Divorce in Pensacola Florida

Pensacola FL Divorce Lawyers

As we all know married couples who decide that they no longer want to stay in the partnership traditionally go through the process that we call divorce. However, in Florida and many other states around the country the action that we know as divorce is now being called “dissolution of marriage.” So in Florida when you want to end your marital union you file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, and when the action has been completed the result is a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

The spirit behind the name shift is to foster an environment of cooperation when a couple decides that their marriage has run its course. Florida takes this a step further by allowing for filing on just two no-fault grounds: that of an irretrievably broken marriage, and in cases when one of the parties involved has been suffering from mental incapacity for a period of at least three years.

So in the state of Florida there is no provision for finger pointing and no incentive to place blame, which leads to less contested divorces and ill will between the individuals involved. Upwards of half of marriages end in divorce, and there are children involved in most of these cases. The more amicable the partings the better, and the no-fault dissolution versus divorce approach generally lessens the potential for hotly contested courtroom battles.

The jurisdictional entity that adjudicates dissolution of marriage proceedings in Florida would be the Circuit Court in the county within which either the petitioner or the respondent resides. Florida divorce laws can be found in Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes, and they state that one of the parties must have been a resident of the state for at least six months before filing to meet the residency requirement. To file for a dissolution of marriage the appropriate point of contact would be the County Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court in your county of residence.

If you are going through a divorce, representation by a good Pensacola FL divorce lawyer is a must.