Common Questions

The fastest, easiest, least expensive way to get divorced in Boca Raton is if you can reach an agreement with your spouse on the terms of the divorce. Of course before you speak your spouse you should determine what your goals are regarding property/assets, debt, child related issues, and alimony. Then your goal is to get your spouse to commit to signing papers when papers are ready, agreeing on how to divide up property and debt, and deciding whether alimony for either party is going to be part of the agreement. If there are children, you also need to discuss a schedule for when each party is going to have the children. Child support will also be a factor that will be calculated by the attorney. It is mostly based on how much income each party has, and how much time each parent will spend with the children.

In a Boca Raton Florida divorce, there is a Florida law that has a formula that the judge must use for deciding the amount and duration of alimony. (if the parties can reach an agreement among themselves, they need not use the alimony formula) It’s not a precise formula that gives an exact number. Rather, it gives the judge a range of amounts of alimony that can be awarded. The formula considers the needs of the party claiming alimony and the income of both parties (or their earning ability). This is very different than years ago where a judge could basically do what they wanted regarding alimony, although the ruling was always subject to an appeals court deciding things differently.

Generally speaking, property that was acquired during the marriage is divided 50-50 between the parties. (Unless for example the asset was inherited just in one party’s name, or the asset was a gift from a third party just to one of the parties in the marriage. And it doesn’t matter whose name the asset is in. For example, if someone has a bank account saved up during the marriage, or a pension or 401(k) accumulated during the marriage, just in that parties’ name, it is still a marital asset subject to a 50-50 split. (but again, if the parties agree to divide things differently, they are free to do so) Also, debt is considered marital even if it’s just in one party’s name. So the other party still has responsibility for that debt.

So if you and your spouse can settle the above mentioned issues and everybody is going to cooperate, your Boca Raton Florida divorce will be quick and inexpensive with the help of a Boca Raton Florida divorce attorney.

If you unfortunately cannot reach an agreement with your spouse on these issues, it is time to speak to an experienced Boca Raton Florida divorce lawyer. The lawyer will determine what your goals are, determine your need for alimony, and determine the parties financial condition, which includes an exploration of assets, debts, income and expenses. The lawyer will then be able to put together a game plan to increase the chance that you will obtain a fair resolution of your case. Fair resolution means fair apportionment of marital debts and assets, and a fair determination as to whether either party is eligible for alimony, and ensuring that each parent of minor children is awarded substantial and meaningful time with their children.

It doesn’t matter who files first. How long the case will take depends on whether it is contested or uncontested. An uncontested divorce can take as little as four to five weeks once all of the necessary paperwork is completed.An uncontested divorce means that both parties agree on absolutely everything such as child support, timesharing with minor children, division of property and debts and alimony, if any. And it also means that both parties cooperate to get the case over with.

If the matter is contested, that is there are one or more issues which the Court has to decide, such as child support or alimony, etc., the case can take about 4-6 months or more to be heard. In the Florida counties where the Courts are extremely busy it can take a year or more. Hopefully at some point short of a trial the case can be settled through compromise by both parties or through the mediation process.

Unless you have legal training or the case is extremely simple it is best to have a lawyer advise you. Without legal training it is difficult to know what your rights and responsibilities are. If you do not know what your rights are, you may not ask for them or you may agree to things that you don’t need to agree to. Also, without a complete knowledge of the rules of evidence, you may not be able to get certain testimony or evidence admitted into Court and you may therefore lose on a particular aspect of your case, despite the fact that you were “right”. Judges cannot help people practice law, and cannot relax the rules of evidence in Court just because you are not a lawyer.

Yes, you can absolutely get a Florida divorce if you cannot find your spouse. But there are a number of conditions, and steps that have to be taken including “service by newspaper publication.” That is the process used when a spouse is truly missing. (In a Florida divorce, the spouse must be served by the sheriff or process server, or, if they are missing, via publication.)

First, we have to define what “missing” means. While there is no specific timeframe that somebody must be missing before the spouse can get divorced with the publication process, it’s safe to say that if somebody left the marital home three weeks ago and you just don’t happen to know where they are, that would likely not constitute “missing” if the judge had to rule on the matter. It must be pointed out that usually a spouse has to be served divorce papers by the sheriff or process server. Because the process server cannot happen to find the person, it does not necessarily mean that you can use the newspaper publication missing spouse process.

So for example, if you believe you know the address of your spouse and want to start the case and send the process server to serve the papers on them, the fact that they couldn’t find the person at that address does not mean the newspaper publication will be allowed. There is a difference between someone that’s truly missing and a situation where you just don’t happen to know where the person is. The analysis is mostly going to revolve in most cases around the length of time the party is gone. When you say that the party is gone for three weeks and you just can’t find them, it doesn’t mean they’re missing. If the party is gone for a year, one could consider that person missing, although there is no set statutory timeframe. If somebody is actively concealing themselves for a substantial period of time, that may entitle you to serve the person by newspaper publication.

It must be noted that generally speaking, the judge can only grant a divorce if newspaper publication is the method of service (as opposed to the sheriff or process server actually serving the Florida divorce papers on the person). So, for example, the judge could not award alimony or child support or division of property until the person is properly served. (If the Florida final judgment of dissolution of marriage/divorce is prepared properly, the judge could later distribute property marital assets and award support once the other party is properly served by the sheriff or process server.)

There may be a way for the judge to divide property when the spouse is missing, but that is very, very rarely done. Also, it must be noted that some judges will not make an official determination of custody/parental responsibility where children are involved until the other party is served. Some judges will, however, award the petitioner custody of the children based on the abandonment of them by the other party.

If the other party can be considered a missing spouse, the matter must be published in the newspaper for four consecutive weeks, and then there is a very brief court hearing. The judge will inquire about whether the petitioner has made their best effort to find the spouse, whether they have any leads on where the spouse is, etc. It has to also be stressed that there must be an affidavit of diligent search signed by the petitioner swearing that they have made their best effort to find the person. In fact, there should be detail given about what efforts have been made to find the person since they went missing. Some judges are stricter than others on this. Some judges will, for example, require numerous inquiries to agencies such as law enforcement, military, and other agencies concerning the whereabouts of the other party.

So yes, when your spouse is missing, you can get a Florida divorce if you follow the correct procedures.

Property acquired during the course of the marriage by one or both parties is basically subject to a 50/50 split unless there are extraordinary circumstances which require different percentages. There is usually going to be a 50/50 split even though for example one spouse worked ten hours a week while the other spouse worked forty. The acquired property will still be considered a marital asset. In general the Court is not going to start looking into how hard each party worked during the marriage to contribute, although in extreme cases the Court can consider the level of contribution.