Florida Waiting Period for Divorce
Florida law requires that all applicants for divorce wait 20 days after filing their initial papers in order to obtain a legal divorce. This constitutes one of the shortest waiting periods of any state, and exceptions to the 20-day requirement are available in unusual cases.
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Context
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Florida's 20-day divorce waiting period was introduced along with no-fault divorce in 1971. Florida's waiting period is among the least restrictive of any state. As of 2010, five states mandate no waiting period and Oklahoma requires only 10 days. In contrast, 39 states demand longer waiting periods than Florida. Most of these waiting periods are substantially longer than 20 days. For example, New Jersey requires parties to a divorce to live apart for 18 months before granting legal divorce.
Grounds
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Florida law recognizes only two grounds for divorce: at least one party must suffer from a medically certifiable mental incapacity, or the marriage must be irretrievably broken. Florida's no-fault divorce laws mean that neither party needs to show that the other bears responsibility for the collapse of the marriage. In fact, applicants for divorce do not need to prove that their marriage is broken, they simply must state that it is.
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Requirements
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At least one of the two parties to the divorce must have lived in Florida for six months prior to initiating divorce proceedings. The parties must appear in court. If the two sides have no children and reach a private divorce settlement, they need not testify in court. However, if the parties have dependent children or fail to agree on the terms of their divorce, they have the right to cross-examine each other and introduce financial and other personal documents as evidence. This can slow divorce proceedings substantially.
Exceptions
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Florida judges can grant exceptions to the 20-day waiting period requirement if at least one party to the divorce can show that the delay would cause an injustice. This must be proven in court.
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References
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