The following is a handy guide to what you and your spouse will need to complete the court forms necessary to file for a divorce in Florida. Don’t be overwhelmed by other divorce checklists you might see during your internet research. If you and your spouse generally agree on elements of the divorce agreement, such as child visitation and the distribution of assets and liabilities, divorce litigation may not be necessary and you may not want to hire lawyers. .
Rather, you can hire someone who is not a lawyer, such as a certified family mediator, to help you identify and fill out court forms. If that is the case and there are no other complicated circumstances (such as the division of a retirement account), the following list identifies the twenty documents and pieces of information that are needed for the non-attorney you select to help you complete court forms and prepare you to file the divorce petition.
1. Proof of residence. You or your spouse must be able to show that one of you has lived in Florida for at least six months. Residency can be proven by a valid Florida driver’s license, Florida identification card, or voter registration card. The issuance date of the document must be at least six months before the date the case is filed with the clerk of the circuit court;
2. Full and formal names of each spouse;
3. Full residential address of where each spouse lives;
4. Email address of each spouse;
5. Telephone number of each spouse;
6. Employer name, address and telephone number of each spouse;
7. Date of birth of each spouse;
8. Social Security number of each spouse;
9. Date of marriage;
10. If separated, date of separation;
11. The complete and formal name of each minor child;
12. The date of birth of each minor child;
13. Social Security number of each minor child;
14. Total annual compensation for each spouse (eg, salary, bonus, tips, etc.);
15. Gross pay rate by pay period and pay period (eg, weekly, biweekly, monthly);
16. A pay stub from each spouse will be extremely helpful in completing court financial affidavit forms. The pay stub will indicate the types and amounts of deductions from gross pay (eg, income tax, Medicare, insurance, employer loans, union dues, etc.);
17. Filing status for tax purposes (eg, probably married) and number of dependents claimed by each spouse. Your employer or their payroll department would have this information. If you know the filing status and the number of dependents to be claimed after the divorce, you will get more accurate financial affidavits;
18. List of separately expected ongoing monthly expenses for each spouse after the divorce, including credit card and loan payments, food, gas, car maintenance, and children’s expenses (for example, childcare, clothing, lunch money and medical and dental insurance);
19. A list of assets, such as cars, clothing, jewelry, furniture, cash, televisions, retirement accounts (name on accounts and account numbers), bank accounts (name of bank, name on accounts, and account numbers). bill). Walk around your house and make a list. Estimate the value of each asset and be realistic. Identify any assets that you believe belong solely to you and should not be divided (eg, non-marital assets). As stated on the financial affidavit court form, you will generally only list an asset as non-marital if it was owned by one spouse before the marriage. Section 61.075(1) of the Florida Statutes defines marital and non-marital property.
20. A list of liabilities, such as credit card balances, car loans, mortgages, employer loans, etc. Be specific and identify the names and account numbers of the lenders. Identify any liability that you feel belongs solely to you and should not be divided (eg, non-marital liability).