Florida Legal Form Service is here to help you every step of the way when it comes to preparing your initial divorce documents for filing with the Florida Court. You provide us with the information necessary and we will provide you will the appropriate forms the court requires However, we do feel it is important to provide you with information on how the divorce process is in the State of Florida.
Document Preparation: This is where Florida Legal Form Service can help you with preparing the initial documents for filing with the court. Divorce is referred to as a Dissolution of Marriage in the State of Florida. If you are the individual who is filing the initial prepared divorce papers with the court than you are known as the “Petitioner.” The spouse who is the other party is known as the “Respondent.” Florida Legal Form Service will require the Petitioner to fill out an initial document preparation intake form that will allow them to provide use with all of the necessary information to fill out the State of Florida Supreme Court approved forms the court requires for the filing of the divorce. We will take care of the headache of preparing and filing the divorce papers for you.
Filing Prepared Divorce Documents with State of Florida Court: Either you can file the prepared divorce documents with the court by filing with the State of Florida E-filing service or you can have Florida Legal Form Service help you set up your E-filing portal and we can file them for you. Either way, the initial prepared divorce documents get filed with the Clerk of the Court in the Florida County where either you or your spouse has resided for at least 6 months. There will also be a filing fee involved at the initial filing of the prepared divorce documents that must be paid at the time of filing.
Proper Service of Divorce Documents in the State of Florida: The clerk will provide the Petitioner with a copy of the Court Stamped documents, which shows that the documents have been filed with the Court. The Petitioner then must serve a copy of all of the filed documents to the Respondent. There are two ways the filed divorce documents can be properly served. (1) If your spouse agrees to accept the service of the documents they can complete a form called an Answer and Waiver of Service. Florida Legal Form Service will provide you with this document as part of your prepared documents; or (2) the divorce documents can be served to the Respondent by either a local county sheriff or a certified process server. Florida Legal Form Service will provide you with names of certified process servers in the county where your spouse resides. After the Respondent has been properly served, the certified process server will provide the Petitioner with a return of service form. This form must then be e-filed with the court through your E-filing portal account.
Financial Information Disclosures: Under Florida law, the Petitioner must provide the Respondent within 45 days of the date the Respondent was served the filed Petition, a completed and signed Financial affidavit. This document is included in the packet of forms prepared for you by Florida Legal Form Service.
Types of Divorces Filed in the State of Florida: There are Uncontested Divorces, Simplified Divorce, and Contested Divorces. Florida Legal Form Service only provides document preparation services for Uncontested and simplified Divorces. If you feel you need to file a Contested Divorce it is recommended that you seek the advice of an attorney or lawyer.
Uncontested Divorce: An uncontested divorce an be done if there are not children involved, the wife is not pregnant and the spouses both agree to the property and debt division and involves filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Circuit Court in your County. If there are children involved, it may be required to attend a court hearing. This hearing will involve the Judge asking both spouses questions about the divorce to make sure that both parties understand the divorce and agree to all terms. The Judge may then enter a final judgment that would dissolve the marriage.
Simplified Divorce: A simplified divorce can be done if there are not children involved, the wife is not pregnant and the spouses both agree to the property and debt division. Both parties must sign the prepared court documents and attend a final court hearing.
Contested Divorce: If you do not meet the requirements of an uncontested divorce or simplified divorce then your divorce will be considered contested and will go directly through the court for the division of the marital estate, alimony, child support and child custody. NOTE: Florida Legal Form Service DOES NOT provide legal document preparation services to those who are seeking a contested divorce. You should seek services of an attorney if you are considering filing a contested divorce.
Finalized Divorce: The last step in the divorce process is finalizing the divorce. In an uncontested or simplified divorce proceeding where the spouses agree on all aspects of the divorce, the divorce can be finalized quickly. If children are involved it can take up to 3 months. Many factors can change the time it takes for a particular divorce to be finalized, there is no set in stone time frame.
