Family law · Tampa
Tampa family lawyer
Your case is heard in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, and which of its two courthouses depends on where in Hillsborough you live
Jose A. Dapena handles family cases out of the Tampa office on North Habana Avenue and files them in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Hillsborough County. Divorce, time-sharing, child support, alimony, property, paternity, modifications and injunctions for protection. The consultation is with the attorney who would handle the case.
- Tampa office
- 4231 N Habana Avenue
Tampa, FL 33607 - Phone
- (813) 930-5422
- Hours
- Monday to Friday
08:00–18:00 - Who handles it
- Jose A. Dapena
Florida Bar 152358
Family law is different from the rest of what this office does. An injury claim is a negotiation with an insurance company that can take two years and that you may never see a courtroom for. A divorce is a case the court has to sign off on, with deadlines that start running the day it is filed, forms the clerk will reject if they are wrong, and a judge who will eventually read what you filed.
That makes the practical questions the important ones — what has to be filed, in what order, by when, and in front of whom. This page answers those for a Hillsborough case. The law itself lives on the Florida family law page and the nine matter pages under it.
01 Handled from this office
Family law matters handled from Tampa
Each one has its own page, with the Florida statutes and what actually decides the case.
- Uncontested divorceWhen the terms are agreed and what is left is doing it correctly
- AlimonyFour types since 2023, and permanent alimony is not one of them
- Time-sharingThe parenting plan the court requires, and the schedule inside it
- Child supportThe § 61.30 guidelines, and the inputs that actually move the number
- Equitable distributionMarital and non-marital property, and where the line falls
- Premarital agreementsWhat makes one enforceable, and what voids it
- PaternityEstablishing it, and what it does and does not grant on its own
- ModificationsWhat counts as a substantial change in circumstances
- Injunctions for protectionThe civil order, which is a different proceeding from a criminal charge
02 Where a Hillsborough family case is actually heard
George E. Edgecomb Courthouse
800 E Twiggs Street, Tampa, FL 33602
Family cases in Hillsborough are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court and heard in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Most are set at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse on East Twiggs Street downtown. The circuit also sits at the Plant City Courthouse, 301 N Michigan Avenue, which matters for the eastern half of the county — for someone in Plant City, Dover or Seffner, the difference between a hearing downtown and a hearing twenty minutes away is a whole day of work. Filing is electronic either way, through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.
Two deadlines catch people out, and both are statutory rather than local. Florida requires that one party have resided in the state for six months before the petition is filed (§ 61.021) — a case filed before that is subject to dismissal no matter how 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). Proof has to be filed before final judgment. It is a four-hour course, it is inexpensive, and missing it holds up an otherwise finished case.
Mandatory financial disclosure runs on its own clock under Florida Family Law Rule 12.285 — a financial affidavit and a specified set of documents, exchanged whether or not the other side asks. In a case where the terms are already agreed, disclosure is usually the only part that takes real work.
03 How it starts
- The consultationAt the Tampa office on North Habana Avenue, just off Dale Mabry and a short drive from the Edgecomb Courthouse. By phone if that is easier. It is with Jose A. Dapena, not an intake screener.
- What to bringAnything already filed or served, any agreement signed before or during the marriage, the last two years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, and a list of accounts, property and debts with rough balances. Incomplete is fine — it is faster to start from approximate numbers than to wait until everything is gathered.
- What it costsFamily matters are billed hourly, which is the opposite of how the injury side of this office works. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available. The rate and the likely range are stated at the consultation, before anything is signed.
- Who handles itJose A. Dapena. The firm is small enough that the attorney at the consultation is the attorney who appears.
What people ask in Tampa
Will my hearing be downtown or in Plant City?
It depends on where the case is assigned within the Thirteenth Circuit. Most Hillsborough family matters are set at the Edgecomb Courthouse downtown; the circuit also sits at the Plant City Courthouse on North Michigan Avenue. It is worth asking early, because it changes travel, parking and how much of a working day a hearing costs you.
How long does a divorce take in Hillsborough?
An agreed case with no minor children can conclude within a couple of months, limited mainly by financial disclosure and the court calendar. Minor children add the parenting course and the parenting plan. A contested case runs as long as the disputes do — the court cannot resolve a disagreement faster than the parties bring it one.
Do both spouses have to go to court?
In a simplified dissolution under Florida Family Law Rule 12.105, both parties appear at the final hearing. In other agreed cases it is often one party, and some hearings are set by video. Which applies depends on how the case is filed, and that is a decision made at the start rather than at the end.
Can we use the same lawyer?
No. One attorney represents one party in a family case. If the terms are genuinely agreed, one spouse retains counsel to prepare and file, and the other may review it independently or not — but the attorney represents one side and says so in writing.
I moved to Tampa recently. Can I file here yet?
The six-month requirement in § 61.021 is residence in Florida, not residence in Hillsborough County. Someone who moved to Tampa from Miami last month meets it. Someone who moved to Tampa from Georgia last month does not, and filing early risks the case rather than speeding it up. Where in Florida you file is a separate question, decided by venue.
Does this office handle cases outside Hillsborough?
Yes. Jose A. Dapena is admitted throughout Florida, and the firm also has offices in South Miami and Homestead that file in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit. The question is where the case is properly filed, which is a venue question rather than a question about which office you walk into.
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 Tampa family case
The Tampa office is on North Habana Avenue, and the consultation is with the attorney who would file the case.
Consultations and attorney’s fees are billed hourly. Court costs and case expenses are billed separately. Payment plans are available.