Divorce Attorney in Miami, Florida

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE GENERAL INFORMATION

Residency
In order to file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, it is necessary that you or your spouse have been a continuous resident of Florida for at least six months. Legal residency is basically a subjective decision to make Florida your legal residence. However, the law requires proof, such as a driver license issued at least 6 months before the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage showing a Florida address or brief testimony at the final hearing evidencing such residency (length of time residing in Florida, employment in Florida, being a registered voter in Florida, listing Florida as your state of residence on your U.S. Income Tax returns, etc.).

Residency Witness
If you have a valid Florida driver’s license issued at least six months before you file for dissolution of marriage and your address on the license is correct, bring your driver’s license to the final hearing as proof of your residency. Otherwise, you will have to bring a residency witness with you to the final hearing. The residency witness can be a friend, relative, neighbor, employer, etc., who is over 18 years old. Your residency witness must be able to testify that he or she; (1) knows you well; (2) sees you frequently; and (3) knows that you have been a continuous resident of Florida for at least six months before your petition was filed. Instead of bringing a residency witness, you may make arrangements for your residency witness to sign a Certificate Of Corroborating Witness, in the presence of a Notary Public. lf your residency witness will be signing a certificate in lieu of testifying in court, please advise your attorney at least 10 days before the hearing of your residency witness` name and address.

Child Custody Declaration
If there are minor children of the marriage, you must sign a completed Child Custody Declaration. The law requires information regarding any previous or pending proceeding relating to the custody of such children, their dates of birth, their birthplaces, and where they have resided during the past five years (at what address, during what period of time, and with whom).

Marital Settlement Agreement
All agreements between the parties, relating to minor children of the marriage, real and personal property, debts, and other matters, should be set out in a Marital Settlement Agreement. After the agreement has been prepared and signed by the parties, each party receives a copy. The original is filed with the court at the final hearing. lf the court has jurisdiction over the parties and approves the agreement, it becomes a part of the final judgment. This has the effect of making the Marital Settlement Agreement not only a formal written agreement between the parties, but also an agreement that can, in many instances, be enforced by the court's contempt powers, if not complied with by either party.

Name Change
If the wife wishes, she may have her former maiden or former married name restored. Only a former name may be restored.

Fees & Costs
When the retainer fee has been paid, the petition and related material are prepared. When the initial cost deposit has been paid, the petition and related material are then filed with the Clerk of the Court.

Required Courses
If you have any minor children of this marriage, we must present to the court certificates of completion by your spouse and you of the four hour course given by Miami-Dade College for divorcing parents with children. Call Miami-Dade College at 305-237-2161 to schedule your course. The fee is $30.00. Your spouse should not schedule the course at the same time and date as you. Your minor children of this marriage who are at least six years old must take the "Sandcastles" course, which is given at Miami-Dade Community College. The fee is $50 for the first child and $10 for siblings.

You also can take the course via the Internet from Florida Safety Council at a cost of $34.95 by going to www.floridasafety.org . You can take the course over 4 hours or in shorter increments if you wish.

There are other private companies that are certified to provide this course in a classroom type setting. If interested, please call our office to get the current brochures.

Mandatory Disclosure
We will be required to furnish the following documents within 45 days of serving the Petition on the respondent:

[Please use this as your checklist for gathering the required information. Please send all documents required in the order which follows, preferably tabbed with the respective item number below ].

 __a.     Financial Affidavit (Filing of a Financial Affidavit cannot be waived.
( ) Florida Family Law Form 12.901(d ) (short form)
( ) Florida Family Law Form 12.901(e) (long form)

__ b.     ( ) All personal (1040) federal and state tax income returns, gift tax returns, and intangible personal properly tax returns for the preceding 3 years;
( ) IRS forms W-2, 1099, and K-1 for the past year because the income tax return for the past year has not been prepared.

__ c.     Pay stubs or other evidence of earned income for the 3 months before the service of the financial affidavit.

__ d.     A statement identifying the source and amount of all income for the 3 months before the service of the financial affidavit, if not reflected on the pay stubs produced.

__ e.     All loan applications and financial statements prepared for any purpose or used for any purpose within the 12 months preceding the service of the financial affidavit.

__ f.     All deeds to real estate in which you presently own or owned an interest within the past 3 years. All promissory notes in which you presently own or owned an interest within the last 12 months. All present leases in which you own an interest.

 __ g.   All periodic statements for the last 3 months for all checking accounts and for the last year for all savings accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, etc.

__ h.     All brokerage account statements for the last 12 months.

__ i.       Most recent statement for any pension, profit sharing, deferred compensation, or retirement plan (for example, IRA, 401(k), 403(b), SEP, KEOGH, etc.) and summary plan description for any such p an in which you are a participant or alternate payee.

__ j.      The declarations page, the last periodic statement, and the certificate for any group insurance for all life insurance policies insuring your life or the life of your spouse.

__ k.     All health and dental insurance cards covering either of the spouses and/or our dependent child(ren).

__ l.      Corporate, partnership, and trust tax returns for the last 3 tax years, in which you have an ownership or interest greater than or equal to 30%.

__ m. All credit card and charge account statements and other records showing your indebtedness as of the date of the filing of this action and for the prior 3 months. All promissory notes on which you presently owe or owed within the past year. All lease agreements you presently owe.

__ n. All premarital and marital agreements between the parties to this case.

__ o. lf a modification proceeding, all written agreements entered into between the parties at any time since the order to be modified was entered.

__ p. All documents and tangible evidence relating to claims for special equity or nonmarital status of an asset or debt.

__ q. Any court order directing that you pay or receive spousal support (alimony) or child support.

The exchange of financial disclosure is MANDATORY. Incomplete disclosure will cause the process to take longer and be more expensive. You can save yourself considerable expense by methodically gathering, organizing, and copying all of the required documents, and sending two sets of them to your lawyer by 35 days from the time that the summons is served. Indicate those items which do not exist or are not in your possession or control. If a document is with a third party, such as an accountant or bank, who would release it to you upon your authorization, it is deemed to be in your control.

Whenever a material change in your financial status occurs, you will be required to supplement your disclosure. Please advise your attorney when there is a change in your financial status.

Your spouse will be required to furnish the same items listed above within the same period of time.

Service Of Process & Notice Of Action
lf the respondent is in Florida (or if the respondent resides in another state, but has previously resided in Florida), and you have an address where the respondent can be served, the clerk forwards the petition and related material to the sheriff in the county where the respondent is located for personal service on the respondent. After the respondent has been personally served, the sheriff then completes the summons form, verifying service, and returns it to be filed with the clerk. The respondent then has twenty days to file an answer to the petition, if the respondent wishes to contest any matters presented therein. lf the respondent is not in Florida, and you know the respondent's residence address, and the respondent has not previously resided in Florida, you must sign an affidavit stating the respondent's residence address. lf you do not know the respondents residence address, you must sign an affidavit stating that you have made a diligent search and inquiry to discover the respondent's residence address and that it is
unknown. The affidavit is filed with the clerk along with the petition and other related material. The clerk then arranges for a Notice Of Action to be published for four consecutive weeks. lf the respondent's residence address is known, the clerk also mails a copy of the petition and related material to the  respondent. The Notice Of Action specifies a date (computed by the clerk), approximately thirty days from the first date of publication, by which the respondent must file an answer to the petition, if the respondent
wishes to contest any matters presented therein.

Contested Matters
lf the respondent wishes to contest any matters, the respondent must file an answer to the petition within the time period set out above. lf an answer is filed, and the matter becomes a contested dissolution of marriage, you may then have to make a fee deposit for the number of attorney hours which the attorney in charge of the case anticipates will be necessary to complete the case. Therefore, it is preferable, if the respondent does not wish to contest any matters, that the respondent not tile an answer, since this changes the process, and may add additional fee and cost expenses for you.

Default
lf the respondent does not file an answer within the time period set out above, a Motion For Default is filed with the clerk, who then enters a default. Then the respondent cannot file an answer or contest any matters, unless the default is withdrawn voluntarily or by order of the court. After the default has been entered, the matter can then be set for the final hearing.

Final Hearing
The final hearing may be set before the judge in the section to which your case has been assigned or a general master. (A general master is an attorney appointed by the court to hear uncontested dissolution of marriage matters, thereby leaving the judges more time to hear contested matters.) lf you elect to have your Final hearing before a general master, it can usually be scheduled within a few weeks after the default has been filed. If you elect to have your final hearing before the judge, it can usually be scheduled within one to two months after the default has been filed. The additional waiting time for the Final hearing before the judge is due to the fact that we wait until we can obtain a time, on the calendar of the judge in the section to which your case has been assigned, when we can schedule several clients' final hearings at the same time. At the final hearing you will be asked many of the following questions:

1. What is your name and your residence address?
2. How long have you been a continuous resident of Florida?
3. When you moved to Florida, did you intend to make Florida your legal residence?
4. Do you have a Florida driver’s license and Florida tags on your automobile?
5. Are you registered to vote in Florida?
6. What is your age; what is your spouse’s age?
7. Are you and your spouse each in good health and are each of you capable of supporting yourselves?
8. What is your occupation and income; what is your spouse’s occupation and income?
9. What is your spouse’s residence address, if known?
10. If your spouse’s residence address is unknown, what have you done to make a diligent search and inquiry to determine it; is there anyone whom you could have contacted who might know your spouse’s residence address?
11. When and where were you and your spouse married?
12. How long have you and your spouse been separated?
13. Is your marriage irretrievably broken (with a brief statement about why you think it is)?
14. Do you feel that marital counseling would help?
15. When applicable, what are the names and ages of any minor children of the marriage, and where do they reside?
15. lf a Marital Settlement Agreement has been entered into by you and your spouse, are the signatures on the agreement those of you and your spouse, did you and your spouse enter into the agreement after a full and complete financial disclosure to each other, and does the agreement fully set out the full and complete agreement between you and your spouse?

Final Judgment
After the final hearing, a copy of your final judgment will be mailed to you and to the respondent, when the respondents address is known.

Mental Health Therapy
Most people undergoing a dissolution of marriage are emotionally distraught. It is usually one of the worst times of their lives. I recommend to all my clients that they obtain counseling from a qualified therapist during this period of time. It will reduce the amount of hours necessary for me to spend on their cases and thus reduces their attorney’s fees.

Miscellaneous
Notify us if your home address or home or business telephone numbers change, or if the respondent's address changes.