A full review of assets, children, business interests, and timeline. Critical legal issues are identified immediately so clients understand exactly where they stand before any decisions are made.

One spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Broward County Circuit Court or the county of residence. The other spouse is formally served and has 20 days to respond.

Both parties are required to file a mandatory disclosure of assets, income, and liabilities under Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285. For high-asset clients, this stage requires precise legal strategy to ensure nothing is misrepresented or undervalued.

In contested cases, full financial documentation, business valuations, retirement account records, and all other relevant evidence are gathered and analyzed. This phase protects client interests by ensuring nothing is hidden, undervalued, or improperly classified.

Florida courts require mediation before trial in most family law cases. We negotiate aggressively to reach a marital settlement agreement that reflects the client’s actual financial position and accounts for the full complexity of the relationship.

The majority of cases settle at or before mediation. When a spouse is unwilling to negotiate reasonably, we take the case to trial with the preparation and courtroom experience these matters require.

Once the court signs the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage, the divorce is legally complete. All asset transfers, account changes, beneficiary updates, and title changes are properly executed before the file closes.

Same-sex divorce in Florida follows the same legal process as any other divorce under Florida Statute Chapter 61. Florida is a no-fault state, meaning irreconcilable differences are sufficient grounds, no fault needs to be proven. One spouse must have been a Florida resident for at least six months before filing. Cases are heard in the circuit court of the county where you reside, such as the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County for Fort Lauderdale residents.

Florida is an equitable distribution state under Florida Statute 61.075. Marital assets and debts are divided fairly, though not always equally, based on each spouse’s financial contributions, the length of the marriage, and other relevant factors. For LGBTQ couples, assets accumulated before legal marriage but during a long-term relationship may require specific legal arguments to be properly addressed, as the court’s default starting point is the date of legal marriage rather than the beginning of the relationship.

If your business was started or grew significantly during the marriage, it may be classified, at least in part, as a marital asset subject to equitable distribution. Business valuation disputes are common in high-asset divorces. The key is having counsel who can challenge improper valuations, argue for classification of separate versus marital property where applicable, and protect business interests from the outset rather than after the other side has already set the terms.

An uncontested divorce may be finalized in as few as 20 to 30 days after filing if both parties agree on all terms. Contested divorces involving complex assets, business interests, or child custody disputes typically take 12 to 18 months or longer. The timeline depends heavily on how willing both parties are to negotiate and how quickly financial disclosure is completed.

Yes. Following Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, Florida recognizes all legally performed same-sex marriages regardless of where they took place. If you were married in another state and now reside in Florida, you can file for divorce here and Florida courts will apply Florida law to your case.

Florida courts determine parental responsibility and time-sharing based on the best interests of the child under Florida Statute 61.13. In LGBTQ families, parental rights issues can be more complex when one parent’s legal relationship to the child was established through adoption, surrogacy, or a prior court order rather than biological parentage. Establishing and formally protecting those rights early in the process is critical, delays create legal exposure that becomes harder to resolve as the case progresses.

This is one of the most common and consequential issues in LGBTQ divorce cases. Florida law uses the date of legal marriage as the starting point for what constitutes marital property under Statute 61.075, which means years of financial contributions made before marriage became legally available may not automatically be recognized. Effectively addressing these situations requires legal arguments that go beyond the default statutory framework and account for the full history of the relationship.

Yes. Florida courts consider career sacrifices and income disparity when determining alimony under Florida Statute 61.08. If one spouse reduced career advancement or earning capacity to support the household or the other’s professional growth, that sacrifice is a factor in alimony determinations. The 2023 reforms eliminated permanent alimony but preserved durational alimony, which can extend for a substantial period in long-term marriages. How alimony is structured, including duration, amount, and modification terms ,significantly affects long-term financial outcomes for both parties.