Florida Divorce Blog

Several reasons why you should let a lawyer handle your Florida divorce case.

It may seem like a real good idea to do your own Florida divorce and try to save money by not hiring a lawyer. But unfortunately it may not work out so well. It should be pointed out that you have every right to represent yourself and handle your own Florida divorce. But the devil is in the details. Everybody wants a simple and fast divorce but it may not be so simple. In the end you may say, “Gee I wish I would have paid that lawyer those few dollars for them to do it correctly for me.”

What's a "no court" Florida Divorce? It's where you are still divorced, but you never have to meet the judge. Isn’t that nice...

Sometimes you don’t have to meet me in person either.

This is because I handle so many uncontested divorces by phone and email. I also hired computer programmers to create systems for us to make both of our lives easier during the process.

Are you wondering how to protect your kids in a divorce? 

First... make sure you have a good lawyer! 

Second... remember, if both parties can’t decide on a timesharing schedule, the judge will decide for you. 

I have more helpful tips to make your divorce go smoothly. I wanted to share them with you, so you can save as much money as possible.

First, pick a lawyer that has the best tech.

The paperwork goes a lot faster that way. I run my whole office with great technology and even developed a lot of my own systems for speeding up divorces.

Greetings!  Here are my Top 7 Attorney Tips for helping make your Florida Divorce go smoothly.

If you have an agreement with your spouse…

You may be wondering if you can stay out of court completely…And the answer is...

Yes, if you meet certain circumstances.

I know going through a divorce can be a very stressful time, but choosing the right attorney can make all the difference.

When looking for a lawyer, you’re also looking for a professional partner who will be on your side and make the process goes as smoothly and as painlessly as possible.

This could be in court or out of court. Luckily, I help my clients stay out of court if we can.

Did you know, you have a right to half the money and assets earned during your marriage?

Did you know, you have a right to alimony if there’s a financial need for assistance and the other party has the ability to pay? And a legal right to see your kids?

So what's the bottom line regarding the divorce process in Florida? There are two types of divorces; contested and uncontested. Uncontested simply means that every issue between the parties has been settled and agreed to. These issues might include things like division of property and debt, whether or not one party is going to pay support to the other party for any period of time, child related issues such as visitation , which we now call time sharing in Florida, and child support issues. The more issues that the parties agree to, the less there is for the judge to decide, and the less expense for the parties.

You have no obligation to respond to any papers that your spouse gives you unless they were properly served upon you. Generally speaking, a process server or the Sheriff must formally deliver to you the court documents. (unless you signed some sort of waiver of service, which is often done in a Florida uncontested divorce where the parties agree on everything)

The court documents to be served are the Florida divorce petition for dissolution of marriage. Note that there are other ways for the sheriff or process server to serve you. For example the papers can be left with someone you live with who is 15 years of age or older.

Financial affidavits are one of the most important aspects of a divorce in Florida. Except under very limited circumstances , each party must file with the court a notarized financial affidavit . A Financial affidavit states a parties’ financial condition. The main sections of a financial affidavit are the income section, the expense section, the asset section, and a debt section.

The income section is important for example to establish the appropriate child support amount. It also is relevant to whether someone has a need for financial assistance (ie alimony) or an ability to pay alimony. Income may also be considered in regard to someone’s ability to contribute to marital debts, and possibly with regard to the distribution of marital assets.

The expense section of a financial affidavit may also be relevant to alimony, concerning need for assistance and ability to pay alimony, and possibly with regard to distribution of debts and assets.

A contested Florida divorce means that you and your spouse have been unable to come to an agreement on one or more issues on your Divorce. It’s somewhat rare that the parties agree for example on everything except one issue, and then have a judge decide that remaining issue. But it is possible.

It is very important that you make sure that the lawyer you choose is highly experienced in the type of issues that are involved in your case. Those issues may include alimony, child support, timesharing, (what used to be called visitation and custody), division of property and debt, and responsibility for attorney’s fees. A Florida Contested divorce is a serious matter and you need to be sure that you are comfortable working with the particular attorney that you have chosen. It is not necessarily enough that they are highly experienced if you do not have a good working relationship with them.

You also need to make sure that the pricing is competitive compared to the rates of other attorneys in your area. If a lawyer charges a substantial amount more than other attorneys, it may be because they are far more experienced and knowledgeable, or it may be that they simply get a premium for no particular reason. Additionally, if the price is too low, you may have concerns that they are not very experienced or that they may not work as hard on your matter as an attorney who is more appropriately paid.