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Consent Divorce
From
$390.00
without Children;
without Real Property
$690.00
with Children;
without Real Property
*
Plus Court
Costs which vary according to the county in which the case is
filed. You can determine the filing fees at the website for the
Clerk of Court for your county by clicking on the following
links.
Pinellas
Pasco
Hillsborough
Fees
quoted are minimum fees that do not apply to all cases. The
Minimum divorce fee only applies when both parties sign papers
disclosing financial information and agreeing to all the divorce
terms before the case is filed.
Click here for the
financial disclosure forms.
Florida has "no fault" dissolution of marriage (divorce)
laws. The basic requirements are that the husband or the wife
is a resident of Florida for at least 6 months immediately
before filing for divorce and that the person requesting the
divorce appear and testify that the marriage is irretrievably
broken. An attorney in Florida may only represent one of the
parties even when the husband and wife are in full agreement.
Your spouse should not expect to have any communication with
me except through the paperwork.
Before the court grants a divorce all financial matters and all
matters concerning children should be resolved either by
agreement between the husband and the wife, or, if there is no
agreement approved by the court, by rulings of the court after
one or more court hearings or after a trial. Before a case
is set for trial almost all cases will be referred to mediation.
Most cases settle at mediation. Cases are
often quite costly if the husband and wife are not in complete
agreement about all financial and family matters, including
assets (especially joint assets), debts (especially joint
debts), and alimony, if any. Matters such as parental responsibility, custody/primary residence,
child support, insurance responsibilities and rights, and visitation should be dealt with in a parenting plan.
Child support agreements must be supported by sworn financial
statements signed by each parent and must comply with Florida
Guidelines. Click this link for more information on
child support calculations. To
make this computation you must provide information on income, on
the child's health/dental insurance expenses and daycare
expenses.
When there
are minor children of the marriage, both parents are required to
take a four hour seminar before the divorce will be granted. The
seminar costs $35.00 per person. The parents may go to the
seminar together but they are not required to do so. I strongly
recommend that my clients and their spouses take the seminar as
soon as possible.
Separation and Divorce: A Child's View is one of the approved courses.
The foregoing is a very simplified overview and should not be
treated as a complete description of the way which Florida law
or procedures may apply to a particular situation, if they apply
at all. You should not treat this information as a substitute
for legal advice and analysis, suited to your particular
circumstances, in a consultation with an attorney. We hope you
will consider it a description of some topics to discuss in your
initial consultation. When scheduling your consultation you may
request that I provide you with a list of documents and
information that may be helpful in your consultation. Documents
which typically are helpful may include recent pay stubs, tax returns,
including w-2 and 1090 type forms, deeds, mortgages, vehicle
titles, insurance information and financial statements.
The minimum fee does not include revisions, service of process,
certified mail, reconciliation delays, negotiations, complicated provisions, direct pension
distribution orders, depositions, preparing financial
statements, document production, deeds, mortgages, promissory
notes, other agreements, Florida Real Estate provisions, special
delivery, additional hearings, visitation schedules or other pre-filing services. It does
include one court appearance for an uncontested consent divorce.
To download samples of my standard fee statements click the
links below.
without minor children
with minor children
Other services are available for additional fees and may be
required for your situation. Those additional services may
include a simple deed $150.00 including minimal recording costs. An hourly fee
retainer must be paid in all cases to be filed without
appropriate advance consent, in divorce defense cases, and in
pre-divorce negotiations and may apply to to any service not
included within the minimum fee case description. Hourly fees
are charged if your spouse does not consent and in cases where
you cannot locate your spouse after a diligent search.
Additional services are available at the rate of $150.00 to $200.00 per
hour plus costs.
You will find an overview link below. However, this overview has not been updated for changes in Florida law such as:
(1) 2008 changes which includes the requirement of a parenting plan.
(2) Changes in alimony laws effective July 1, 2010 and
(3) Changes in child support law effective January 1, 2011.
Overview of divorce prepared
by the Florida Bar |
