Contested Divorce in Florida

Legal Definition and Filing Requirements

A divorce is contested under Florida law when you and your spouse cannot reach a complete written agreement on one or more issues required to dissolve the marriage — including property division, debt allocation, alimony, or time-sharing with minor children. Florida is a no-fault state under § 61.052, Fla. Stat.[1] The primary ground for dissolution is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken,” and neither party must prove fault or misconduct. A second ground also exists: mental incapacity of one of the parties, provided that the incapacitated spouse has been adjudicated incapacitated under § 744.331, Fla. Stat.[2] for a period of at least three years preceding the filing.

To file in Florida, at least one spouse must have been a state resident for a minimum of six months prior to filing the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. The filing fee in most Florida circuits is approximately $409, with additional fees for summons issuance and service of process. Our South Florida family law attorneys at Kalish & Jaggars, PLLC can advise you on circuit-specific fees and procedural requirements at the time of filing.

Once your Petition is filed, it must be formally served on the Respondent pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070[3]. The Respondent has 20 days from the date of service to file a formal Answer or Counter-Petition. Failure to respond within this period may result in the clerk entering a default, after which the court may proceed without further input from the non-responding party.

Mandatory Financial Disclosure

Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285[4] requires both you and your spouse to exchange a mandatory set of financial documents within 45 days of service of the petition. Required disclosures include federal and state income tax returns for the prior three years, pay stubs for the preceding six months, bank and brokerage statements, documentation of all assets and liabilities, and a completed Financial Affidavit (Form 12.902)[5].

The Financial Affidavit — either the Short Form (Form 12.902(b)) or the Long Form (Form 12.902(c)) depending on income — is a sworn document detailing each party’s income, expenses, assets, and debts. Parties earning under $50,000 per year use the Short Form; parties earning $50,000 or more use the Long Form. The affidavit forms the evidentiary foundation for the court’s determinations on alimony and child support.

In cases involving substantial or complex assets, the financial disclosure phase expands into formal discovery. Discovery may include written interrogatories, requests for production of documents, requests for admissions, and depositions of parties or third-party witnesses. Subpoenas may be issued to financial institutions, employers, or accountants. Business interests, retirement accounts, and real property typically require appraisal or expert valuation during this phase.

Case Management and Scheduling

Following the close of initial pleadings, the court issues a case management order establishing your procedural timeline. This order sets deadlines for completion of discovery, exchange of witness and exhibit lists, filing of pre-trial motions, and the mediation requirement. Most Florida circuits require parties to attend a case management conference, at which the judge or magistrate confirms that discovery is proceeding on schedule and sets a hearing or trial date.

Failure to comply with case management deadlines can result in sanctions, exclusion of evidence, or dismissal of motions. Do not assume that extension of any deadline is automatic — if you need more time, you (or your attorney) must file a motion before the deadline expires.

Temporary Relief and Pre-Trial Motions

Either you or your spouse may file a Motion for Temporary Relief at any point after the petition is filed. Temporary relief orders govern your obligations during the pendency of the divorce — before a final judgment is entered. Courts may issue temporary orders covering exclusive use and possession of the marital home, temporary child time-sharing schedules, temporary alimony or spousal support, temporary child support, and injunctions prohibiting the dissipation or transfer of marital assets.

Temporary orders remain in effect until modified by the court or superseded by the Final Judgment of Dissolution. They do not determine the outcome of the final proceeding — but as a practical matter, temporary time-sharing arrangements often inform the court’s final order, which is why getting the temporary order right is strategically important.

Pre-trial motions may also address evidentiary matters, requests for appointment of a Guardian ad Litem for minor children, motions to compel discovery compliance, and motions in limine to exclude specific evidence at trial.

Court-Ordered Mediation

Florida statutes require all parties in a contested divorce to participate in court-ordered mediation before a trial date is assigned. Mediation is conducted by a Florida Supreme Court-certified family mediator who facilitates structured settlement discussions. The mediator does not have authority to impose a resolution; their role is to help you and your spouse reach a voluntary agreement.

The uncontested divorce process is available when both parties can resolve all issues by agreement before or during the proceedings, and represents a significantly faster and less costly path to dissolution.

Trial and Final Judgment

If mediation does not resolve all issues, your case proceeds to a bench trial before a circuit court judge. There are no jury trials in Florida divorce proceedings. Each party presents evidence, calls witnesses, and may cross-examine the opposing party’s witnesses. Expert witnesses — such as forensic accountants, business valuators, social investigators, or psychological evaluators — may testify on contested financial or parenting issues.

Following the presentation of evidence, the judge issues a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. This order is legally binding and resolves all contested issues, including property division, alimony, time-sharing, and child support. Either party may appeal the Final Judgment to the appropriate District Court of Appeal within 30 days of the order.

Statutory Standards for Key Issues

Equitable Distribution of Marital Property — § 61.075, Fla. Stat.

Under § 61.075, Fla. Stat.[6], Florida courts divide marital assets and liabilities according to the principle of equitable distribution. Equitable does not mean equal; the court begins with a presumption of equal distribution but may deviate based on enumerated statutory factors. These include the contribution of each spouse to the marriage (including homemaking and child-rearing), the economic circumstances of each party, the duration of the marriage, any interruption of career or education, the contribution of one spouse to the career or education of the other, the desirability of retaining any asset intact, intentional dissipation of marital assets within two years of the petition, and any other factor necessary to achieve equity.

Alimony and Spousal Support — § 61.08, Fla. Stat.

Under § 61.08, Fla. Stat.[7], as amended by 2023 legislation (Senate Bill 1416[8], effective July 1, 2023), permanent periodic alimony has been eliminated in Florida. Courts may award bridge-the-gap alimony (up to two years, for transition from married to single life), rehabilitative alimony (to support a defined plan for education or job training), or durational alimony (for a set period not exceeding the length of the marriage). Durational alimony awards may not exceed the recipient’s reasonable need, or 35% of the difference between the parties’ net incomes, whichever is less. The length-of-marriage caps are: 50% of the marriage length for short-term marriages (under 10 years), 60% for moderate-term marriages (10–20 years), and 75% for long-term marriages (over 20 years).

Parental Responsibility and Time-Sharing — § 61.13, Fla. Stat.

Florida law uses the terms “parental responsibility” and “time-sharing” rather than “custody.” Under § 61.13, Fla. Stat.[9], as amended by 2023 HB 1301[10] (effective July 1, 2023), there is a rebuttable legal presumption that equal (50/50) time-sharing is in the best interest of the child. A party seeking a deviation from equal time-sharing bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that 50/50 time-sharing would be detrimental to the child.

When determining the best interest of the child – whether for an equal or unequal schedule – the court evaluates 20 statutory factors under § 61.13(3), Fla. Stat. Key factors include:

• Each parent’s demonstrated capacity to facilitate a close parent-child relationship with the other parent
• The anticipated division of parental responsibilities after litigation
• Each parent’s demonstrated capacity to determine, consider, and act upon the needs of the child
• The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment
• The geographic viability of the parenting plan
• The moral fitness of the parents
• The mental and physical health of each parent
• The home, school, and community record of the child
• Each parent’s knowledge of the child’s friends, teachers, medical providers, and daily activities
• Each parent’s demonstrated capacity to provide a consistent routine for the child
• Each parent’s demonstrated capacity to communicate with and keep the other parent informed
• Each parent’s demonstrated capacity to participate and be involved in the child’s school and extracurricular activities
• Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect
• Evidence that either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding domestic violence
• Particular parenting tasks customarily performed by each parent
• The capacity of each parent to maintain an environment free from substance abuse
• The capacity of each parent to protect the child from the ongoing litigation, including by not discussing the litigation with the child and refraining from making disparaging remarks about the other parent
• The developmental stages and needs of the child and each parent’s capacity to meet those needs
• The reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child of sufficient maturity
• Any other factor relevant to the determination of a specific parenting plan

All time-sharing arrangements must be memorialized in a Parenting Plan, which is submitted to and approved by the court. 

Child Support — § 61.30, Fla. Stat.

Child support calculations are governed by the Florida Child Support Guidelines under § 61.30, Fla. Stat.[11] Florida uses an income-shares model, which estimates the total amount parents would have spent on the child if the family had remained intact, then allocates that obligation between the parents in proportion to their respective net incomes.

The calculation incorporates both parents’ monthly net incomes, the number of overnights the child spends with each parent, the cost of work-related childcare, and the cost of health insurance for the child. Courts may deviate from the guideline amount when application of the formula would be unjust or inappropriate, provided the court states its findings in writing.

Timeline and Financial Factors

The duration of your contested divorce in Florida depends primarily on the complexity of the financial estate, the degree of conflict over time-sharing, and the scheduling capacity of the local circuit court. Straightforward contested matters — with limited assets and no minor children — may resolve within 6 to 12 months. Cases involving business valuations, retirement account division, real property disputes, or protracted time-sharing litigation routinely exceed 18 to 24 months.

Total costs include the approximately $409 court filing fee, mediation fees (typically $150–$300 per hour per party in the South Florida market), deposition and expert witness costs, and attorney fees. Under § 61.16, Fla. Stat.[12], the court may order one party to contribute to the other’s attorney fees based on a need-and-ability-to-pay analysis, with the goal of ensuring both parties have comparable access to legal representation. Attorney fees vary widely based on case complexity, the scope of discovery, and whether the case proceeds to trial — at Kalish & Jaggars, PLLC, we discuss fees transparently as part of every strategy meeting, so you know what to expect before you commit.

Kalish & Jaggars, PLLC serves clients across Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties, with attorneys familiar with local court procedures and circuit-specific requirements throughout South Florida.

Before the next deadline passes, book a free strategy meeting with our team. Contested divorce timelines are unforgiving. The earlier you get a strategy in place, the more options you have.