Florida Divorce Laws (2026): A Complete Guide to Chapter 61

Florida Divorce Laws: A Complete 2026 Guide

Florida divorce law is built around one statute — Fla. Stat. Chapter 61 — that governs how a marriage ends and how a court divides property, sets support, and decides parenting. Florida is a no-fault state with a six-month residency requirement, an equitable distribution rule for marital property, and an alimony framework that changed significantly in 2023. This guide explains the core rules in plain English so you understand your rights before you make any decisions.

1. Florida is a no-fault divorce state

Under Fla. Stat. § 61.052, a Florida court can dissolve a marriage when it is irretrievably broken — meaning there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. You do not have to prove adultery, abandonment, or cruelty to get divorced. The only other ground is the mental incapacity of a spouse for at least three years, which is rarely used.

No-fault applies to whether you can get divorced. Conduct can still matter to specific issues: for example, a court may consider adultery when deciding the amount of alimony, and evidence of domestic violence affects parenting decisions. But misconduct is not required to end the marriage itself.

2. You must meet the six-month residency rule

Fla. Stat. § 61.021 requires that at least one spouse has lived in Florida for six months before filing. This is jurisdictional — without it, the court cannot proceed. Residency is typically shown with a Florida driver license, state ID, or voter registration issued more than six months earlier, or by a corroborating witness. The case is filed in the circuit court for the county where either spouse resides.

3. Marital property is split by equitable distribution

Florida is not a community-property state. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.075, courts divide marital assets and debts by equitable distribution, which starts from the premise of an equal split but allows an unequal division when the facts justify it.

The first task is classifying property as marital or nonmarital:

• Marital property generally includes assets and debts acquired by either spouse during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the title, plus the appreciation of nonmarital assets caused by marital effort or funds.
• Nonmarital property generally includes what each spouse owned before the marriage, plus inheritances and gifts to one spouse individually — as long as those assets were kept separate and not commingled.

Once property is classified and valued, the court weighs statutory factors — the length of the marriage, each spouse's economic circumstances and contributions (including as a homemaker), and the desirability of keeping an asset like a home or a business intact — to reach a fair division. Our detailed guide to Florida equitable distribution walks through how the classification and valuation actually work.

4. Alimony was overhauled in 2023

Florida's alimony statute, Fla. Stat. § 61.08, was rewritten by Senate Bill 1416, effective July 1, 2023. The headline change: Florida eliminated permanent alimony. Courts now choose among four types:

• Temporary alimony — support paid while the divorce is pending.
• Bridge-the-gap alimony — up to two years, to help a spouse transition to single life and meet short-term needs.
• Rehabilitative alimony — up to five years, tied to a specific, written plan to acquire education, training, or work experience.
• Durational alimony — support for a set number of years, used for short-, moderate-, and long-term marriages, with caps on both duration and amount.

Before awarding any alimony, the court must find that one spouse has an actual need and the other has the ability to pay. Our full explainer on the 2023 Florida alimony reform breaks down the marriage-length brackets and the formula that now caps how much and how long alimony can run.

5. Child support follows a statutory guideline

When the marriage involves children, Fla. Stat. § 61.30 sets child support using an income-shares model: the court combines both parents' net incomes, applies the statutory guideline schedule for the number of children, and adjusts for health insurance, childcare, and the number of overnights each parent has. The result is largely formula-driven, which makes the number predictable once the financial affidavits are complete. See our Florida child support guidelines explainer for the step-by-step calculation.

6. Parenting is decided by time-sharing and parental responsibility

Florida does not use "custody." Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13, parenting is split into parental responsibility (who makes major decisions) and time-sharing (the schedule). Since July 1, 2023, the statute applies a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in the child's best interest; a parent who wants a different arrangement must prove it by the greater weight of the evidence. Every case with minor children requires a written parenting plan, and both parents must complete a parent-education course under Fla. Stat. § 61.21. Our guides to Florida child custody laws and time-sharing and parenting plans cover this in depth.

7. Both spouses must disclose their finances

Florida Family Law Rule 12.285 requires mandatory financial disclosure in most dissolution cases: each spouse files a Family Law Financial Affidavit and exchanges tax returns, pay records, and account statements. This is the evidentiary backbone for both property division and support, and skipping it is a frequent cause of delay.

8. How a Florida divorce moves through the court

The mechanics are consistent across cases: one spouse files a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, the other is served and has 20 days to respond, both complete financial disclosure, and most circuits require mediation before trial. If the spouses settle, the terms go into a Marital Settlement Agreement and the case ends with an uncontested final hearing. If not, a judge decides the open issues at trial. Our step-by-step overview of the Florida divorce process shows the full sequence and typical timeline.

9. What changes and what doesn't after the judgment

A final judgment of dissolution can be modified later, but only on the right showing. Child support, durational alimony, and time-sharing can be changed when there is a substantial and material change in circumstances; equitable distribution, by contrast, is final and generally not modifiable. If your circumstances change after the divorce, our guide to Florida post-judgment modifications explains the standard you have to meet.

Bottom line

Florida divorce law is no-fault, requires six months of residency, divides marital property by equitable distribution, sets child support by a statutory formula, decides parenting through time-sharing and parental responsibility under a 2023 equal-time-sharing presumption, and applies an alimony framework that no longer includes permanent support. Most of the outcome turns on two things: how assets and income are documented, and how much the spouses can resolve by agreement. Understanding the framework in Chapter 61 before you negotiate is the best way to protect your interests. To see how your situation fits, start with our qualifier or review the full menu of services.

Attorney Advertising Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only and reflects Florida law as of 2026. It is not legal advice. Family-law statutes, rules of procedure, and case law change, and outcomes depend on the specific facts of each case. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship with Louis Law Group or any of its attorneys. Do not act or refrain from acting based on this content without consulting a licensed Florida attorney about your situation. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.