Simplified and uncontested divorce in Florida

Florida has the fastest divorce path of any large state, and almost nobody qualifies for it. Simplified dissolution can be over in about a month, but the price of admission is a list of conditions most couples cannot meet, and two rights most people should think hard about giving up.

The version most agreeing couples actually use is a regular uncontested divorce, which is slower and far more flexible.

What is a simplified dissolution of marriage in Florida?

A joint petition, signed by both spouses, that ends the marriage with one short hearing. The instructions to form 12.901(a) list what has to be true for all of it:

• You and your spouse agree that the marriage cannot be saved

• You have no minor or dependent children together, the wife has no minor or dependent children born during the marriage, and the wife is not now pregnant

• You have already worked out how to divide your assets and liabilities, and you both agree with that division

• Neither of you is seeking alimony from the other

• You are both willing to give up your right to trial and appeal

• You have both signed the petition

• You are both willing to attend the final hearing, at the same time

If you do not meet every one of those, the instructions say you must file a regular petition for dissolution instead.

What do you give up in a Florida simplified dissolution?

Two things worth naming out loud.

The right to trial and appeal. That is not boilerplate. Once the judgment is entered you cannot argue that the split was unfair or that you did not understand what you were signing.

Mandatory disclosure. Simplified dissolution is one of only two case types exempt from Florida's mandatory disclosure rule. Nobody exchanges financial affidavits, tax returns, or account statements. So you are agreeing to a property division based entirely on what the two of you already believe you own.

For a couple who rented an apartment, split a checking account, and have a car each, that trade is fine. For a couple with a house, a pension, and a business, it is a bad trade dressed up as an efficient one.

How does a Florida simplified dissolution work?

The instructions lay out the sequence:

1. Both spouses complete and sign the joint petition and file it with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where you live.

2. Document your agreement. You can sign a Marital Settlement Agreement, form 12.902(f)(3), and file it, or agree that everything has been disposed of by oral agreement.

3. Prove residency. One of you has to prove more than six months in Florida, using a driver license, ID card, or voter registration card issued at least six months before filing, the testimony of someone who knows, or an Affidavit of Corroborating Witness, form 12.902(i).

4. Pay the filing fee, or file an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status and let the clerk decide.

5. Complete the Family Court Cover Sheet, form 12.928.

6. Attend the final hearing together. Depending on your circuit you either get a hearing date from the clerk or the court gives you one, and you either bring a completed Final Judgment of Simplified Dissolution, form 12.990(a), or the court prepares it.

The 20 day rule still applies, so the earliest a judge can sign is 20 days after filing.

What is an uncontested divorce in Florida?

A regular dissolution case where both spouses agree on everything. You file the petition form that matches your situation, your spouse answers or signs the agreement, you both do mandatory disclosure, and you file a marital settlement agreement and a parenting plan if there are children.

The differences from simplified dissolution are the point:

• You can have children. The parenting plan and support calculation go in the agreement.

• You can have property. Real estate, retirement accounts, and businesses can be divided in the judgment.

• You can have alimony. Any of the types described in the alimony chapter can be agreed to.

• You still get disclosure. Both sides serve financial affidavits and documents, so you are agreeing on real numbers.

• You keep your appeal rights.

Realistically, uncontested with children takes three to six months, mostly spent on the parenting course, the disclosure exchange, and drafting.

What should go in a Florida marital settlement agreement?

Everything, with enough specificity that a stranger could enforce it. Florida publishes forms for this, 12.902(f)(1) with children and 12.902(f)(2) without, and they exist because vague agreements generate contempt motions.

Cover:

• Every asset by name and account number, who receives it, and by when it transfers

• Every debt, who pays it, and what happens if they do not

• The house: who keeps it, when the other spouse comes off the deed, and a hard deadline for refinancing

• Retirement: the plan, the formula for dividing it, and who prepares and pays for the qualified domestic relations order

• Alimony: the type, the amount, the end date, and whether it is modifiable

• Child support, the income deduction order, health insurance, and how uncovered medical costs are split

• The time-sharing schedule with exchange times and places, holidays, and summers

• Who claims each child on their taxes

• Name restoration, if either of you wants it

When should you not use a Florida uncontested divorce?

Agreement is cheaper and calmer, and it is not always the right call. Reconsider if:

• You do not know what exists. Agreeing to split assets you have not seen documented is agreeing to the other person's arithmetic. Florida gives you disclosure for free. Use it before you settle.

• There is a business. Value, income, and the marital share all take work, and the number in a settlement agreement is not revisitable.

• One spouse handled all the money. That is not a reason to fight, but it is a reason to read the statements before signing.

• The alimony trade is large. Giving up a durational alimony claim is worth real money, and the alimony ceilings tell you roughly how much.

• There is any history of coercion or violence. Agreement negotiated under pressure is not agreement, and Florida has protective procedures instead.

Can you change your mind after signing in Florida?

Before the judgment is entered, a marital settlement agreement is a contract that can sometimes be set aside for fraud, duress, coercion, or misrepresentation, and courts do set them aside when a spouse concealed assets. After the judgment, your options narrow to a motion for rehearing, an appeal, or a motion for relief from judgment on narrow grounds.

In a simplified dissolution you have given up the appeal, so the window is smaller still.

The practical protection is doing the work first. Read the disclosure, value what you own, and take the numbers to mediation rather than agreeing across a kitchen table to something neither of you has checked.