Fillable form fields in the PDF allows you to complete forms by typing information into the form fields. Skip to Main Content. Text Size Print Share. You may qualify for a fee waiver. An Order of Referral contains the following language:. If there are no exceptions to the recommendations of the magistrate timely filed by the parties, the recommendations are forwarded to the judge to be signed as an Order. If you need a foreign language interpreter to fully participate in your hearing, it is your responsibility to bring a qualified interpreter as the Court does not provide a foreign language interpreter free of charge for family law cases.
If you need a sign language interpreter for your hearing, please contact the ADA Coordinator at It is still your responsibility to be aware of laws and legal rules before appearing in court as neither the judge, magistrate, case managers, clerks, nor other court personnel are allowed to give you any legal advice. Additional information and links are available on our Family webpage. If possible, it is best to consult with an attorney before appearing in court. Florida law requires that all child support payments must be paid through the state disbursement unit unless both parties agree to have it paid directly.
Self-represented litigants whose pleadings include issues of child support should consider which option would work best for their situation — this information should be explained to the judge or magistrate during the hearing so that the best solution can be worked out for the parties and entered into an Order.
You may call the office of the judge or magistrate , as applicable, and request an earlier hearing date. However, an earlier hearing date may not be available.
The pleading will be scheduled for a hearing before a judge or magistrate. It is your responsibility to provide proof or evidence that the other party has not complied with the Order. Please refer to question 10 for information about what you should bring to Court and what you are supposed to do.
The court may hold any parent who fails to attend this required parenting course in contempt and impose appropriate sanctions. Shared parenting requires both parents to confer so that major decisions affecting the welfare of the child will be determined jointly. The court will determine any or all of these matters if the parties cannot agree.
Important Information
In very rare cases, the court can order sole parental responsibility to one parent. To do so, the court must determine that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child. In determining parental responsibility, the court will approve or devise its own Parenting Plan, which includes responsibility for the daily tasks of child-rearing, the time-sharing schedule, and decision-making authority relating to health care, school and related activities.
The plan also will specify any technology that will be used for parent-child communication. The parents may agree on a Parenting Plan and submit it to the court for approval, or the court will determine these issues. The statute includes a list of factors for the court to consider in making these decisions. Florida law requires both parties to attend a parenting course before entering a final dissolution of marriage. Some courts require children of parents going through dissolution of marriage to attend a class specifically designed for them.
One of the most difficult and complex areas of dissolution of marriage is the division of assets and debts. Assets may include cars, houses, retirement benefits pensions and k plans , business interests, cash, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, personal property and other things of value. There are two types of assets and debts in Florida — nonmarital and marital. Generally, any asset or debt acquired during the marriage is considered marital and subject to distribution.
Divorce | Florida Department of Health
The parties also may have assets or debts that are considered nonmarital and should be awarded to only one party. Although the court must begin with the presumption that all marital assets and debts are to be divided equally 50 percent each between the parties, the court may distribute the marital estate fairly or equitably not necessarily equally between the parties, regardless of how title is held.
A court decides equitable distribution before considering alimony. Equitable distribution is based on a long list of factors the court is required to consider. Factors to be considered by the court include the contribution of each spouse to the marriage; the duration of the marriage; and the economic circumstances of each spouse.
Miami’s Community Newspapers is your one-stop shop for legal notices in Miami-Dade County.
The court should approve your agreement if the court finds it to be reasonable. If you and your spouse cannot agree, the court will divide the assets and debts during trial. After equitable distribution, the court may consider an alimony award.
- looking for shop phone deals at cingular wireless;
- Free Florida Divorce Legal Forms!
- new world record whitetail buffalo county wisconsin;
- criminal offense of custodial interference michigan;
The court may grant alimony to either spouse. For the court to award alimony, the requesting spouse must demonstrate a need for alimony and the ability of the other party to pay. Once the requesting spouse has established a need and an ability to pay, the court must determine all relevant factors to determine the property type and amount of alimony to award. For purposes of determining alimony, there is a rebuttable presumption that a short-term marriage is a marriage having a duration of less than 7 years, a moderate-term marriage is a marriage having a duration of greater than 7 years but less than 17 years, and a long-term marriage is a marriage having a duration of 17 years or greater.
The length of a marriage is the period of time from the date of marriage until the date of filing of an action for dissolution of marriage. Bridge-the-gap alimony may be awarded to help a spouse make a transition from being married to being single. Bridge-the-gap alimony is designed to assist a spouse with legitimate, identifiable short-term needs. There are limits as to the length and conditions of a bridge-the-gap alimony award. Rehabilitative alimony may be awarded to assist a spouse in establishing the capacity for self-support through either the redevelopment of previous skills or credentials, or the acquisition of education, training or work experience necessary to develop appropriate employment skills or credentials.
The court must articulate a specific rehabilitative plan to award alimony so both parties clearly understand the expectations placed on the alimony recipient. Durational alimony may be awarded when permanent periodic alimony is inappropriate. The purpose of durational alimony is to provide a spouse with economic assistance for a set period of time following a marriage of short or moderate duration or following a marriage of long duration if there is no ongoing need for support on a permanent basis.
There are limitations as to the length and modifiability of a durational alimony award. Permanent alimony may be awarded to provide for the needs and necessities of life as they were established during the marriage of the parties for a spouse who lacks the financial ability to meet the needs and necessities of life following a dissolution of marriage. There are limitations as to when a court may award permanent periodic alimony, particularly for marriages of short or moderate duration.
- Miami-Dade County Divorce Lawyers!
- take to get a divorce in georgia;
- how to find magnets under a car;
- Online Forms!
- free up to date people search;
- Family Court Division!
- georgia right to gay marriage;
Some of the factors the court considers when determining the type and amount of the alimony award include, but are not limited to:. Discovery includes the exchange of documents and answers to written or oral questions. There are important tax considerations in any dissolution of marriage, including the dependency deduction for children, taxability and deductibility of child support and alimony in their various forms, and effects of property transfers.
Know the tax consequences of your settlement agreement before finalizing your dissolution of marriage. It may be too late after the signing of a marital settlement agreement or entry of a final judgment to correct mistakes that have been made. You may want to obtain the services of an accountant in conjunction with your attorney to become better informed about this part of the dissolution process.
You and your spouse each have a responsibility to financially support your children in accordance with your income and their needs. Child support may be by direct payment or by indirect benefits, such as mortgage payments, insurance or payment of medical and dental expenses. Ordinarily, the obligation to support your child ends when that child reaches age 18, marries, is emancipated, joins the armed forces or dies.
Other questions may need to be answered, depending on the circumstances of your case.
Guidelines for the amount of support apply to all cases and are based on the income of the parents and the number of children, with adjustments for substantial overnight contact. If you have a problem receiving support payments from your spouse or former spouse, or the time-sharing plan is not being followed, you should bring this matter to the attention of the court. It is not legal to withhold time-sharing or child-support payments because either parent fails to pay court-ordered child support or violates the time-sharing schedule in the parenting plan.
Florida law permits the court to restore the former name of a spouse in a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.
- Consumer Pamphlet: Divorce In Florida – The Florida Bar.
- louisville ky white pages phone book;
- the talking phone book albany ny;
- marriage records of michael turner morgan;
- Filing for Divorce without an Attorney.
A spouse who desires restoration of a name must request it, normally within the original petition or a counter-petition for dissolution of marriage. The court can restore the spouse only to the name from immediately prior to the marriage.