USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisha D. Roy and Carolyn Ware, Sasser, Cestero & Roy
1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction in Divorce Proceedings
interests of the child in reaching a resolution far more difficult. Florida law provides for civil divorces “from the bonds of matrimony” only. The court can neither require the parties to participate in a religious marriage ceremony nor secure a religious divorce. Turner v Turner , 192 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966). A marriage may be annulled for any cause which has prevented the parties from contracting a valid mar ‑ riage. However, annulments are unusual in Florida. The court must find one of these factors for invalidity: • a want of legal capacity to contract, or a statutory prohibition against the type of marriage in question; • a want of mental capacity to contract; • a lack of actual consent to the contract; • a consent wrongfully procured by force, duress, fraud or concealment; or • a lack of physical capacity to consummate. Sack v Sack , 184 So. 2d 434, 436 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966) (citing 10 Fla. Jur., Divorce, Separation and Annul ‑ ment, Section 308). The grounds for jurisdiction for commencing financial proceedings in Florida are that the marriage is irre ‑ trievably broken. There is also the ability to seek support unconnected with a dissolution of marriage. While it is unusual, in cases where a party does not want to get divorced but has been financially abandoned by their spouse, they can seek both alimony/spousal support and child support. In order to resolve issues regarding support or prop ‑ erty, the court must have both subject matter jurisdic ‑ tion and jurisdiction over the person. There are three methods to obtaining jurisdiction over the person. They are: in personam, in rem, and quasi in rem. 2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction in Financial Proceedings
The grounds for a divorce in Florida are that the mar ‑ riage is irretrievably broken. Florida is a “no-fault” state, so the party filing for divorce does not have to prove anything to obtain a divorce, other than to state the marriage is irretrievably broken. Florida does not recognise civil unions or common law marriages. These grounds are the same for same-sex marriages. While there are certainly other ways to accomplish a divorce, as discussed in 3.4 ADR in Child Law Mat- ters , for a court to finalise a dissolution of marriage, court proceedings must be commenced by the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (§ 61.043, Fla. Stat). The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage must be served within 120 days of the issuance of a summons. Once served, the receiving party has 20 days to file a responsive pleading, known as an Answer, and file a Counterpetition if they choose. Florida has a simplified dissolution process that only applies to parties who do not have any minor or dependent children together, neither party is preg ‑ nant, and they have made a satisfactory division of their property and agreed as to the payment of their joint obligations, and neither party has legal counsel. Further, neither party may seek spousal support. The timeline for a simplified dissolution of marriage is typi ‑ cally less than 90 days. The length of time a divorce takes largely depends on the complexity of the issues presented. Most cases do settle, but obviously cases that go to trial generally take longer than cases that settle. Cases with complex and intricate financial issues often take longer, as the process of obtaining and synthesising discovery and information can be time-consuming. Less complex cases can be resolved in four to six months, generally, and more complex cases can take a year or more. An additional factor to the length of a case is Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration Rule 2.250 (a)(1)(C), which sets a time standard for contested divorce cases of 180 days. Given court availability and the complexity of many disputes, meeting this standard is challenging at best. Many courts are rushing complex cases because of this Rule, which can make properly weighing the best
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