Family law · Homestead
Homestead family lawyer
Filed in Miami-Dade, and the family division sits downtown rather than at the South Dade courthouse
Jose A. Dapena handles family matters from the Homestead office on NE 15th Street and files them in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. Divorce, time-sharing, child support, alimony, property, paternity, modifications and injunctions for protection. The consultation is with the attorney who would handle the case.
- Homestead office
- 100 NE 15th Street, Suite 210
Homestead, FL 33030 - Phone
- (786) 900-0184
- Hours
- Monday to Friday
08:30–17:00 - Who handles it
- Jose A. Dapena
Florida Bar 152358
South Dade is one of the few places where the courthouse for a family case is not the one nearby. An injury case from Homestead is usually heard at the South Dade Justice Center. A dissolution is heard in the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, which sits downtown — so the building is further away than people assume, and that is worth planning around rather than discovering on a hearing date.
Filing itself is electronic through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, whichever building a hearing is eventually set in. Most of a family case is documents rather than appearances, which is the part that makes the distance manageable. The law is on the Florida family law page.
01 Handled from this office
Family law matters handled from Homestead
Each one has its own page, with the Florida statutes and what actually decides the case.
- AlimonyPermanent alimony no longer exists, and most of what is written about this is out of date
- Uncontested divorceWhat uncontested actually means, and what still has to be agreed
- Parenting plans and time-sharingEqual time-sharing is now the starting point, not the thing you argue for
- Child supportA guideline calculation, and the two numbers that decide most arguments
- Equitable distributionThe court starts at equal, and someone has to justify moving off it
- Premarital and postnuptial agreementsWhat makes one hold up, and the one term that never binds
- PaternityBeing on the birth certificate is not the same as having parental rights
- Post-judgment modificationsWhat can be changed after the judgment, and what is already final
- Injunctions for protectionWhat the emergency order can do, how long it lasts, and what happens at the hearing
- Postnuptial agreementsThe same instrument as a prenup, held to a stricter standard because you are already married
02 Where a Homestead family case is heard
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
175 NW 1st Avenue, Miami, FL 33128
Family cases in Miami-Dade are filed with the Clerk of the Courts and heard in the Family Division of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center downtown — not at the main civil courthouse on West Flagler, and not at the South Dade Justice Center where an injury matter from this area would go.
Two statutory deadlines catch people out, and neither is local. One party must have resided in Florida for six months before the petition is filed (§ 61.021); a case filed before that is subject to dismissal however well prepared it is. And in any dissolution involving minor children, the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course must be completed by the petitioner within 45 days of filing and by every other party within 45 days of being served (§ 61.21), with proof filed before final judgment. It is a short course, it is inexpensive, and missing it holds up a case that is otherwise finished.
Child support is not the parents’ to set between themselves. The guideline amount presumptively establishes what the court must order, and a written finding is required before varying from it by more than 5% (§ 61.30(1)(a)). Agreeing on a round number before anyone has run the guideline is agreeing to something the court measures rather than approves.
Where there are minor children the case produces a parenting plan, and that document outlives everything else in the file. Schedules, decision-making, holidays, exchanges and relocation. A vague one is what brings people back two years later.
03 How it starts
- The consultationAt the Homestead office in Homestead, the main road through town. It is with Jose A. Dapena, and family consultations are charged — they are not the free injury consultation, and the rate is stated before the appointment.
- What to bringThe marriage certificate if you have it, recent pay records for both sides if you can get them, anything showing what is owned and what is owed, any prior order from any state, and anything signed before or during the marriage.
- The datesWhen you married, when you separated if you have, how long each of you has lived in Florida, and the children’s dates of birth. The six-month residency requirement turns on one of those.
- What it costsFamily matters are billed hourly, which is the opposite of how the injury side of this office works. Court costs and expenses are billed separately, payment plans are available, and the arrangement is in writing before any work begins. There is no contingency fee in family work.
What people ask in Homestead
Do I have to go downtown for every hearing?
No. Filing is electronic and most of a family case is documents rather than appearances. Where a hearing is required, the Family Division sits at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center downtown rather than at the South Dade Justice Center, which is the one real distance cost in a South Dade family case.
We agree on everything. Do we both need lawyers?
Not necessarily two, but you cannot share one — a lawyer may not represent both spouses in the same proceeding. One of you retains the lawyer, that lawyer prepares the agreement and the filings, and the other has it independently reviewed before signing.
How long has one of us had to live in Florida?
Six months before the petition is filed, under § 61.021, and residence generally has to be corroborated rather than simply stated. It is a jurisdictional requirement, not a formality.
Can we agree to no child support?
You can agree to it, and the court reviews it rather than approving it. The guideline amount is presumed to be what must be ordered, and departing from it by more than 5% requires a written finding explaining why the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate. Run the number first.
I need an injunction for protection. Is that this office?
Yes, and it is family law rather than a criminal charge — the two are different proceedings with different standards, and a domestic violence charge is a separate matter. Both can be running at once, and where they are, they are read together.
Is there a free consultation?
Not in family work. The free consultation and the contingency fee are injury terms and they do not apply here. The family consultation is charged, with the rate stated before the appointment.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available.
Talk to Jose A. Dapena about a South Dade family case
The Homestead office is on NE 15th Street. The fee arrangement is set out in writing before any work begins.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available.