Uncontested Divorce Attorney in FL
Not all divorce cases involve costly, drawn-out legal battles. In fact, most don’t (or at least they shouldn’t). A goal at the DeVoe Law Firm is to provide the right level of representation you need to resolve your divorce in the most efficient and cost-effective means appropriate to your situation. If you and your spouse can come to terms on the issues necessary to resolve your divorce, our experienced Orlando family law attorney can help you obtain an uncontested divorce with less of the time, money and stress involved in a contested divorce.
What is Uncontested Divorce?
An uncontested divorce is one in which both spouses agree on all the issues applicable to their divorce, including child custody, child support, the division of marital property, and alimony. We’ll take the time to meet with you personally, explain all the issues and make sure you are on the same page about your goals and the terms of your split. We’ll create a comprehensive Marital Settlement Agreement (MSA) and Parenting Plan, that reflects the parties’ understanding and sets out the terms of the divorce in a practical manner. A judge will review the MSA and Parenting Plan to make sure it is fair and complete and then incorporate it into the final divorce decree. When the MSA and the divorce petition are filed together, a final judgment of divorce can occur as quickly as 30 to 45 days from the date of filing.
Why Can’t We do an Uncontested Divorce Ourselves?
Divorcing spouses who are able to communicate amicably with one another and agree in general about how their divorce should go may try to craft a Marital Settlement Agreement on their own without the help of an experienced family law attorney. This is generally not advisable. Parenting plans and timesharing schedules are very detailed documents, and a lot goes into their development. By doing it on your own, you are likely to leave out important details, causing disruptions, disputes and landing you back in court time and again.
Another problem that arises is that spouses who agree at first on terms of the divorce find that actually ironing out the details is not as easy as they thought. Communications can break down, and what could have been an amicable, uncontested divorce now becomes contested and requires litigation to resolve. By involving the DeVoe Law Firm in your uncontested divorce at the outset, we’ll help negotiations stay on track toward an amicable, practical resolution through negotiations or family law mediation in appropriate situations.
What about a Simplified Dissolution of Marriage?
You may have heard about a process known as a simplified dissolution of marriage. This process is available under Florida law only if all of the following apply:
- There are no dependent children, and the wife is not currently pregnant
- Neither party is seeking alimony
- Both spouses are in complete agreement on property division
- Both agree on divorce on the grounds that there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage
- Both spouses agree to utilize the simplified process
If all of these factors apply to your situation, you can follow the process in Florida for a simplified dissolution of marriage, which takes about 30 – 45 days to complete. At the DeVoe Law Firm, we’re happy to let you know if your case qualifies for the simplified process and let you know how you should proceed.
Call the DeVoe Law Firm for Help with Uncontested Divorce
To discuss whether you can benefit from an uncontested divorce, or for advice and representation in the manner that makes the most sense in your particular divorce case, call the DeVoe Law Firm at 407-284-1620 for a free consultation from a skilled and experienced divorce lawyer.