Dissolution of Marriage in Florida: Grounds, Filing, and Alimony

Dissolution of marriage in Florida is the state’s legal term for divorce, governed by Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes. To file, at least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months, and the only ground you need to state is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. From there, the case moves through filing, service on your spouse, mandatory financial disclosures, a minimum 20-day waiting period, and a final hearing where a judge signs the judgment ending the marriage. When children, significant assets, or alimony are in play, additional steps and rules apply along the way.

Who Can File and on What Grounds

Florida Statutes § 61.021 requires at least one spouse to have resided in Florida for six months immediately before filing.¹ A Florida driver’s license, voter registration, or testimony from someone who can confirm you live in the state will typically satisfy that requirement.

Florida is a no-fault state. You do not have to prove adultery, cruelty, or abandonment. Alleging that the marriage is irretrievably broken is enough. The only alternative ground is that one spouse has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated for at least three years before filing.²

The Simplified Path When You Agree on Everything

Florida offers a simplified dissolution for couples who agree the marriage is over and meet every item on a strict checklist: no minor or dependent children, the wife is not pregnant, a full written agreement on dividing all assets and debts, and neither spouse seeking alimony.³ Both spouses also waive the right to trial and to appeal.

You sign a joint petition together and both attend the final hearing. The same six-month residency rule applies. If either spouse fails to show up or you don’t actually meet the eligibility criteria, the case can be dismissed and you’ll have to refile under the regular process.

Filing, Serving, and the 20-Day Wait

The case starts with a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where you or your spouse lives. Filing fees generally run from about $398 to $409 depending on the circuit.⁴⁵

The petition then 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 has 20 days from the date of service to file a written response. If no response comes in, the court can proceed without your spouse and enter a default judgment.

Florida Statutes § 61.19 imposes 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 it only by finding the delay would cause injustice. Once the waiting period passes and every issue is resolved, a judge holds a final hearing, reviews the agreements and evidence, and signs the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. When the clerk records that judgment, the marriage is legally over. Keep a certified copy.

Financial Disclosures You Must Exchange

Florida doesn’t rely on good faith when it comes to money. 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, automatically, without either side requesting them.⁷

The required package includes:

A Family Law Financial Affidavit. Use the Short Form (12.902(b)) if your gross annual income is under $50,000; use the Long Form (12.902(c)) if it 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.
Bank statements: the last three months for checking, and the last 12 months for savings, money market funds, and CDs.
Any financial statements or loan applications prepared in the 12 months before your financial affidavit.
All deeds from the past three years, promissory notes from the past 12 months, and current leases.
The most recent statement for every 401(k), IRA, pension, or similar account, along with the summary plan description.
Declarations pages and recent statements for all life insurance policies, plus current health and dental insurance cards for either spouse or the children.

If minor children are involved, you also file a UCCJEA Affidavit (Form 12.902(d)) tracking each child’s addresses and living arrangements for the past five years, which lets the court confirm it has jurisdiction over custody matters.⁹ Gather everything before you start filling out the forms. Missing paperwork causes delays, and inaccurate numbers damage your credibility with the court.

How Property and Debts Get Divided

Florida uses equitable distribution, which divides marital assets and debts fairly rather than automatically down the middle. The starting presumption is a 50/50 split, but a judge can deviate based on factors in Florida Statutes § 61.075, including each spouse’s contribution to the marriage (homemaking and child-rearing count), the marriage’s duration, each spouse’s economic circumstances, career or education interrupted for the marriage, and intentional dissipation of marital assets after the petition was filed or within two years before.¹⁰ That last factor comes up more often than people expect and can noticeably shift the division.

Marital assets include everything acquired during the marriage regardless of whose name is on the title, plus any increase in value of a separate asset caused by either spouse’s effort or by marital funds put into it. Non-marital assets are what you owned before the marriage or received individually as a gift or inheritance, provided you kept them separate. Mixing a separate asset with marital funds can convert it into a marital asset, which is one of the most common traps in property division.

Splitting Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts built up during the marriage are marital property. For employer-sponsored plans like 401(k)s and pensions, the court usually requires a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to divide the account. A QDRO tells the plan administrator to transfer a portion to the non-employee spouse without early withdrawal penalties or immediate taxes, as long as the receiving spouse rolls the funds into another qualified retirement account. Without a QDRO, the plan administrator has no legal duty to pay the non-employee spouse, and any transfer can trigger unexpected tax bills and penalties. IRAs use a different transfer mechanism and don’t need a QDRO, but the division still has to be spelled out in the final judgment.

Alimony Under the 2023 Rules

Florida overhauled its alimony law effective July 1, 2023, eliminating permanent alimony. Under the current version of Florida Statutes § 61.08, courts can award three types.¹¹

Bridge-the-gap alimony helps a spouse transition from married to single life. It can’t exceed two years and isn’t modifiable.
Rehabilitative alimony funds a specific plan for the receiving spouse to become self-supporting, such as finishing a degree or completing job training. It requires a detailed rehabilitation plan filed with 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 track the marriage-length categories. 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. A long-term marriage (20 years or more) allows up to 75 percent. So a 16-year marriage could yield durational alimony lasting no more than about 9.6 years. A court can extend those limits only under 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.¹¹

The court can also require the paying spouse to maintain a life insurance policy or post a bond to secure alimony, though it must make specific findings that special circumstances warrant that requirement.

Parenting Plan, Time-Sharing, and Child Support

When children are involved, the court’s focus shifts to the best interests of the child. Florida Statutes § 61.13 requires every dissolution involving minor children to include a parenting plan approved by the court.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 seeking anything other than a 50/50 schedule has to show why equal time-sharing wouldn’t serve the child.

At a minimum, the parenting plan must cover:

How the parents will share day-to-day responsibilities.
A specific time-sharing schedule with dates and times, including holidays, school breaks, and weekends.
Which parent decides on healthcare, school, and extracurriculars. The court can assign these jointly or split them.
How the parents will communicate with the child when the child is with the other parent.
Where exchanges for pickups and drop-offs will happen.

Child support is calculated under Florida Statutes § 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 resulting obligation in proportion to each parent’s share of the combined income.¹³ Health insurance premiums and employment- or education-related childcare are added to the basic obligation before the proportional split. When a parent has the child for at least 20 percent of the year’s overnights (about 73 nights), the support amount is adjusted downward to reflect the costs that parent already covers.

A judge can deviate from the guideline amount by up to 5 percent without written justification; anything more requires the court to explain in writing why the standard amount would be unjust. In an initial determination, the court can also award retroactive child support going back up to 24 months before the petition was filed.

Parent Education Course

If minor children are involved, both parents must complete a Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course approved by the Department of Children and Families. It runs at least four hours and covers the impact of divorce on children and co-parenting strategies.¹⁴ The course is available online and typically costs between $20 and $60.

Skipping it is not an option. The court can hold you in contempt, with potential fines or other sanctions. Finish it early. Judges notice when a parent drags their feet, and it doesn’t help during hearings about parenting arrangements.

Relocating With a Child After the Divorce

Once a parenting plan is in place, neither parent can just move away with the child. Florida Statutes § 61.13001 defines “relocation” as 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 covering the new time-sharing schedule and transportation, then ask the court to ratify it. Without agreement, the relocating parent has to file a sworn petition stating the reasons for the move, the proposed new address, and a revised time-sharing schedule. The non-relocating parent then has 20 days to file a written objection. Fail to object in time and a presumption arises that the move is in the child’s best interest, letting the court approve it without a hearing.

Moving with your child without following these steps can result in contempt, an order to return the child, and serious damage to your position in any future time-sharing dispute.

Taxes and Restoring a Former Name

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

For any divorce finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are neither deductible by the payer nor taxable to the recipient under federal law.¹⁷ That reshapes how both sides should evaluate alimony proposals. Property transfers between spouses as part of the settlement are generally not taxable events, but the receiving spouse takes the original tax basis, which matters when the asset is later sold. A house that appreciated significantly during the marriage can carry a large capital gains liability the recipient should factor into negotiations.

Either spouse can also ask for restoration of a former name as part of the dissolution. Courts routinely grant this when it’s requested in the petition or at the final hearing, and it’s written into the Final Judgment. You can then use the certified judgment to update your driver’s license, Social Security records, bank accounts, and other identification. Florida Statutes § 68.07 exempts name restorations from the fingerprinting and criminal background check that applies to other name change petitions, which makes the process much simpler.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
4
Pasco County Clerk, FL. Family Court Fees and Costs
5
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
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.08 – Alimony
12
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