Looking for Florida’s rules on marriage, divorce, child custody, and child support? Want to find Florida‘s state court forms and instructions and local court websites? Here’s where to start. For a wide range of other articles on family law in Florida, see the Resources by State section on this site.
Marriage Rules in Florida
Requirements: No blood test required. You must be of the age of consent, not be too closely related to your intended spouse, not be married to anyone else, and have sufficient mental capacity, meaning you understand what you are doing when you marry. You can marry immediately after your marriage license is issued, and your license is good for 60 days. For more details, check your county clerk’s office.
Common law marriage: No.
Community property: No.
Same-sex marriage: No.
Florida Divorce Rules
Grounds for divorce: No-fault. However, fault may be considered by the court as a factor in dividing property or awarding alimony.
Residency requirement: At least one spouse must be a resident of Florida for six months before filing for divorce.
How property is divided: Equitable division.
Child Custody Rules in Florida
Child custody guidelines: Florida courts begin with a presumption that it’s best for a child to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a divorce. If possible, judges want to support joint custody arrangements.
Florida Child Support Rules
Child support guidelines: Florida requires all parents to support their children. The amount of child support depends primarily on each parent’s income and other resources and how much time each parent spends with the children.
Child support calculators to determine state guidelines: www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/florida.
State child support enforcement agency: Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement, http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/childsupport.
Florida Courts and Other Family Law Resources
Florida court information and family law forms: www.flcourts.org.
Family services section of Florida website: www.myflfamilies.com.
