The first question almost every client asks is how long this will take. The honest answer is that Florida sets a floor, not a ceiling. A simplified, fully agreed divorce can finish in about a month. A contested case with children, a business, and real property can run past a year. Here is what each stage actually involves and what drives the clock.
Before you file: the residency requirement
One spouse must have been a resident of Florida for at least six months before the petition is filed. Residency is proved with a Florida driver license, a voter registration card, or the testimony of a corroborating witness.
Florida is a no-fault state. The petition only has to allege that the marriage is irretrievably broken, or in rare cases mental incapacity. There is no need to prove wrongdoing, and no advantage to trying.
Week 1: filing and service
The case starts with a petition for dissolution of marriage filed in the circuit court of the county where either spouse lives. The other spouse is then served, either by the sheriff or a private process server, or by signing a waiver of service if the divorce is cooperative.
Service is where uncontested cases speed up and contested ones slow down. A spouse who avoids service can add weeks or months, and eventually forces a motion for service by publication.
Days 20 to 45: the answer and disclosure
The responding spouse has 20 days after service to file an answer, and may file a counterpetition raising their own requests. Missing that deadline can produce a default, and defaults in family cases are messy to undo.
Within 45 days of service, both parties must exchange mandatory disclosure under Family Law Rule 12.285: financial affidavits, three years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank and brokerage statements, credit card statements, retirement account statements, and deeds or loan documents for property. This is the stage where honest, organized paperwork saves the most money.
Months 2 to 4: temporary relief and discovery
If someone needs support, exclusive use of the home, or a temporary timesharing schedule while the case is pending, a motion for temporary relief is heard in this window. Temporary orders are not previews of the final result, but they set the pattern people live with, so they matter.
Formal discovery also runs here: interrogatories, requests for production, depositions, and where a business or pension is involved, expert valuations. Discovery is the single biggest driver of how long a contested divorce takes.
Months 3 to 6: mediation
Nearly every Florida circuit requires mediation before a contested final hearing. A neutral mediator meets with both sides, usually in separate rooms, and works toward a written settlement.
A large majority of Florida divorces settle at or shortly after mediation. Anything the parties resolve there is theirs to control. Anything left for the judge is decided by someone who has known the family for a few hours.
Months 4 to 12 and beyond: trial and final judgment
If mediation does not fully resolve the case, it goes on the trial docket. Availability varies widely by circuit and by division, and a contested trial can be set several months out and then continued.
The final judgment resolves everything: dissolution of the marriage, equitable distribution of assets and debts under section 61.075, alimony under section 61.08, the parenting plan and timesharing, and child support under section 61.30. Section 61.19 bars entry of the final judgment until at least 20 days after the petition was filed, unless the court finds injustice would result from the delay.
The fast track: simplified dissolution
Florida offers a simplified dissolution for couples who qualify, and it can finish in about 30 days. Both spouses must agree to use it, there must be no minor or dependent children and no pregnancy, the parties must have agreed on the division of everything, neither may seek alimony, and both must attend the final hearing.
It is genuinely fast and cheap, but it waives discovery and the right to appeal most issues. It fits a short marriage with few assets and fits almost nothing else.
What actually makes a case take longer
The variables are predictable:
- Disputed timesharing, especially where an evaluation or a guardian ad litem is appointed
- A business, professional practice, or pension that has to be valued
- A spouse who hides or dissipates assets, forcing extended discovery
- Alimony disputes in a long marriage
- A spouse who avoids service or ignores deadlines
- Crowded trial dockets in the larger circuits
Questions about your own case?
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. offers a free first consultation, in English or Spanish, for families across South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
Common questions
Keep reading
More from the blog
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law changes, and every case turns on its own facts. Full disclaimer.