Divorce Lawyers in St. Augustine

No Divorce Case Is Too Big or Small – Call (904) 674-8779

Filing for divorce was probably the furthest thing from your mind when you began your marriage; but the reality remains that roughly half of all married couples divorce sooner or later. There is no shame in deciding to end your marriage, but there are legal complications.

Get the support you need in order to leap the legal hurdles ahead and protect your best interests throughout your divorce. Work with the St. Augustine divorce attorneys at Owenby Law, P.A.

Is Divorce Right for You?

At some point during the divorce process, you’ll probably ask yourself if divorce is really right for you. It’s natural to have second thoughts about something that will change your day-to-day and family dynamics significantly. As your trusted St. Augustine divorce attorneys, we can tell you all about the legal aspects of divorce and provide insight into why most people decide to get a divorce, which is knowledge we have gained through so many years of helping so many people dissolve their marriages. Ultimately, though, the decision if divorce is the right choice is yours to make—and possibly something to discuss with a therapy specialist first.

Even if you aren’t sure if divorce is the right choice right now, you can still benefit from our legal services. For example, we can review the divorce process with you and how your life would change once you file, so you can better decide if you want to file later. You can talk to our attorneys and decide to wait or proceed, whichever you think is best.

Is Florida a No-Fault Divorce State?

Florida is a no-fault divorce state, which means that you don’t need to have a specific reason to divorce your spouse. Instead, you can say that your marriage is “irretrievably broken” or that you have “irreconcilable differences” that convinced you to file for divorce. If you do have a specific reason to divorce your spouse or you think your spouse is “at fault” for the destruction of your happy marriage, you should let us know because it could affect your divorce in certain ways.

Fault-based reasons for wanting to divorce a spouse include:

• Adultery
• Domestic violence
• Extensive prison sentence
• Abandonment
• Extensive mental incapacitation
• Several other common reasons

Again, you can file for divorce for any reason or no specific reason at all. Yet knowing something specifically wrong that your spouse did could be useful for your divorce case. For example, if your spouse physically abused you and your children, the court might not want to give parental rights to your spouse during child custody proceedings.

Will Your Divorce Be Contested or Uncontested?

In St. Augustine, your divorce will be categorized as either a contested or uncontested divorce depending on how you and your spouse can agree on the terms of your divorce. It is not unusual for a divorce to be contested, as this occurs as soon as both spouses disagree with a point in the divorce decree. For example, if you want to be the primary custodial parent for your child, but your spouse does as well, then your divorce will become contested. To conclude a contested divorce, the matter will be brought to court for litigation and a judge or jury’s decision.

An uncontested is one where you and your spouse can agree on all components of your initial divorce decree. You will only need to review it again with your divorce lawyer in St. Augustine to make certain there are no overlooked stipulations. If everything is satisfactory, then you can go to court just once to get the divorce decree signed by a judge. When done correctly, an uncontested divorce can save you money, time, and energy.

What is the Divorce Process?

The typical divorce process in Florida will include these steps:

1. Talking to an attorney about getting a divorce and drafting a divorce decree.
2. Filing the divorce decree/petition with the right court.
3. Serving the divorce papers to the other spouse.
4. Awaiting the response from the other spouse.
5. Gathering additional information and documents for the discovery process.
6. Entering mediation to attempt to negotiate a divorce agreement (and parenting plan).
7. Bringing your divorce agreement to the court for final approval; or,
8. Going to trial if you cannot cooperatively create a divorce agreement during mediation.

What To Do Before Filing for Divorce

Think you are ready for divorce but don’t know where to start? It helps to know a little about what you should do before you officially file.

Before you file for divorce in Florida, we recommend that you:

• Get legal knowledge and guidance from our attorneys if you have not already.
• Organize all documents related to your divorce like financial statements, asset summaries, etc.
• Arrange financial/credit accounts to use on your own and stop the use of joint accounts.
• Update access information for your personal accounts like social media and computers.
• Prepare to live separately from your spouse if it would be safer.

What are the Residency Requirements for Filing for Divorce in Florida?

Even if you and your spouse are both certain you are ready for divorce, the State of Florida might not be ready. Florida has a residency requirement that you must fulfill before a court will hear your divorce case. Under this rule, one or both spouses must have resided in Florida for at least six months before filing for divorce.

How Long Does Divorce Take?

Technically speaking, all divorces in Florida take at least six months due to the aforementioned six-month residency requirement before the court will hear a divorce case. When considering all other factors that go into a typical divorce, though, a six-month timeline is unusually fast. On average, you can expect an uncontested divorce to take between nine months and a year to complete. If your case is contested, it will likely take more than a year.

At Owenby Law, P.A., we never offer empty promises, so we won’t guarantee how long your divorce case will take. What we can tell you is that we will do what we can to avoid unnecessary delays, so your divorce can conclude in as little time as possible based on the factors that make it unique.

Talk to Our Team Today

The hardest part of a divorce is usually the first step. The uncertainties of the future ahead give many people hesitation. You can overcome this challenge and all the rest by retaining the services of Owenby Law, P.A. and our divorce attorneys in St. Augustine. Your comfort and satisfaction are our top priorities throughout your case.