Divorce can sometimes sound like a big scary curse word. If you’re heard saying it, you feel like you should cringe and hide from everyone around you. However, if you’re considering divorce in Florida or even just idly curious about it, some basic knowledge will help you ensure you get off on the right foot.

The Three Types of Divorce in Florida

1. Simplified Dissolution of Marriage

The easiest and least common kind of divorce, a dissolution, is for people who have no children (current or yet-to-be-born) and agree on all aspects of the divorce. First, you’ll need to fill out a financial affidavit and property settlement agreement.

If this works in your scenario, once the paperwork has been filed, both people have to go to a final divorce hearing and receive judgment for the divorce. Because of the somewhat strict rules about children and property, this type of divorce happens as frequently as a mother-in-law loving you right away.

2. Uncontested Divorce

In scenarios where you and your partner can agree on every single decision regarding the dissolution of marriage (who gets the kids and when, who keeps the house, which car goes to who, who gets to keep Grandma’s Super-Secret-Super-Slushy Margarita Recipe), an uncontested divorce is an option. Of course, you’ll still need to negotiate and create a final divorce agreement. But a judge doesn’t need to be involved, which is one less to-do on the list.

3. Contested Divorce

By far the most common kind of divorce, this is the option for couples who can’t agree on at least one decision for the divorce. So even if you have no problems with who gets the cars, kids, or house, but you can’t agree on who gets Grandma’s Margarita Mixer, that becomes a contested divorce.

In these cases, each party needs to provide evidence supporting their argument, presenting this in court in front of a judge. The judge then issues an order regarding every element of the divorce. This ranges from the division of assets to child custody and alimony.

Are There Differences Between a Florida Divorce Lawyer and a Family Law Lawyer?

Because law and courts and all this stuff aren’t complex enough, “Divorce Lawyer,” “Family Law Attorney,” and “Family Divorce Attorney” have interchangeable use in the industry. There’s no delineation between what each term is capable of doing. They’re all lawyers, and they can all divorce.

Florida Divorce With Children

Divorcing when you have children can be complex and emotionally fraught. It narrows your choices to an uncontested or contested divorce and adds a whole new dimension to “family planning.” There are two important things you need to be aware of going into a divorce in Florida when you have children. These are Parent Education and Family Stabilization Class and Shared Parental Responsibility.

Parent Education and Family Stabilization Class

If you and your partner have children when you begin divorcing, you must each take a class to help you minimize the emotional trauma of the divorce on your children. You must complete this course before the divorce enters the court, so you have homework before seeing a judge.

Shared Parental Responsibility

Kids come first, and both parents have a say in what happens in their lives. No matter whether the child lives with one parent, both parents get an equal say in raising the child, including education, health, religion, and discipline. This protects parental rights, and if you can’t agree on it, the judge will step in and make the decisions in the interest of the kid.

Divorce Without Children

Being child-free makes things less complicated. It means you have a better chance of getting a simplified dissolution of marriage or uncontested divorce. In turn, it’s one less course you have to take.

What’s The Difference Between a Florida Divorce Lawyer and Divorce Expert?

A divorce expert differs from a lawyer in a few key ways. First, divorce experts are more than qualified to handle your divorce. In the process, they understand all the legal, financial, tax, custody, and miscellaneous laws around your divorce. Lawyers are the fancy-pants people who go and pass a bar (but not the kind with alcohol).

Cost

A divorce lawyer will almost always run you a pretty penny. Because of their schooling and training, they have high per-hour rates. This can easily add up during the paperwork, filing, and mediation process, meaning a lawyer’s bill of a few thousand dollars can pop up every month- if not more frequently.

Divorce experts are trained in the rules and laws of divorce. They understand all the necessary steps, how to file paperwork, and how to protect you during the divorce. However, they usually charge far less than a lawyer. For the filing and paperwork, a divorce expert is a much better route, so you can save yourself a bundle.

Just to compare, the average cost for a lawyer in Florida is between $260 and $330 per hour. So we’ll say it again for those in the back- PER HOUR. Compare that to the Tampa Divorce Experts, who have bundles starting at $200 for the whole divorce.

Obviously, the complexity of your life, how many children and assets and dogs you have, is going to affect the divorce costs, but when the base rate for the whole kit-and-caboodle is less than one hour of a lawyer’s time, you can see your way to savings quickly.

Mediation

A lawyer is usually involved if you require mediation through your divorce (someone to help you and your partner come to agreements on the division of your lives so a judge can approve it). They’re there to keep everything civil and fair for you.

Divorce experts know their way around a stapler like nobody’s business. The paperwork and filing are their main concern, whereas mediation is normally outside of their purview.

Experience

Divorce lawyers get paid hourly. Unfortunately, they also tend to see your partner and lawyer as enemies. While we don’t want to disparage lawyers because they’re awesome people who serve a purpose, they can also sometimes complicate the process.

Divorce doesn’t have to be a battle against the other person where you’re trying to get as much from it as you can. Instead, divorce experts thrive off uncomplicating the process. They’re there to file and compile paperwork, help you understand the process, and make life simpler.

Type of Florida Divorce

If you’re going the route of an uncontested divorce, a divorce expert might be your best decision. An uncontested divorce crops up when you and your partner can come to an agreement on every aspect of the divorce (from the house and cars to the kids and dogs) and don’t require any mediation.

All you need is the paperwork filed and a certificate at the end. Divorce experts are the best choice for these kinds of divorces because they specialize in the quick and correct filing of paperwork, getting the divorce over with quickly and painlessly.

A lawyer is usually better for a contested divorce, where there’s some argumentation about the division of assets.

Get Ready For The Next Step In Your Life

Research is the dull and uninteresting first step to finding the best way to move forward from an unhappy marriage to a successful divorce and a new life. However, deciding what’s important, how to go about divorce, and what kind of divorce expert to have to help you are crucial to getting everything done. For more information on how the Tampa Divorce Experts can help you divorce successfully, check out our blog here and rates.