Under Florida divorce laws, you can end your marriage without proving anyone did anything wrong, but you must meet a six-month residency requirement, exchange full financial disclosures, and work through a system that was significantly rewritten in July 2023 when the state eliminated permanent alimony. The rules cover property division, spousal support, and, if you have children, a parenting plan and time-sharing schedule that replace what other states call custody.
Who Can File in Florida
At least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before the petition is filed.1The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.021 – Residence Requirements A Florida driver’s license, voter registration card, state ID, or third-party testimony will prove it.2Justia Law. Florida Code 61.052 – Dissolution of Marriage
Florida recognizes only two grounds for dissolution: that the marriage is irretrievably broken, or that one spouse has been legally adjudged mentally incapacitated for at least three consecutive years.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.052 – Dissolution of Marriage Neither requires you to prove adultery, abandonment, or any other fault. You state that the marriage cannot be saved, and the court moves on to money and, if relevant, the children.
The Simplified Track for Uncontested Cases
If you and your spouse agree on everything, Florida offers a faster path called simplified dissolution. Both of you file the petition together and both appear at the final hearing. To qualify, all of the following must be true:
- You both agree the marriage cannot be saved.
- You have no minor or dependent children together, and the wife is not pregnant.
- You have already agreed on how to split all assets and debts.
- Neither spouse is requesting alimony.
- Both spouses give up the right to a trial and appeal.
Miss even one of those conditions and you file a regular petition instead.
How Property and Debt Get Divided
Florida uses equitable distribution. The court starts from the assumption that marital property and debt should be split equally, then adjusts if fairness calls for a different result.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.075 – Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Liabilities Marital property generally means anything acquired during the marriage regardless of whose name is on the title. Non-marital property covers what a spouse owned before the wedding or received as a personal gift or inheritance, provided it was kept separate and not commingled with marital funds.
When the court weighs whether to depart from a 50/50 split, it considers each spouse’s economic circumstances, the length of the marriage, contributions to the other’s career or education, and whether keeping the family home intact makes sense for a dependent child.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.075 – Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Liabilities Homemaking and childcare count as contributions. If one spouse intentionally wasted marital assets after filing or within the two years before filing, the judge can shift the split to compensate.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.075 – Equitable Distribution of Marital Assets and Liabilities
Alimony After the 2023 Reform
Florida rewrote its alimony statute effective July 1, 2023. Permanent alimony no longer exists. Every award now has a defined end date, and the court can grant three types of post-divorce support: bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
Bridge-the-gap alimony covers short-term transitional needs, such as bills while a spouse finds a new place to live. It cannot last longer than two years, and once ordered its amount and duration cannot be modified.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
Rehabilitative alimony funds a specific plan for education or job training so the receiving spouse can become self-sufficient. It cannot exceed five years and requires a detailed plan filed with the court.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
Durational alimony provides support for a set period tied to the length of the marriage. It is not available at all for marriages under three years.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
Duration Caps by Length of Marriage
Florida sorts marriages into three tiers. A short-term marriage is under 10 years, a moderate-term marriage runs 10 to 20 years, and a long-term marriage is 20 years or more.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony Durational alimony is capped as a percentage of the marriage’s length:
- Short-term marriage: up to 50 percent of the marriage’s duration.
- Moderate-term marriage: up to 60 percent of the marriage’s duration.
- Long-term marriage: up to 75 percent of the marriage’s duration.
A 16-year marriage could produce durational alimony for a maximum of about 9.6 years. The court can exceed the cap only under exceptional circumstances proven by clear and convincing evidence, such as a severe disability preventing self-support.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
How the Amount Is Set
The court sets alimony based on the receiving spouse’s actual financial need and the paying spouse’s ability to pay. Judges weigh the standard of living during the marriage, each spouse’s earning capacity, age, health, and contributions to the household. Adultery and its economic impact can also be considered.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony Every form of alimony terminates automatically if the receiving spouse remarries or either party dies.
Parenting Plan, Time-Sharing, and Child Support
Florida statutes do not use the word “custody.” The court adopts a Parenting Plan that lays out each parent’s responsibilities and a time-sharing schedule that specifies exactly when the child is with each parent.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court No presumption favors mother or father. The standard is the child’s best interests, and the plan addresses healthcare, education, communication methods, and the overnight calendar for each household.
Child support uses an income shares model. It estimates what parents would spend on the child if they still lived together, then divides that figure based on each parent’s share of the combined income. A state schedule maps combined monthly net income against the number of children to fix the base obligation. When a parent has the child for at least 20 percent of overnights in a year (roughly 73 nights), an adjusted formula can reduce the paying parent’s obligation to reflect costs already covered during that parent’s time.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines; Retroactive Child Support Health insurance premiums and childcare costs are added to the base amount.
Both parents of a minor child must complete a state-approved parenting course of at least four hours. The petitioner has 45 days from filing; the other parent has 45 days from being served. No final judgment enters until both certificates are on file.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.21 – Parenting Course Authorized; Fees; Penalties
Moving Out of the Area After Divorce
If you share time-sharing and want to move at least 50 miles from your current home for at least 60 consecutive days, that counts as a relocation and requires either the other parent’s written agreement or a court order.12The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13001 – Parental Relocation With a Child Without agreement, you file a petition and serve it on the other parent, who has 20 days to object in writing. No objection creates a presumption that the move is in the child’s best interest, and the court can approve without a hearing. If the other parent objects, no one moves until the court holds a hearing and grants permission.
Mandatory Financial Disclosure
Both spouses have to open their books early in the case. Under Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285, each side serves a financial affidavit and supporting documents within 45 days of the respondent being served. One affidavit form is used for gross annual income under $50,000, and a more detailed form applies at $50,000 or above.
You also produce three years of federal and state tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank and brokerage statements, loan applications, deeds, and the latest statements for any retirement or pension accounts. Lying on the affidavit or hiding assets can bring court sanctions, contempt findings, or perjury charges.
How the Filing Actually Works
You file the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse lives. The filing fee is roughly $408 and varies slightly by county.13Pasco County Clerk, FL. Family Court Fees and Costs If you cannot afford it, you can apply for civil indigent status to have costs waived. The Florida Supreme Court publishes free standardized forms.14Florida Courts. Dissolution of Marriage
Your spouse must then be formally served, usually by a sheriff’s deputy or private process server. The respondent has 20 days to file a written answer or counter-petition.15The Florida Bar. Consumer Pamphlet – Divorce In Florida No response can lead to a default, letting the case proceed without the other side. If children are involved, you also file a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act affidavit establishing that Florida has authority over the child.
Florida courts routinely order mediation before allowing a contested divorce to go to trial. A neutral third party works with both spouses on property, alimony, and time-sharing. The mediator does not rule and cannot force a settlement. Whatever remains unresolved goes before a judge.
Retirement, Taxes, and Social Security
Retirement accounts built up during the marriage are marital property. Dividing a 401(k) or pension requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order directing the plan administrator to send a portion of benefits to the non-employee spouse. The QDRO identifies both parties, names the plan, and states the amount or percentage transferred.16Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Qualified Domestic Relations Orders and PBGC If the receiving spouse rolls the funds into their own retirement account, the transfer is tax-free. A direct withdrawal is taxed as income but escapes the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty that would normally apply before age 59½.
Two federal tax rules matter in almost every case. Property transfers between spouses as part of the divorce are tax-free if made within one year of the divorce or otherwise related to the end of the marriage, and the receiving spouse takes over the transferring spouse’s tax basis.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce That matters for anything that has appreciated: a $500,000 brokerage account with a $200,000 cost basis is not the same as $500,000 in cash. Second, alimony under any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018 is neither deductible by the payer nor taxable to the recipient. Couples divorced under the pre-2019 rules stay in the old system unless they later modified and opted in.
Social Security is not divided by the divorce court. If your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you are 62 or older, you may collect a spousal benefit on your ex’s earnings record without reducing what they receive.18Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Family Benefits You must be currently unmarried to collect on a living ex’s record. If your ex has died, you can collect survivor benefits even after remarrying, provided the remarriage happened after you turned 60.
Enforcement, Bankruptcy, and Military Service
When a paying parent moves out of Florida, the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act keeps the order enforceable. State child support agencies cooperate across state lines, and the Florida agency stays on your case while coordinating with the other state.
Bankruptcy will not erase what you owe. Child support and alimony are priority debts under federal law and cannot be discharged in either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and neither can arrears.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge A Chapter 13 plan may fold overdue support into a three-to-five-year repayment structure, but the debt survives.
Active-duty service members have added protection under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. When military duties materially affect the ability to participate, a service member can request an automatic 90-day delay, with any longer stay left to the judge.20Military OneSource. Child Custody Considerations for Military Families Florida law also prevents a parent’s military-related absence from being used, on its own, as a basis to change time-sharing.