Florida is a no-fault divorce state. What this means is that the Florida court judges do not need to hear testimony or be shown evidence to support that one party caused the breakdown of the marriage or that the breakdown of the marriage occurred as a result of certain indiscretions, such as adultery, in order to grant a divorce. While Florida may be a no-fault state, the courts must still find that a marriage is “irretrievably broken” or that a mental incapacity has existed for a period of three years, Florida Statutes 61.052, before a divorce will be granted. Often times parties move for the grounds of irretrievably broken to seek their divorce. While the assumption can be made that anyone who goes through the tiring divorce process must being doing so because the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court must still be presented with evidence to support the status of the marriage as broken.
Parties are often surprised to discover that even in instances where they have agreed upon the terms of their divorce, filed a petition, sought legal counsel, drafted parenting plans, taken the parenting course, and agreed upon property division the judge is still able to reserve on granting the divorce until a later date, order counseling, or if minor children are of the marriage the judge may issue an order in their best interests if the judge sees fit. The judge can order the previously mentioned results in instances when one party responds to the petition that the marriage is not irretrievably broken, or in any instances when the marriage involves minor children. While this may not be the result divorcing parties desire this allows the courts to attempt at giving the parties another opportunity to reconcile for the benefit of themselves and/or the minor children. While reconciliation may not be in the best interest for the parties and the children in all instances the reservation of this power allows for an outside party to evaluate the circumstances and in some cases save families from a path that is not in their best interests. While the court reserves this power, it should be noted that it is not very often that the court does not move forward with the divorce proceedings.
If you have found yourself recently served with a petition for divorce and you believe that your marriage can be retrieved, you must inform the court in your initial responsive pleading that you deny the marriage is irretrievably broken. Answering a petition for divorce by denying the grounds of irretrievably broken will not guarantee the court will not grant the divorce. But, it may give your family one last chance at counseling, or allow for the passage of time to allow for you and your spouse to reconcile. Contact Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. today to discuss your Florida divorce.