Divorce

The State of Florida only has two legal requirements to obtain a divorce:

Divorce cases generally involve child(ren)’s issues, alimony, and equitable distribution (division of your assets and liabilities), and any other matters unique to your case.

The State of Florida has established a formula on how to calculate each parent’s ongoing and retroactive child support obligation. A child support obligation starts up to two years from the date of the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.

In order to determine your child support obligation the Court will first determine each party’s net income. Your net income is determined by subtracting allowable deductions (federal taxes, Medicare, your health insurance, mandatory union dues, and mandatory retirement) from your gross income.

A party’s housing expense, car payment, utilities, etc. are NOT considered when calculating child support. However, if someone is self-employed reasonable, ordinary, and necessary expenses for the business may be considered when determining the business owner’s net income.

Your child(ren)’s health insurance premiums and daycare/after care expenses are also part of the child support calculation.

The other main factor that is considered when calculating child support is the timesharing arrangement between you and your spouse. For example, if a Father has more than 72 overnights per year than his child support obligation would be adjusted based on the number of overnights that he has with the child(ren). Therefore, the more overnights (over 72) that a parent has with the child(ren) could reduce the parent’s child support obligation.

The State of Florida no longer makes a custody determination between the parents. Instead, the Court establishes a parenting plan, whereby each parent has timesharing with his or her child(ren). Some of the factors the Court will consider in determining the timesharing schedule between the parents are work schedules, living accommodations, parent’s criminal history, etc. That while these are only three examples there are many more factors that the Court will take into consideration, the most important factor being your child(ren)’s best interest.

In the State of Florida there are two types of parental responsibility:

Shared Parental Responsibility is when two parents discuss and mutually agree on all major issues (i.e., medical, education, religion) in regard to their child(ren)’s well being. In the event you and your spouse cannot mutually agree on a major decision for your child(ren) then either party can request the Judge to make the determination as to what is in your child(ren)’s best interest. 

Sole Parental Responsibility is when one parent solely makes the decision on all major issues (i.e., medical, education, religion) in regard to their child(ren)’s well being. This designation of sole parental responsibility is granted in limited, special circumstances. For example, if a parent has abandoned their child, or is incarcerated it is difficult for the parents to communicate in regard to their child.

Equitable distribution is the division of assets and/or liabilities that were accumulated during the marriage. There are many factors that will be considered, for example:

1. Assets obtained or liabilities incurred prior to the marriage;
2. Inherited assets;
3. Dissipation of assets during the marriage. 

Alimony is financial support that a spouse may be entitled to receive from their spouse for their support and maintenance.

There are factors that determine whether a spouse may be entitled to receive alimony. The two main factors are:

There are various types of alimony: temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, permanent, and lump sum. Each type of alimony has its own criteria when determining which type of alimony you may be entitled to receive from your spouse.