Dissolution of Marriage is the legal term for divorce in Florida. In general, divorces can be uncontested or contested. An uncontested divorce is one in which both parties to the marriage are in agreement as to how all the issues of their marriage will be resolved. Thus, for example, the parties have discussed and agreed upon what each of their contact will be with the minor children, how their property will be divided, and what their financial obligations to each other will look like, etc. With uncontested divorces, the court does not get involved other than to sign off on the Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. Depending on how much the parties have actually agreed upon, uncontested divorces are usually resolved in a shorter period of time than a contested divorce.
A contested divorce is one in which the parties have not come to an agreement on all issues and may require court intervention in order to resolve these issues. With this legal model of divorce, the procedure begins with one party filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and other required initial documents; the other party is served with these documents and has a certain amount of time to provide a response and may choose to file a Counter-Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. With a contested divorce, there are deadlines which both parties must follow. There is also exchange of financial documents, attendance at a mediation, and, if necessary, court intervention to finalize the parties’ divorce.
Artemis Family Law Group is well-versed in representing clients in divorce actions. Whether simple or complex issues exist, we endeavor to help each client in attaining his or her desired results in a divorce.