You and your spouse may agree on every major issue, but Florida still requires complete, accurate documents. If you have no minor or dependent children, neither spouse seeks alimony and you meet the other requirements, you may qualify for a simplified dissolution of marriage. A lawyer can help you identify the appropriate process and prepare the required documents.
Reviewing the terms before you sign
A lawyer can draft or review your marital settlement agreement to address property, debts, support and other terms. Once both spouses sign the agreement, it may become legally enforceable. The court must still review it before incorporating it into the final judgment.
Legal guidance can help with drafting, but one attorney cannot advise both spouses. The lawyer represents only one of you, while the other spouse may seek separate legal advice.
Creating a workable parenting plan
If you have minor children, your parenting plan must cover more than holidays and school breaks. It should clearly address:
- Daily responsibilities: How you will handle routine parenting tasks.
- Time-sharing: When the children will stay with each parent.
- Major decisions: Who will address health care, education and activities.
- School address: Which address you will use for enrollment.
- Communication: How each parent will contact the children.
- Exchanges: Where you will transfer the children between homes.
A lawyer can also help you clarify transportation, extracurricular costs and other practical issues that may reduce future disagreements.
Checking property and financial disclosures
Florida uses equitable distribution rules for marital assets and liabilities. A lawyer can help you distinguish marital property from separate property, identify overlooked accounts and complete required financial disclosures. A lawyer can also determine whether an exemption applies or whether you may jointly waive filing the affidavits with the court. If you use the joint waiver, both spouses must first exchange sworn financial affidavits with each other.
Protect the decisions you have made
Reaching an agreement with your spouse can simplify the divorce process, but the documents you sign may affect your rights and responsibilities for years. A lawyer can help you understand those terms, identify issues you may have overlooked and prepare an agreement that accurately reflects your decisions before you submit it to the court.