Simplified Divorce Is Faster and Cheaper, but It Is Not Painless
There is no such thing as a painless divorce, but divorce cases that are truly hideous, even by the standards of family law attorneys are the exception to the rule. Most couples finalize their divorces through mediation, even if they have minor children. The more financial entanglements you have, the more there is to discuss, and if your children are minors, you must also agree on the terms of a parenting plan. Even if you can avoid going to trial, the thought of sitting in silence across the table from your spouse while your lawyers and a mediator discuss your finances is not fun. The good news is that you do not have to do this if you and your spouse can agree on all issues of property division and, if applicable, co-parenting, before you get to divorce court. To find out more about uncontested divorce and its simple cousin, simplified dissolution of marriage, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
How Does Simplified Divorce Work?
A simplified divorce proceeding is four steps. First, you and your spouse jointly file a petition for simplified divorce, indicating how you want the court to divide your marital property. Then, you submit disclosures of your separate and marital assets and debts. Next, you attend a hearing, and after the hearing, the court will issue a divorce decree, legally finalizing your divorce.
Do You Qualify for Simplified Divorce?
Simplified divorce only works if the parties’ entanglements with each other are simple. You can only do it if the following criteria apply:
- At least one spouse lived in Florida for at least six months before filing the petition.
- Both spouses agree to pursue simplified divorce.
- The parties do not have minor children together, and the wife is not pregnant at the time of filing.
- The petition does not include any requests for alimony.
In practice, most couples who engage in simplified divorce proceedings were married to each other for less than five years and do not own real estate property together, although neither of these is a legal requirement for simplified divorce.
You Can Still Get an Uncontested Divorce, Even If You Do Not Qualify for Simplified Proceedings
Even if your situation is too complex to qualify for simplified dissolution of marriage, you can still get an uncontested divorce, where you and your spouse submit the divorce petition jointly and the court signs off on it after a process similar to the simplified one. When couples get an uncontested divorce after a long marriage and when they have children, it is usually because of one of two scenarios. First, they might have been living separately for a long time, having already separated their property and parenting time in practice, so their divorce is just making things official. Second, they might have engaged in collaborative divorce, where they hired lawyers and went through mediation outside of court before submitting the uncontested divorce petition.
Contact Schwartz | White About Making Divorce Simple
A South Florida family law attorney can help you figure out whether uncontested divorce is feasible for you, even if you do not qualify for simplified divorce. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
bonderudlaw.com/blog/understanding-simplified-dissolution-of-marriage-in-florida/
