Are you considering divorce, or were you just served with divorce paperwork in Brevard County, Florida? The experienced legal team at Conti Moore Divorce Lawyers, PLLC, is here to help when you reach out at (407) 831-0203.
You need an experienced Brevard County divorce lawyer who can guide you during this critical time that can affect your property rights, your relationship with your children, and your future. Contact us today to get started with a confidential case review.
How Can a Brevard County Divorce Lawyer Help Me?
Divorce is an emotionally taxing time. You need an ally in your corner during this pivotal time who can work hard to secure the best future for you possible.
The legal team at Conti Moore Divorce Lawyers, PLLC has over 50 years of combined experience in family law. When you work with one of our attorneys in Brevard County, FL, we can help by:
- Explaining Florida’s laws and how they can impact your case
- Discussing your objectives and how best to achieve them
- Preparing all of your paperwork
- Conducting extensive discovery to obtain all the information you need to make informed decisions about your case
- Negotiating for an out-of-court settlement
- Litigating your case, as necessary
Contact us today to speak to a knowledgeable Brevard County divorce attorney about your case.
What Are the Legal Grounds To Get a Divorce in Florida?
Florida is one of many states that have abolished fault as a ground to dissolve a marriage. To obtain a divorce, one of the parties must prove the following:
- A valid marriage exists.
- One party was a resident of Florida for six months before filing the petition.
- The marriage is irretrievably broken, or one of the parties has been adjudicated mentally incapacitated.
The reason for the breakdown of the marriage can be considered under certain limited circumstances when determining alimony, property division, and parenting plan development.
How Is Property Divided During a Florida Divorce?
Like most states, Florida uses an equitable distribution system to divide marital property and debts during divorce. During this process, the court identifies marital assets, which are generally any property either spouse acquired during the marriage, regardless of how it is titled.
This could include:
- Bank accounts
- Retirement benefits
- Real property
- Cash
- Personal property
- Cars and other vehicles
Marital debts might include mortgages, credit card balances, and back taxes.
Marital property and debts are subject to division during divorce, but the separate property either spouse owned before the marriage, received as a gift or inheritance, or purchased pursuant to a marital agreement or from proceeds from separate property is not.
Married couples can reach a settlement agreement about how to divide these assets and debts, or the court can decide for them, considering what is “equitable” under the circumstances.
How Is Child Custody Determined?
Florida’s public policy is that children should have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after they have separated or divorced, and that parents should share in parental rights and responsibilities. Parents can reach their own agreement regarding child custody. If they are unable to do so, the court can make the decision by considering what is in the child’s best interests.
The court can approve a proposed parenting plan that one or both parents submitted or devise its own. The parenting plan contains information about:
- The daily tasks of child-rearing
- The time-sharing schedule
- Decision-making authority related to healthcare, school, and other important decisions
- Parent-child communication technology
Both parents must attend a parenting course before the marriage is officially dissolved.
Will I Receive Spousal Support?
Spousal support is not automatic. To obtain an award for spousal support, you must show that you need it and that your spouse can pay it. The amount, type, and duration of alimony you receive are impacted by the length of your marriage and other factors.
Durational alimony provides financial assistance to the dependent spouse for a set period of time as follows:
- Marriages lasting 20 years or longer: Durational alimony may be awarded for no more than 75% of the length of your marriage.
- Marriages lasting between 10 and 20 years: Durational alimony is awarded up to 60% of the marriage.
- Marriages lasting less than 10 years: Durational alimony can be awarded up to 50% of the length of the marriage, but it is not awarded in marriages lasting less than three years.
Florida has various types of alimony to address different situations, including rehabilitative alimony and bridge-the-gap alimony. An experienced spousal support lawyer can explain whether you’re eligible for this help.
Contact Conti Moore Law Divorce Lawyers, PLLC for a Confidential Case Review
If you would like to discuss your particular situation with an experienced Brevard County divorce lawyer, contact Conti Moore Divorce Lawyers, PLLC. You don’t need to go through a divorce in Brevard County, Florida, on your own. We can explain the law and how we can help.