If you're thinking about divorce, or you've just been served with papers, you probably have more questions than answers. This article covers the ones our clients ask first.
Florida law calls divorce "dissolution of marriage." In Sarasota County, these cases go to the Family Division of the Circuit Court in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which also covers Manatee and DeSoto counties. This is general information, not legal advice about your case.
Quick points
- One spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing.
- Florida is a no-fault state. You don't have to prove your spouse did anything wrong.
- The Sarasota County Clerk charges $408.00 to file a divorce petition.
- A judge can't sign the final judgment until at least 20 days after you file. Most cases take longer.
- Disputed parenting issues must go to mediation. Other issues may be sent there too.
- You don't have to be separated before you file.
Getting started
Do I have to live in Florida for a certain amount of time before I can file?
Yes. One of you, not necessarily both, must have lived in Florida for the six months right before the petition is filed. A Florida driver's license, Florida ID card, or voter registration card can prove it. So can a witness who testifies or signs an affidavit.
Check the issue date on your license. A renewal resets it. At the final hearing, the Twelfth Circuit wants to see a license or ID issued at least six months before you filed. If yours was renewed more recently, bring a corroborating witness or file an Affidavit of Corroborating Witness instead.
Do I have to prove my spouse did something wrong?
No. You only need to show the marriage is "irretrievably broken," which is the legal way of saying it can't be saved. You don't have to prove adultery or any other misconduct. The only other ground is rare: a spouse a court has declared mentally incapacitated for at least three years.
Do we have to be separated before filing for divorce?
No. Florida doesn't require you to live apart, or to be separated for any set time, before you file. You can file while you're still living under the same roof.
What's the difference between a simplified divorce and a regular one?
A simplified dissolution is the fastest route, but it fits only a narrow set of couples. You can use it if you have no minor or dependent children, neither of you is pregnant, neither of you is asking for alimony, and you've already agreed on how to divide your property and debts. You file together and both attend the final hearing. You also give up the right to a trial and an appeal.
Every other case is a regular dissolution. The Clerk sells a separate form packet for each of four case types, depending on whether you have children, property, or neither.
Can I file for divorce in Sarasota County without hiring a lawyer?
You can, however an attorney is recommended. Self-represented filers use form packets approved by the Florida Supreme Court and the Twelfth Circuit, available from the Clerk and the circuit's self-help forms page. After you file, you submit a Family FORM A to the Family Division's self-help office to get a court date. Court staff can process your paperwork, but they can't give legal advice or fill out forms for you.
If money is the problem, ask the Clerk about civil indigent status, which can waive the filing fees. You may qualify if your income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines for your household size and you have less than $2,500 in net equity in property, not counting your homestead and one vehicle worth up to $5,000.
Doing it yourself can work when you and your spouse agree on everything. If you need low-cost help, try Legal Aid of Manasota or the Florida Bar's Lawyer Referral Service (800-342-8011).
Does it matter who files first?
Not legally. Florida's no-fault system doesn't reward the spouse who files first. There can be a small practical edge: if the two of you live in different counties, the spouse who files chooses among the counties where the case can be heard. Filing first doesn't change how property, time-sharing, or support get decided.
What happens right after I file for divorce in Sarasota County?
A court order takes effect the day you file, whether you've read it or not. The Twelfth Circuit's Standing Family Law Order applies to you at filing and to your spouse once served (or once they accept service). While the case is open, both of you must:
- Leave assets and financial records alone. Normal household spending is fine, but don't hide or transfer what you have.
- Keep insurance policies in force, with the same beneficiaries.
- Keep new debt your own. Joint credit cards are for necessities only.
- Keep the children living in their current county unless you both sign a notarized agreement or a judge approves a move.
Each parent also files a proposed temporary parenting plan at the start of the case. Breaking the order can lead to contempt of court, so read it closely.
How long does a divorce take in Florida?
There's no single answer, but Florida law sets a floor. A judge can't enter a final judgment until at least 20 days after you file. Courts shorten that wait only when it would cause a real injustice.
Other deadlines run alongside it:
- Your spouse has 20 days after being served to respond.
- In a regular divorce, each of you must give the other a financial affidavit (a sworn statement of what you earn, spend, own, and owe) plus supporting records within 45 days after your spouse is served. You can agree to change which records you exchange, and you can jointly agree not to file the affidavits with the court, but you still have to exchange the affidavits themselves.
- If you have minor children, each parent must finish a parenting course within 45 days. The clock starts at filing for the spouse who filed and at service for the other.
- If mediation is ordered, the Twelfth Circuit generally wants it held within 60 days of the referral.
A simple uncontested case with no children can sometimes wrap up not long after the 20-day minimum. Most take longer, because serving papers and getting on the court's calendar take time, and so does drafting the orders that divide a retirement account or a house.
For scale, Florida's court system says agreements in collaborative divorce can be reached in three to nine months, while a litigated case could take more than a year. No court publishes a Sarasota County average, so be wary of a firm number quoted before anyone knows your case. What holds true: an uncontested divorce almost always moves faster than a contested divorce over parenting time or a family business.
How much does a divorce cost in Sarasota County?
Court costs are fixed and published. Attorney fees are not. Here's what the Sarasota County Clerk and the Twelfth Circuit charge:
- Filing the petition: $408.00
- Issuing a summons: $10.00
- Sheriff's service: $40 per summons, if the sheriff delivers the papers
- Clerk form packets: $7.05 to $11.55, depending on the case type
- Court mediation program: $60 per person per session if your combined gross income is under $50,000 a year, or $120 per person if it's between $50,000 and $100,000. There's no fee if the Clerk finds you indigent. Above $100,000 combined, the program won't take your case, and you'd hire a private mediator.
If you have minor children, the parenting course has its own fee, set by the provider you choose.
Attorney fees depend mostly on how much you and your spouse disagree and how complicated your finances are. Some lawyers bill hourly against a retainer (an upfront deposit). Others offer a flat fee for a truly uncontested case. A judge can order one spouse to pay some or all of the other's attorney's fees based on each spouse's finances, which matters when there's a big income gap. The Florida Bar warns that these awards are unpredictable, so don't budget around one. And contingency fees, where the lawyer gets paid only if you win, aren't allowed in Florida divorce cases.
Is mediation required for a divorce in Florida?
For parenting disputes, yes. Under Florida's divorce mediation requirements, once the court finds you disagree about parenting issues such as time-sharing or parental responsibility, it must send those issues to mediation. Judges can send other disputes, like property division, to mediation as well. Many Twelfth Circuit judges want mediation done before they'll set a contested hearing, and Florida's court system describes mediation as generally required before trial.
How the circuit's Family Mediation Program works:
- Nothing gets scheduled until the judge signs an Order of Referral, and both spouses must file financial affidavits before that happens.
- Sessions run up to three hours. The first one is usually held by Zoom.
- If you have children, bring a draft parenting plan.
- Skipping a session without good reason can be treated as contempt of court.
Written mediation communications, other than a signed settlement agreement, stay out of the public record.
If a history of domestic violence would compromise the mediation process, you can ask the court not to order it. A protective injunction is a separate court order, not part of the divorce judgment.
Before anyone files, there's a free option: the Twelfth Circuit's Pre-Filing Family Mediation, run through its Citizen Dispute Settlement Program. It's open only if neither of you has filed a family case involving the other or your children before.
What happens at a Sarasota County divorce hearing?
Even a fully uncontested divorce ends with a final hearing, usually a short one, where a judge reviews your paperwork and signs the final judgment. So plan on going to court at least once. Bring proof of Florida residency. In a simplified dissolution, both spouses must attend, and the court prefers that both parties come to every hearing.
Before that, expect a status or case management conference, where the court checks for missing documents, may refer you to mediation, and sets the final hearing or trial date.
Sarasota family hearings are usually held at the Judge Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center on Ringling Boulevard downtown. South County cases go to the South County Courthouse in Venice, where some shorter hearings, like case management conferences, may be held by Zoom. The Clerk's office, where you file, is in a different building, the Historic Courthouse. If you need a spoken-language interpreter, ask at least five business days ahead.
If you'd rather settle without a courtroom fight, divorce mediation and collaborative divorce are both designed for that.
When your spouse won't cooperate
Your spouse can refuse to sign anything and still end up divorced.
Can my spouse block the divorce by refusing to sign or answer?
No. You don't need your spouse's signature to get divorced in Florida. Once served, your spouse has 20 days to respond. If they don't, you can ask the court for a default, which lets the case move ahead without them. If the court finds the marriage irretrievably broken, it can enter a final judgment either way.
If you have minor children, or your spouse denies the marriage is over, the judge can order counseling or pause the case for up to three months. That gives reconciliation a chance, not a way to stall forever. Afterward, if the judge finds the marriage is broken, the divorce must be granted.
Related posts cover what to do if you've been served and what happens when a spouse doesn't want the divorce.
What if I can't find my spouse to serve the papers?
If you truly can't locate your spouse, Florida allows service by publication. First you file a sworn affidavit describing your search: the post office, your spouse's last known employer, licensing agencies, relatives, and any other leads. Then a notice runs in a local newspaper once a week for four weeks in a row, giving your spouse a response deadline 28 to 60 days after the first publication. If you can't afford the newspaper's charge, ask about civil indigent status. The Clerk can post the notice instead.
The catch is that this lets the court end your marriage, but it can't order your spouse to pay alimony, child support, or costs. It also can't divide Florida property unless the notice specifically describes it. That limited result is a good reason to get advice before you go this route.
What if my spouse is in the military or lives in another state?
Neither one stops the divorce. For a spouse on active duty, the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act adds safeguards. Before the court can enter a default judgment, you must file an affidavit about your spouse's military status. If your spouse is serving, the court must appoint a lawyer for them before entering judgment, and your spouse can ask for a pause of at least 90 days.
If your spouse lives in another state, you can still file here as long as one of you meets the six-month residency rule. Florida courts can decide alimony, support, and property against an out-of-state spouse if Florida was your marital home when you filed, or if your spouse lived here before you filed. Where the children's parenting case is heard is a separate question, and it usually turns on where they've lived for the last six months.
Property and children
Is Florida a 50/50 divorce state?
It starts at 50/50, but an even split isn't guaranteed. Florida judges begin by assuming marital assets and debts will be divided equally, then adjust when there's a good reason, such as one spouse deliberately wasting marital money after filing or in the two years before. Whose name is on the title doesn't settle it. What matters is whether something is marital (generally, acquired during the marriage) or nonmarital (generally, owned before the marriage, inherited, or given to you by someone other than your spouse).
Retirement savings built during the marriage are usually marital, which is worth knowing if you're dividing a 401(k) later in life. For more detail, see how property is divided in a Florida divorce.
What happens to our house?
There's no standard answer. It depends on whether the house is marital property and whether either of you can afford to keep it. Couples often sell and split the proceeds, or one spouse buys out the other's share. A judge can also let one parent stay in the home for a while so a child keeps a stable place to live, when that's fair and financially workable. Read more about the marital home.
How are time-sharing and parenting decisions handled?
Through a parenting plan. It sets the time-sharing schedule (Florida's term for when the children are with each parent) and says who makes decisions about school and health care. Florida law presumes that equal time-sharing is best for a child, but a parent can overcome that presumption with evidence that a different schedule fits the child better. Read more about parenting plans and time-sharing and child support.
A few more questions
Can I get my former name back? Yes. Ask for it in your petition, or in a counterpetition if your spouse filed first, and the judge can restore it in the final judgment. The court can only restore the name you had right before the marriage. If you forget to ask, you can file a separate petition later, and restoring a former name doesn't require the fingerprints a regular name change does.
What about alimony? Florida rewrote its alimony law in 2023. Permanent alimony isn't available for cases filed or pending on or after July 1, 2023. What's available now depends on the length of your marriage and on one spouse's need weighed against the other's ability to pay. See spousal support for the details.
Can the final judgment be appealed or changed later? You generally have 30 days from the final judgment to appeal. After that, child support, most types of alimony, and time-sharing can be changed only if circumstances have substantially changed. A property division, once final, generally can't be reopened. Learn more about modifying a final judgment.
Where can I find my divorce records? Your case is a public record once filed, and you can search it on the Clerk's ClerkNet system. The document that ends it is the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
Getting advice on your own case
The rules are the easy part. Applying them to your own finances and children is harder, especially with a spouse who won't cooperate, and that's where a Sarasota divorce lawyer can help. Alpert Law offers in-person and virtual consultations for families in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Call (941) 208-9352 or use the contact form.