Uncontested Divorce in Florida — No Court, No Lawyer

An uncontested divorce is the simplest, fastest, and cheapest way to legally end a marriage in Florida. It happens when both spouses agree on everything that matters — so there is nothing left for a judge to fight over. Instead of two lawyers arguing for months, you need the right documents, filled out correctly, filed in the right county. That's the whole game, and it's why an amicable Florida divorce can finish in weeks for hundreds of dollars rather than months for thousands.

What "uncontested" actually means in Florida

Florida law calls divorce a dissolution of marriage, and Florida is a "no-fault" state — you never have to prove that anyone cheated, lied, or did anything wrong. The only legal ground you need is that the marriage is "irretrievably broken." Nobody is blamed, and a judge won't ask you to justify the decision.

That means the only real question in any Florida divorce is whether you and your spouse agree on the terms. Your divorce is uncontested when you both agree on:

• Property and debts — who keeps the house, the cars, the accounts, and who is responsible for which debts.
• Alimony (spousal support) — whether either spouse will pay support, how much, and for how long — or that you both waive it.
• Children — a parenting plan (Florida's term for the time-sharing schedule) and child support, if you have minor children together.

Agree on all three and your case is uncontested. Disagree on even one item and it's "contested" until you resolve it — usually through negotiation or mediation rather than a trial, but slower and more expensive either way.

Who qualifies — and Florida's two uncontested paths

To file for any divorce in Florida, at least one spouse must have lived in Florida for the six months before filing. Residency is usually proven with a Florida driver's license or ID issued at least six months ago, a Florida voter registration, or a witness. Beyond residency, qualifying is simply a matter of agreement — but Florida gives agreeing couples two different procedural routes, and which one you use changes the paperwork and the court experience.

The uncontested divorce process, step by step

Two details matter more than people expect. First, the county: you file with the Clerk of Court in a county where at least one of you lives, and each clerk has its own e-filing quirks and local requirements. Second, step 4 is where amicable couples save the most friction — when your spouse signs a waiver or joins the petition, you skip formal service of process entirely: no process server, no awkward delivery at work.

The documents you'll need

Florida's family courts run on standardized forms approved by the Florida Supreme Court. Depending on your path, a complete uncontested package typically includes:

• Petition for dissolution of marriage — the document that opens the case (simplified or regular version).
• Marital settlement agreement — the written deal covering property, debts, and support.
• Financial affidavits — required disclosures of income, expenses, assets, and debts (short or long form depending on income).
• Parenting plan and child support guidelines worksheet — only if you have minor children.
• Final judgment — the order the judge signs, plus cover sheets and local county forms.

Every document has formatting and notarization requirements, and clerks reject packets that miss them — by some estimates roughly one in three self-prepared filings bounces at least once. That's the specific problem a document-preparation service exists to solve: you answer plain-English questions, and the correct county-ready forms come out the other end.

How much does an uncontested divorce cost in Florida?

Two unavoidable costs, one optional one. Everyone pays the court's filing fee. Preparing the documents is where your choice changes the bill dramatically:

If money is tight, Florida lets you apply for indigent status to defer the filing fee. For the complete picture — including hidden costs like parenting-course fees and certified copies — see our full guide to how much a divorce costs in Florida.

How long an uncontested divorce takes

Florida enforces a 20-day minimum waiting period after the petition is filed before a judge can finalize — so no divorce finishes instantly, no matter what an ad promises. In practice, most amicable cases finish in about 4 to 8 weeks: a few days to prepare documents properly, filing and the spouse's signed response, the 20-day wait, then the final hearing or paperwork-only judgment depending on your county's practice. Cases with children often run a couple of weeks longer because of the required parenting course.

The single biggest cause of delay isn't the court — it's rejected or incomplete paperwork restarting the clock. Our Florida divorce timeline guide breaks the schedule down week by week.

Five common mistakes that delay uncontested divorces

1. Using the wrong form set. Simplified and regular dissolutions use different packets; kids add more. Filing the wrong petition means starting over.
2. Skipping or fumbling the financial affidavits. They're mandatory in most cases, and the short/long form depends on your income. Incomplete affidavits are a top rejection reason.
3. A vague settlement agreement. "We'll split everything fairly" isn't enforceable. Judges want specifics — who keeps which account, who refinances the house, by when.
4. Missing county-specific requirements. Cover sheets, local forms, hearing-scheduling procedures — every county clerk has quirks that generic form kits ignore.
5. Notarization errors. Several documents must be notarized; Florida permits online notarization, but only through approved providers and procedures.

All five are prevention problems, not intelligence problems — they're exactly what a specialist review catches before anything is filed.

Uncontested divorce with children

You can absolutely divorce amicably with minor children — you just can't use the simplified path. Florida requires three extra things: a parenting plan laying out the time-sharing schedule and decision-making, a child support guidelines worksheet calculating support from both incomes, and a short parent education course each parent completes. If you've already agreed on where the kids live and how holidays work, the paperwork simply records the plan you've made — see our guide to timelines with children, and Amicably includes all child-related documents in the same flat fee.

DIY vs. a document service vs. an attorney

Do it yourself if your case is simple, you're comfortable with legal paperwork, and your time is cheap — the official forms are free on the Florida Courts self-help site. Budget hours of careful work and accept rejection risk.

Use a document service (like Amicably, $99 flat) when you agree on the terms and want the paperwork done correctly the first time — prepared from your answers, specialist-checked, notarization handled, county requirements met. This is the sweet spot for most amicable couples: attorney-free but not alone.

Hire an attorney when the case is genuinely contested, there's domestic violence, you can't locate your spouse, or complex assets need legal advice. The Florida Bar's consumer guide to divorce is a good primer on when counsel matters. No document service — ours included — can give legal advice; that line is real and we respect it.

Frequently asked questions