A common issue that arises when a Florida resident or a former Florida resident wishes to obtain a divorce from a spouse who resides in another state is whether they can file for divorce in Florida.  Although jurisdictional and venue battles to determine which court in which state should hear the divorce can become very complicated in contested divorces, for simple, uncontested divorces, the quick answer is yes: both parties do not have to reside in Florida in order to obtain a Florida divorce. 

To obtain a Florida divorce, one of the parties must have resided in Florida for six months prior to the filing of the petition.  Residency is proved by a valid Florida driver’s license, a Florida voter’s registration card, a valid Florida identification card, or the testimony or affidavit of a third party.  The resident party does not have to be the party filing for divorce.  In other words, a Florida resident may file for divorce against an out-of-state spouse, and vice versa.

A Florida court will not grant a divorce unless one of the following is true:

(1) The marriage is irretrievably broken; or

(2) One of the parties is mentally incapacitated, as provided by statute, for at least the preceding three years.

If there are no minor or dependent children involved, the wife is not pregnant, the parties have amicably divided any and all assets and debts, and the parties agree that the marriage is irretrievably broken, then Florida’s Simplified Dissolution of Marriage procedure is available to the spouses.  Under this abbreviated procedure, the Court will take in evidence to establish jurisdiction and the bases for the divorce during a hearing, where at least one spouse appears in person.  The Court may, in some instances and with advance preparation, even permit the spouse(s) to attend the hearing by telephone.  At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court will issue the judgment of dissolution of marriage.

If the other spouse contests the divorce or alleges that another state has jurisdiction to hear the divorce, that may prolong matters considerably.  For an example of the complications that may arise due to differing states’ divorce laws, read about Icahn v. Icahn.

This article does not constitute legal advice or the formation of an attorney-client relationship, and is not for re-publication without express permission of the author.

By Elizabeth Lee Beck, Esq.  Ms. Beck received her law degree from Yale Law School.  She can be reached at 305-789-0072 or elizabeth@beckandlee.com

Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers is a business litigation law firm located in Miami, Florida.