Filing a Divorce in FL When Spouse is in Another Country (known location)

[AnthonyE]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Ok, so here's the situation...

My girlfriend wants to get a divorce from her ex. They've been apart for over 7yrs, her ex has been with someone new for years, and her and I have been together for a year. So, it's wanted mutually on both sides. They just didn't do it yet because they weren't sure how to take care of it with him overseas.

He's in Spain. She knows his address and they communicate for their son (so yes, there is a child involved), so she can discuss it with him and mail him whatever she needs to. Everything is amicable and there's nothing either of them are contesting. The only difficulty is making sure they file all the proper paperwork to get this taken care of.

So with that said, what forms need to be completed by her, and what needs to be completed on his end as well to take care of this? She wants to make sure to get this done right. Appreciate any help you can give on this.

 

[Zigner]

She will want to speak to an attorney.

 

[zddoodah]

So with that said, what forms need to be completed by her, and what needs to be completed on his end as well to take care of this?

This question is beyond what you can get from anonymous strangers on an internet message board.

That her husband lives in another country doesn't make a ton of difference, except that enforcing visitation and child support may be extremely difficult and expensive. She would be extremely unwise to make this a DIY project. Hire an attorney to get everything in place correctly.

 

[army judge]

My girlfriend wants to get a divorce from her ex.

It would be in the female's BEST interests (and her child's best interest) that the female speak to a FL divorce attorney about the best way she should proceed.

There is no SIMPLE form the female can complete and receive that which you say she seeks, a divorce.

The female's situation is very complex, because the male she allegedly wedded is now residing in Spain.

In fact, the female seems to regularly hop from male to male, as you allege to be number three over the past half dozen years.

In all reality you may be number 333.

Exercising smart choices leads to a less complicated life.

 

[AnthonyE]

It would be in the female's BEST interests (and her child's best interest) that the female speak to a FL divorce attorney about the best way she should proceed.

There is no SIMPLE form the female can complete and receive that which you say she seeks, a divorce.

The female's situation is very complex, because the male she allegedly wedded is now residing in Spain.

In fact, the female seems to regularly hop from male to male, as you allege to be number three over the past half dozen years.

In all reality you may be number 333.

Exercising smart choices leads to a less complicated life.

When did I say I was number 3 in the last 6yrs? She actually didn't date for 7yrs, after her divorce. I think you may have misread what I wrote. Her ex is with someone, she is now with me. This is the first relationship for both of them since the divorce. It damaged both of them bad, as they had been best friends prior to a marriage that became a train wreck loaded up with a dumpster fire.

Anyway, I didn't think it would be complicated since she already has everything in place and agreed on with him. The only thing they're lacking is to have it on record in the court to make the divorce official. There isn't anything at all that either contests. They haven't for years. It's all amicable.

I was just hoping it would be fairly uniform and standard documents in cases where the two live in different locations. An attorney is out of our budget. The only other possibility would be a mediator that can do the paperwork. Best I've found with that though is going to cost about $800-1k. That's not going to be easy to make happen either.

I'm just surprised they make all this so complicated. Thinking we would personally do something outside of the courts, as they just make this too much of a hassle. Regardless, it would mean a lot to both of us for this one to be dissolved.

 

[AnthonyE]

This question is beyond what you can get from anonymous strangers on an internet message board.

That her husband lives in another country doesn't make a ton of difference, except that enforcing visitation and child support may be extremely difficult and expensive. She would be extremely unwise to make this a DIY project. Hire an attorney to get everything in place correctly.

Visitation and child support is a non-issue. Like I've said, they agree on all of that, and there are no problems or disagreements. The only thing holding them back is knowing what forms need to be filed to take care of this. And as I said in the last message, an attorney is way out of our budget.

I asked the clerk of court earlier, but she ended up referring me to a supposedly free legal service to ask them. But, they have a whole screening process, and I waited 20mins on hold until I decided to not waste my time.

 

[Zigner]

Visitation and child support is a non-issue. Like I've said, they agree on all of that, and there are no problems or disagreements. The only thing holding them back is knowing what forms need to be filed to take care of this. And as I said in the last message, an attorney is way out of our budget.

I asked the clerk of court earlier, but she ended up referring me to a supposedly free legal service to ask them. But, they have a whole screening process, and I waited 20mins on hold until I decided to not waste my time.

It's been 7 years...what's the rush?
Save up until an attorney is not out of the budget.

 

[AnthonyE]

It's been 7 years...what's the rush?
Save up until an attorney is not out of the budget.

A couple different reasons:

1) The principal of the matter, now that we have become serious, bonded with each other's children, etc.

2) An attorney might not be in the budget for years at best. I have 3 children, she has 2 (one from her ex, another from an ex boyfriend prior to that), and she only very rarely gets child support (yet refuses to do anything about it to keep the peace). We have a very tight budget, even though we both make a modest income.

3) We are hoping to be married in the not too distant future. We love each other in a way neither of us even knew was possible. Although now, with how much of a hassle this is turning into, we might just do a ceremony, but forego the legality of it. Regardless, we don't want to do any of that until the divorce is finalized.

4) Her ex is a liability. She has lots of assets she worked hard to earn. He jumps from job to job, and oftentimes paycheck to paycheck. Very, very few assets on his part, if any. Hence why she rarely ever gets child support. But again, she refuses to do anything about that to keep the peace. With that said, she is concerned that either he could end up running into some financial issue that might screw her, or since his wife doesn't particularly like her, might encourage him to try to take advantage of splitting assets and acquiring a bunch of the stuff she earned on her own. Right now, that's not a problem, but she does worry that if he's desperate enough and she encourages him enough, it could happen later on. So, once she gets this done, that concern is gone as well.

There are other reasons too, but those are the ones off the top of my head. She really just wants to cut that tie to him as well. In her eyes, it's a symbolic respect thing for me that she really wants to do, if that makes sense.

 

[Zigner]

All the more reason to make sure this is done right.

 

[AnthonyE]

All the more reason to make sure this is done right.

Yea, I know. We were just really hoping it could be done without breaking the bank. We already know he is going to contribute little to nothing for the cost of it.

She was hoping since him and his woman have been together for 2-3yrs, that he would eventually want it and take care of it so he could marry her. But so far, they seem to be fine leaving things as-is.

 

[Zigner]

Yea, I know. We were just really hoping it could be done without breaking the bank. We already know he is going to contribute little to nothing for the cost of it.

She was hoping since him and his woman have been together for 2-3yrs, that he would eventually want it and take care of it so he could marry her. But so far, they seem to be fine leaving things as-is.

Since the kids are here, filing in another country could be a problem, as the other country doesn't have jurisdiction over the kids.

 

[adjusterjack]

I asked the clerk of court earlier, but she ended up referring me to a supposedly free legal service to ask them. But, they have a whole screening process, and I waited 20mins on hold until I decided to not waste my time.

You've been admonished by several knowledgeable people that a divorce is not a DIY project. Well, that's not exactly correct. It could be a DIY project. What it isn't is an easy DIY project. It's complicated even when everything is "amicable." Even the courts acknowledge that it could be a DIY project by providing a variety of self-help materials.

A lot of which you could have found just by googling (as I did) something like how to get a divorce in Florida.

Start with the following link. It's a divorce guide put out by the State of Florida.

State of Florida.com | Florida Divorce Guide

The first thing to note is that she will have to take the online class for parents filing for divorce in Florida. He may also have to take it.

That page also provides a link to the divorce statute which should be carefully studied.

There is a link to File for a Divorce Online. That doesn't work so we move on to the Florida Courts website where there is a variety of self-help information.

Self-Help Information - Florida Courts (flcourts.org)

And many forms:

Family Law Forms - Florida Courts (flcourts.org)

Many other sources of information remain in the search results:

florida divorce at DuckDuckGo

4) Her ex is a liability. She has lots of assets she worked hard to earn. He jumps from job to job, and oftentimes paycheck to paycheck. Very, very few assets on his part, if any. Hence why she rarely ever gets child support. But again, she refuses to do anything about that to keep the peace. With that said, she is concerned that either he could end up running into some financial issue that might screw her, or since his wife doesn't particularly like her, might encourage him to try to take advantage of splitting assets and acquiring a bunch of the stuff she earned on her own. Right now, that's not a problem, but she does worry that if he's desperate enough and she encourages him enough, it could happen later on. So, once she gets this done, that concern is gone as well.

I damn near fell out of my chair laughing when I read that. "They agree on everything." "It's amicable." Then you throw that at us. I'd love to read what happens when she sends him papers to sign, if it ever gets that far without blowing up in her face.

 

[zddoodah]

Visitation and child support is a non-issue. Like I've said, they agree on all of that, and there are no problems or disagreements.

Oh...ok...because there are never disagreements that happen after the divorce (especially when the parents are in different countries).

Seriously...plan for the worst.

an attorney is way out of our budget.

Despite having "lots of assets"? Ever hear the expression "penny wise and pound foolish"?

the clerk of [the] court . . . referr[ed] me to a supposedly free legal service to ask them. But, they have a whole screening process, and I waited 20mins on hold until I decided to not waste my time.

Wow...a whole 20 minute for FREE legal services. What's the world coming to?!

 

[Red Kayak]

Her ex is a liability. She has lots of assets she worked hard to earn.

Then she should use some of those assets to retain a lawyer.

 

[stealthy1]

I dunno. If *I* wanted a divorce? I'd be doing a heck of a lot of legwork myself, rather than relying on my boyfriend to do it... And yeah, 20/30/60+ minutes on the phone for free legal help would be worth it.

 

[Paddywakk]

A couple different reasons:

1) The principal of the matter, now that we have become serious, bonded with each other's children, etc.

2) An attorney might not be in the budget for years at best. I have 3 children, she has 2 (one from her ex, another from an ex boyfriend prior to that), and she only very rarely gets child support (yet refuses to do anything about it to keep the peace). We have a very tight budget, even though we both make a modest income.

3) We are hoping to be married in the not too distant future. We love each other in a way neither of us even knew was possible. Although now, with how much of a hassle this is turning into, we might just do a ceremony, but forego the legality of it. Regardless, we don't want to do any of that until the divorce is finalized.

4) Her ex is a liability. She has lots of assets she worked hard to earn. He jumps from job to job, and oftentimes paycheck to paycheck. Very, very few assets on his part, if any. Hence why she rarely ever gets child support. But again, she refuses to do anything about that to keep the peace. With that said, she is concerned that either he could end up running into some financial issue that might screw her, or since his wife doesn't particularly like her, might encourage him to try to take advantage of splitting assets and acquiring a bunch of the stuff she earned on her own. Right now, that's not a problem, but she does worry that if he's desperate enough and she encourages him enough, it could happen later on. So, once she gets this done, that concern is gone as well.

There are other reasons too, but those are the ones off the top of my head. She really just wants to cut that tie to him as well. In her eyes, it's a symbolic respect thing for me that she really wants to do, if that makes sense.

"...she is concerned that either he could end up running into some financial issue that might screw her, or since HIS WIFEdoesn't particularly like her, ..."

His WIFE? Is she sure he didn't divorce her?

 

[army judge]

"...she is concerned that either he could end up running into some financial issue that might screw her, or since HIS WIFEdoesn't particularly like her, ..."

His WIFE? Is she sure he didn't divorce her?

Heck, runaway man is residing in sunny Spain.

Dude might be an untouchable bigamist.

I know nothing, just guessing based upon what many such critters do.