Sarasota Divorce Lawyer

What gets decided in a divorce about property division, child custody, and spousal support stays with you for years. It shapes your finances and your time with your kids long after the case closes. That's why it pays to understand your options and your rights from the start, before positions harden.

Alpert Law has over 20 years of experience practicing family law. As a Sarasota divorce lawyer serving clients across Sarasota and Manatee County, we meet in person or virtually, whichever suits your schedule. Our office is conveniently located in downtown Sarasota.

A divorce attorney in Sarasota, FL who knows Florida law and how Sarasota County courts actually run cases can help you avoid costly early mistakes.

Protect your rights and plan for the future. Schedule a consultation with our Sarasota divorce lawyer at (941) 208-9352.

Why Families Across Sarasota and Manatee County Choose Alpert Law

Before she became a lawyer, principal attorney Liz Alpert went through two divorces of her own. One settled amicably. The other went to litigation.

She has sat on your side of the desk. That experience shapes the firm's approach: practical, realistic advice. Associate attorney Colleen Bratcher has more than 25 years of experience and focuses exclusively on family law.

We start by getting to know your situation: your goals and how much you and your spouse still agree on, plus how complex your finances are and what your kids need. Then we help you pick the path that fits. Our approach is resolution-first but trial-ready. We try to settle what we can through negotiation or mediation, because that usually costs less and leaves your family in better shape afterward. If your spouse won't negotiate in good faith, the same attorney stays on your case and takes it to court. You don't have to change lawyers because the strategy changed. (The exception is a collaborative divorce: Florida's rules bar collaborative lawyers from taking that case to court, so you would need a new lawyer for litigation.)

Whether your case settles or goes to trial, our goal is to keep each stage clear and manageable, with as little disruption to your life as possible.

How Divorce Works Under Florida Law

You don't have to prove your spouse did anything wrong to get divorced in Florida. The legal term for divorce here is dissolution of marriage, and the court order that ends it is called a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

Florida is a no-fault state. You only need to show that the marriage is "irretrievably broken," which means it can't be repaired. (One other ground exists but is rarely used: a spouse a court has declared mentally incapacitated for at least three years.) Your spouse can't block the divorce by refusing to agree, though an uncooperative spouse can slow it down.

Before you file, at least one of you must have lived in Florida for six months, and you'll need to prove it. The residency question in our FAQ below explains how.

Once the petition (the document that starts the case) is filed, a judge can't sign the final judgment for at least 20 days. So even the fastest Sarasota divorce takes about three weeks. Courts shorten that wait only when it would cause a real injustice.

Choosing Your Path: The Ways a Sarasota Divorce Can Proceed

There's more than one way through a divorce. The path you take changes the cost and the timeline, and how much control you keep over the result.

• Uncontested divorce. You and your spouse agree on the major issues. A straightforward, uncontested divorce may take as little as a few months. It still deserves a lawyer's review so the settlement is fair and enforceable under Florida law. A deal that sounds fair in conversation can leave out something that matters, like a retirement account or a tax bill.
  
   
• Simplified dissolution. A faster option handled through the Clerk. It's only open to couples with no minor or dependent children and no pregnancy who have already agreed on how to divide property and debts, and where neither spouse is asking for alimony. Both spouses must appear together at the final hearing, and you give up the right to a trial and an appeal.
  
   
• Mediated divorce. A neutral mediator helps the two of you work through disagreements without a trial. Couples often land on solutions neither would have proposed alone.
  
   
• Collaborative divorce. Each spouse hires a lawyer trained in the collaborative process, and everyone signs an agreement to stay out of court. If the process breaks down and the case goes to court, both collaborative lawyers must step aside. Florida Courts say agreements can be reached in three to nine months.
  
   
• Contested divorce. When you can't agree on the big issues, such as property or parenting, the case heads to litigation. In Florida Courts this could take more than a year, because the judge, not the two of you, controls the schedule.
   

If a negotiated or mediated approach stalls because your spouse changes course, we're ready to move to litigation and build on the groundwork already laid.

What a Florida Divorce Decides

Property and Debts: Equitable Distribution

Florida doesn't automatically split everything 50/50, but that's the percentage where a judge starts. The law calls this equitable distribution: the split has to be fair, and fair usually means equal. A judge can shift it when the facts justify it, for example when one spouse put a career on hold to raise the children.

Marital property generally means assets and debts either of you acquired during the marriage. That includes retirement benefits earned while married and the marital share of a business, including goodwill tied to the business itself rather than to the owner personally. Property you owned before the marriage usually stays separate. So do inheritances and gifts from someone other than your spouse, unless you mixed them with marital money. A separate asset can also pick up a marital share if marital money or either spouse's work made it grow in value.

The cutoff for what counts as marital is usually the date the petition is filed, or an earlier valid separation agreement. If one spouse deliberately wasted or destroyed marital assets after filing, or in the two years before, the judge can make up for it in the division.

Alimony After Florida's 2023 Law

Permanent alimony is gone for new cases. Florida's alimony reform, Senate Bill 1416, took effect July 1, 2023, and applies to any initial divorce case filed or still pending on or after that date.

Before awarding any alimony, the judge must find that one spouse needs support and the other can afford to pay it. Four types remain:

• Temporary alimony is paid while the case is pending.
  
   
• Bridge-the-gap alimony helps a spouse move from married to single life. It lasts two years at most.
  
   
• Rehabilitative alimony helps a spouse rebuild old skills or get the education, training, or work experience needed to become self-supporting. It requires a specific plan and lasts five years at most.
  
   
• Durational alimony is support for a set period. It isn't available after a marriage of less than three years. It can last no more than half the length of a short marriage (under 10 years), 60 percent of a moderate one (10 to 20 years), or 75 percent of a long one (20 years or more), unless the judge finds exceptional circumstances. The amount is capped at the lower of the recipient's reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference between your net incomes.

Fault doesn't matter for getting divorced. For alimony, though, a spouse's adultery and its financial impact can affect how much a judge awards.

Parenting Plans and Time-Sharing

Florida law no longer uses the word "custody" to describe divorcing parents' rights. Parents have a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule, which is the calendar for when the children are with each parent.

Since a 2023 law took effect, judges start from the presumption that equal time-sharing, a 50/50 schedule, is best for the child. The presumption can be overcome: a parent who wants a different schedule has to prove, with evidence, that 50/50 isn't right for this child. Shared parental responsibility, meaning both parents keep a say in major decisions, is also the default unless it would harm the child.

When parents can't agree, the judge weighs a long list of best-interest factors, such as each parent's history of involvement and any history of domestic violence. A mature child's reasonable preference counts too. Every parenting plan must cover the daily details, including the schedule and who makes school and health care decisions.

A later move of at least 50 miles for at least 60 consecutive days counts as a "relocation," which has its own notice and court-approval rules. Our child custody page covers time-sharing and relocation in more depth.

Child Support

Florida uses an income-shares formula. The court combines both parents' net incomes and uses the state's guideline chart to set a total support amount. Each parent then pays a share in proportion to income. The judge can move the guideline amount up or down by 5 percent. Anything beyond that needs written reasons.

Your schedule matters. Once a parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights, the formula adjusts for that shared time. Child care tied to work or school gets added on top, and so do the child's health insurance and uncovered medical costs.

Support usually lasts until the child turns 18, or until high school graduation if the child is still enrolled and expected to graduate before 19. It can also reach back up to 24 months before the case was filed. Our child support page explains the formula in more detail.

The Marital Home and Retirement Accounts

The house and the retirement accounts are often the two biggest assets, and neither has one standard answer. Some couples sell the home and split the proceeds. In others, one spouse keeps it and buys out the other's share of the equity. Sometimes a judge lets one parent stay in the home for a while for the children's sake, without giving that parent full ownership.

Retirement savings built during the marriage are marital no matter whose name is on the account, and dividing them correctly usually takes a separate court order to avoid tax penalties.

While the case is pending, you may also need temporary arrangements for who stays in the home and who pays which bills. If you can't agree, the court can set them early in the process.