How do I file for divorce in Miami-Dade or Hillsborough County?

One spouse must have lived in Florida for six months, and then you file a petition for dissolution of marriage with the clerk of the circuit court in your county (§ 61.021, § 61.043). In Miami-Dade the Family Division sits at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center in downtown Miami. In Hillsborough County you can file at the Clerk’s offices in downtown Tampa, Brandon or Plant City. In both counties you can file through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. Florida does not ask who was at fault. After filing, the court cannot enter a final judgment for at least 20 days (§ 61.19), your spouse has 20 days after service to respond, financial disclosure is due within 45 days of service, and parents have 45 days to finish a parenting course.

01 Who can file

Who can file for divorce in Florida?

Either spouse can, once one of you has lived in Florida for six months. The residence rule is in § 61.021: one of the parties must reside six months in the state before the petition is filed. The statute asks for residence, and it says nothing about where either spouse was born or about citizenship.

Residence is the one fact the court wants proved. Most of what a petition says does not need corroboration, but the residence requirement does. The statute lets you prove it with a valid Florida driver license, a Florida voter registration card, a Florida identification card, or the testimony or affidavit of a third party (§ 61.052(2)). A neighbor or relative who knows you have lived here can serve.

Florida asks whether the marriage is broken, not who broke it. The grounds are that the marriage is irretrievably broken or, in a rare case, that a spouse has been adjudicated incapacitated for at least three years (§ 61.052(1)). The old defenses of condonation, collusion, recrimination and laches are abolished (§ 61.044).

“Dissolution of marriage” and “divorce” are the same thing. The statute and the court forms use the first term, and the clerks’ own pages explain that dissolution is the legal word for divorce. A judgment leaves each spouse single and unmarried (§ 61.052(4)).

Florida asks whether the marriage is broken, not who broke it.

02 Miami-Dade

Where do I file for divorce in Miami-Dade County?

The petition goes to the circuit court clerk, and the Family Division is in downtown Miami. A dissolution is started by filing a petition in the circuit court (§ 61.043(1)). The Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s Family Division hears dissolutions of marriage, child custody and support, paternity and modifications, and its judges and staff are at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center, 175 NW 1st Avenue, Miami, open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, telephone 305-349-5561 (Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Family Division). The court’s page sends motions to the Family Division Clerk on the 12th floor of that building or through the e-filing portal.

The Clerk lists the filing fee at $409. That is the figure on the Miami-Dade Clerk’s family fee list for a dissolution of marriage, and a counterclaim costs $295 (Miami-Dade Clerk, Family Court). The Clerk’s e-filing page directs filers to the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal and lets you file the 20-day family summons there.

Living in Homestead or Cutler Bay does not mean driving downtown to file. The Eleventh Circuit says people who represent themselves can use the e-filing portal to submit documents to the court, and the Clerk accepts the family summons through it. The Clerk’s locations page also lists the South Dade Justice Center, at 10710 SW 211th Street, among the district courts that handle domestic violence filings and hearings. Dissolutions belong to the Family Division downtown.

The Family Court Self-Help Program can sell you the right forms packet and review it. The Eleventh Circuit’s divorce resource page says the program can help with the correct packet, review the forms once you complete them, and explain how to file and proceed. It is a service for people who decide to represent themselves.

03 Hillsborough

Where do I file for divorce in Hillsborough County?

You can go in person to any Clerk location or file through the portal. The Hillsborough County Clerk says that once your forms are complete you may go in person to any Clerk location or file them through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Hillsborough Clerk, Divorce and Annulment). The Clerk’s family courts services are listed at three buildings: 800 E. Twiggs Street in downtown Tampa, 301 North Michigan Avenue in Plant City, and 311 Pauls Drive in Brandon. The Tampa and Plant City offices are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the Brandon Service Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Clerk also offers ClerkExpress, which lets you get in line online or make an appointment for family law services.

The Clerk lists the filing fee at $408. A counter petition costs $295, issuing a summons costs $10, and court-ordered mediation through the Circuit Court Mediation Program is listed at $120 for a family income over $50,000 and under $100,000 and $60 under $50,000 (Hillsborough Clerk, Fees and Fines).

Help for people who represent themselves costs nothing in Hillsborough County. The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit lists the Family Law Self Help Programs, run by Bay Area Legal Services, a non-profit law firm, for people representing themselves in Hillsborough County family cases. They are designed to give people the information to represent themselves, and the services are offered at no cost. The Legal Aid Line is (800) 625-2257 (Thirteenth Circuit, Family Law Self Help Programs).

If you live in one county and your spouse in another, settle where to file before you file. Which county is proper in that situation is a question to answer with a lawyer, because a petition filed in the wrong county costs time and a filing fee.

04 The papers

What papers do I file to start a divorce in Florida?

A petition, with Social Security numbers on a separate attachment. The Florida Supreme Court approves the petition forms, and the Florida Courts website publishes them in the 12.901 series, with a different form depending on the facts (a simplified dissolution uses Form 12.901(a)). The statute requires each spouse’s Social Security number, and the full name, date of birth and Social Security number of each minor child, on a separate attachment to the initial pleading (§ 61.052(7) and (8)). The petitioner also files an anonymous informational questionnaire (§ 61.043(2)).

A summons, served on your spouse. Service is made by an officer authorized by law or by someone the court appoints (Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.070(b)). The summons carries a warning that rule 12.285 requires automatic disclosure and that failure to comply can mean sanctions, including dismissal or striking of pleadings (rule 12.070(a)(2)).

A financial affidavit, and the documents behind it. Under rule 12.285 each spouse serves a sworn financial affidavit on Form 12.902(b) if gross annual income is under $50,000, or Form 12.902(c) if it is $50,000 or more, plus supporting documents, within 45 days of service of the petition on the respondent (rule 12.285(b)(2), (e)). The documents include three years of tax returns, six months of pay stubs, twelve months of bank, brokerage and retirement statements, two years of credit card statements and loan applications, life insurance policies and any premarital agreement. A party then files a certificate of compliance, Form 12.932, sworn under oath (rule 12.285(j)).

A parenting plan and a child support worksheet, if there are children. A parenting plan the court approves must at minimum describe how the parents share daily tasks, set the time-sharing schedule, say who handles health care, school and other activities, describe how each parent communicates with the child, and designate where the child is exchanged (§ 61.13(2)(b)). Child support is set on the guidelines in § 61.30, and a guidelines worksheet, Form 12.902(e), must be filed at or before the hearing (rule 12.285(k)). The time-sharing and support pages explain both in more depth (time-sharing, child support).

The disclosure is not optional. A document that should have been served and was not is generally not admissible at a nonfinal hearing unless the court finds good cause for the delay, and the court may impose other sanctions (rule 12.285(g)). Rule 12.285 does not apply to a simplified dissolution (rule 12.285(a)(1)).

05 The first 90 days

What happens in the first 90 days after I file for divorce?

The statute and the rules set a handful of dates, and none of them ends the case. No final judgment can be entered until at least 20 days after the petition is filed, although the court may enter it earlier on a showing that injustice would result from the delay (§ 61.19). Twenty days is a floor. It is not a prediction of when a case ends.

Twenty days to respond. The spouse who is served must serve a response within 20 days after service (rule 12.140(a)(1)). If the respondent has not responded, the other spouse may have the clerk enter a default, and the respondent may still respond at any time before the default is entered (rule 12.500(a), (c)).

Thirty days until a party can ask for a case management conference. A party may request one 30 days after service, and at it the court can schedule motions, limit or expedite discovery, push settlement, and refer the parties to mediation unless there is a significant history of domestic, repeat, dating or sexual violence or stalking that would compromise the process (rule 12.200(a)(1)). The court may also refer contested parenting and support issues to mediation (§ 61.183).

Forty-five days for disclosure and for the parenting course. The financial affidavit and documents are due within 45 days of service (rule 12.285(b)(2)). When there are minor children, the petitioner must finish the parenting course within 45 days after filing, and the other parent within 45 days after being served, and each files proof of completion before the final judgment (§ 61.21(5)).

Temporary orders can come early. A spouse can ask for temporary alimony and suit money in the petition or by motion (§ 61.071), and the court may order child support at any time (§ 61.13(1)(a)). Before a temporary financial hearing, the spouse asking serves the required documents at least ten days ahead and the other spouse at least five days ahead (rule 12.285(b)(1)).

With a child, or a spouse who disputes it, the court can slow things down. If there is a minor child, or the other spouse denies the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court may order counseling, continue the case for up to three months to allow reconciliation, or take other action in the best interest of the parties and the child. Without a minor child and without a denial, the court must enter judgment once it finds the marriage irretrievably broken (§ 61.052(2)).

Twenty days is a floor, not a prediction.

06 Simplified

Can we file a simplified dissolution of marriage?

Only if you have no children together and have already settled everything. The parties certify under oath that they have no minor or dependent children together, that the wife has no minor or dependent child born during the marriage and is not pregnant, that they have made a satisfactory division of their property and agreed on their joint obligations, and that the other facts in Form 12.901(a) are true. Both must appear before the court (Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.105).

Miami-Dade’s Clerk has its own requirements for filing one. Both spouses must appear together, in person, at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center with a valid Florida photo identification that has a signature. A written property division agreement is filed at the first appearance, and the residence of one spouse must be corroborated by a witness who also shows Florida photo identification or by a notarized certificate. The Clerk says the final hearing is about 30 days after filing (Miami-Dade Clerk, Simplified Divorces).

If you agree on everything, you may still want a lawyer to read the agreement. One lawyer cannot represent both of you, but one can prepare the filings while the other spouse has the agreement reviewed (what agreement does not finish).

07 The cost

How much does it cost to file for divorce in Florida?

The state sets a base fee, and the clerks list the totals. For a case under chapter 61 the statute sets a base filing fee of up to $295 and separately provides for additional charges (§ 28.241(1)(a)). The totals the clerks list for a dissolution of marriage are $409 in Miami-Dade and $408 in Hillsborough, and a summons is an additional charge in Hillsborough. Read the clerk’s current schedule on the day you file.

The filing fee is the small part. The larger costs are the attorney’s fees, the parenting course fee (the statute allows a reasonable fee, § 61.21(7)), the cost of serving the summons, mediation if ordered, and the time it takes to gather the disclosure documents. How much your spouse disagrees with you decides most of the rest.

09 What to do now

1. Confirm the six months, and decide how you will prove themA Florida driver license, a voter registration card, a Florida ID card, or a third party’s affidavit all work under § 61.052(2).
2. Decide which county you are filing in before anything elseIf you and your spouse live in different counties, answer that question first.
3. Gather the financial documents nowThree years of tax returns, six months of pay stubs and twelve months of account statements are the usual starting point under rule 12.285.
4. File with the clerk, in person or through the portal, and arrange serviceThe clock for your spouse’s response starts on service, so service is the date to track.
5. Sign up for the parenting course early if there are childrenThe petitioner has 45 days after filing, and the course must be completed before the final judgment.
6. Keep a copy of everything you serve and fileThe disclosure rule has a continuing duty to supplement when your finances change.

11 The sources

• Fla. Stat. § 61.021 Residence requirementsOne of the parties must reside six months in the state before the petition is filed.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.052 Dissolution of marriageThe grounds, how residence is corroborated, what the court does with and without a minor child, and the Social Security number attachment.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.19 Delay periodNo final judgment until at least 20 days after the petition is filed, unless injustice would result from the delay.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.21 Parenting courseA DCF-approved course of at least 4 hours before the final judgment when there are minor children, with the 45-day deadlines.
• Fla. Stat. § 61.071 Alimony pendente liteA party may claim temporary alimony and suit money in the petition or by motion.
• Fla. Stat. § 28.241 Filing feesThe base filing fee for a chapter 61 case is up to $295, with additional charges provided separately.
• Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.285 Mandatory disclosureFinancial affidavit, supporting documents, 45-day deadline, and certificate of compliance.
• Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.105 Simplified dissolutionWho may use the simplified procedure and what the parties certify.
• Miami-Dade Clerk of the Court and Comptroller Family CourtFamily fee list, simplified divorce requirements, e-filing, and the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center.
• Hillsborough County Clerk Divorce, locations and feesHow to file, the three family court locations, and the fee schedule.