 50/50 split but allows the judge to deviate based on factors listed in Florida Statutes § 61.075.¹⁰ Those factors include each spouse’s contribution to the marriage (including homemaking and child-rearing), the length of the marriage, each spouse’s economic circumstances, interrupted careers, and whether either spouse intentionally wasted marital assets after the petition was filed or within the two years before filing.

Marital assets include everything acquired during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the account or title. They also include the increase in value of a separate asset when that increase came from either spouse’s effort or from marital funds. Non-marital assets are things you owned before the marriage or received individually as a gift or inheritance, as long as you kept them separate. Mixing a separate asset with marital funds can convert it into a marital asset, and this is one of the most common pitfalls in property division.

Retirement Accounts and QDROs

Retirement accounts built up during the marriage are marital assets subject to division. For employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s and pensions, the court usually requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to split the account. The QDRO instructs the plan administrator to transfer a portion of the funds to the non-employee spouse without triggering early withdrawal penalties or immediate taxes, provided the receiving spouse rolls the funds into another qualified retirement account. Without a QDRO, the plan administrator has no legal obligation to pay the non-employee spouse, and a direct distribution can produce an unexpected tax bill. IRAs use a different transfer mechanism and don’t require a QDRO, but the division still has to be spelled out in the final judgment.

Alimony Under the 2023 Law

Florida overhauled its alimony statute effective July 1, 2023, eliminating permanent alimony entirely. Under the current Florida Statutes § 61.08, courts can award three types of alimony: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational.¹¹

Bridge-the-gap alimony is short-term support to help a spouse transition from married to single life. It cannot exceed two years and is not modifiable. Rehabilitative alimony funds a specific plan for the receiving spouse to become self-supporting, such as finishing a degree or completing job training, and it requires a detailed rehabilitation plan submitted to the court. Durational alimony provides support for a set period after the divorce, with the length capped based on how long the marriage lasted.

The durational caps are tied to marriage length. A short-term marriage (under 10 years) limits durational alimony to 50 percent of the marriage’s length. A moderate-term marriage (10 to 20 years) allows up to 60 percent, and a long-term marriage (20 years or more) allows up to 75 percent.¹¹ A 16-year marriage could yield durational alimony lasting no more than about 9.6 years. The court can go beyond those limits only in exceptional circumstances proven by clear and convincing evidence, such as a severe disability or the need to care for a disabled child common to both spouses. A judge can also require the paying spouse to carry a life insurance policy or post a bond to secure the obligation, with specific findings about why that is warranted.

Children: Parenting Plans, Time-Sharing, and Support

When minor children are involved, the court’s focus is the best interest of the child. Florida Statutes § 61.13 requires every dissolution involving minor children to include a court-approved parenting plan.¹² Florida uses “time-sharing” rather than “custody” or “visitation,” and current law creates a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interest. A parent who wants a different schedule has to show why 50/50 would not work for the child.

At a minimum, the parenting plan has to spell out how the parents will share daily responsibilities, a specific time-sharing schedule (including holidays and school breaks), who makes decisions on healthcare, education, and extracurriculars, how the parents will communicate with the child when the child is with the other parent, and where exchanges will happen. The court weighs factors like each parent’s willingness to encourage a relationship with the other parent, the child’s preference depending on age and maturity, and the stability of each home environment. Submitting an incomplete parenting plan can stall the entire case.

Child support in Florida is calculated under § 61.30 using an income shares model. The court combines both parents’ net monthly incomes, applies a guideline schedule based on the number of children, and splits the obligation proportionally based on each parent’s share of combined income.¹³ Health insurance premiums and work- or education-related childcare costs are added to the basic obligation before the split. When a parent exercises time-sharing for at least 20 percent of overnights in the year (about 73 nights), the support amount is adjusted to reflect the costs that parent already covers.

A judge can deviate from the guideline figure by up to 5 percent without written justification. Any deviation beyond 5 percent requires a written explanation of why the guideline amount would be unjust. In an initial determination, the court can award retroactive support going back up to 24 months before the petition was filed.

Both parents also have to complete a Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course approved by the Department of Children and Families. The course runs at least four hours, is available online, and typically costs between $20 and $60.¹⁴ Skipping it is not optional; the court can hold you in contempt. Finish it early in the process.

Moving With a Child After the Case

Once a parenting plan is in place, neither parent can simply move away with the child. Under Florida Statutes § 61.13001, “relocation” means moving your primary residence at least 50 miles from where you lived at the time of the last custody-related court order, for at least 60 consecutive days.¹⁵ Temporary absences for vacation, education, or medical care don’t count. If both parents agree, they can sign a written agreement and ask the court to ratify it. Otherwise, the relocating parent files a sworn petition and the other parent has 20 days to object; failing to object in time creates a presumption that the move is in the child’s best interest. Moving without following these steps can lead to contempt and an order to return the child.

Taxes and Restoring a Former Name

Your tax filing status for the entire year depends on whether you are still married on December 31. If your dissolution is finalized at any point during the year, you file as single (or head of household if you qualify) for that whole year.¹⁶ If it is not final by year-end, you are still considered married for tax purposes and can file jointly or married filing separately.

For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is neither deductible by the payer nor taxable income to the recipient under federal law.¹⁷ That matters when you negotiate the number. Property transfers between spouses as part of the settlement are generally not taxable events, but whoever receives an asset takes on the original tax basis, which affects any later sale. A house that appreciated significantly during the marriage can carry a large capital gains liability that the receiving spouse should factor in.

Either spouse can ask to have a former name restored as part of the dissolution. It is routinely granted when requested in the petition or at the final hearing and is included in the Final Judgment, which you can then use to update your driver’s license, Social Security records, and financial accounts. Florida Statutes § 68.07 exempts name restorations from the fingerprinting and criminal history check that applies to other name change petitions.¹⁸

1
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.021 – Residence Requirements
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.052 – Dissolution of Marriage
3
Florida Courts. Joint Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage
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Pasco County Clerk, FL. Family Court Fees and Costs
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Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Palm Beach County. Unified Family Court Fees
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.19 – Entry of Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, Delay Period
7
Florida Courts. Rule 12.285 – Mandatory Disclosure
8
Florida Courts. Instructions for Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(b), Family Law Financial Affidavit (Short Form)
9
Florida Courts. Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.902(d) Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) Affidavit
10
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.075 – Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Liabilities
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
13
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines; Determination and Application
14
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.21 – Parenting Course Authorized; Fees; Required Attendance Authorized; Contempt
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13001 – Parental Relocation With a Child
16
Internal Revenue Service. Filing Status
17
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals
18
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 68.07 – Change of Name