Contested Divorce in Florida

A contested divorce is any Florida divorce in which the parties cannot agree on one or more issues. The disputed issue might be the value of a business, whether equal time-sharing is appropriate, the amount and duration of alimony, or how to handle a premarital account that grew during the marriage. Whatever the issue, the procedural rules are the same: discovery, temporary relief, mediation, and -- if necessary -- trial.

The Most Common Contested Issues

Time-sharing and parenting plans. Since July 1, 2023, Florida law presumes equal time-sharing is in the best interests of the child. Rebutting that presumption requires evidence under the best-interest factors in Florida Statutes § 61.13(3).
Equitable distribution. Disputes often center on classifying property as marital or nonmarital, valuing closely held businesses, tracing premarital funds that were commingled, and proving intentional dissipation of assets.
Alimony. After the 2023 alimony reform, fights focus on the length of the marriage, the recipient's actual need, and whether durational alimony is appropriate at all for marriages under three years.
Child support deviations. The guideline amount is presumptive, but parties contest the income calculation, the time-sharing percentage, and requests to deviate up or down based on the factors in Florida Statutes § 61.30(11).
Relocation. A parent seeking to move with the child more than 50 miles away faces the procedural and substantive requirements of Florida Statutes § 61.13001.

Temporary Relief Hearings

Contested cases often need an interim order to govern the parties' conduct while the case is pending. Temporary relief may include exclusive use of the marital home, temporary time-sharing, temporary child support, temporary alimony, and orders preserving the status quo of financial accounts. A temporary relief hearing is short -- often 30 minutes to an hour -- and the court relies heavily on the financial affidavits and limited live testimony.

Discovery

Mandatory disclosure under Rule 12.285 produces the basic financial picture, but it is rarely enough in a contested case. Tools we use include:

Interrogatories and requests for production beyond the standard list
Depositions of the parties, business partners, and key witnesses
Subpoenas to banks, brokerages, and employers
Forensic accountants to trace funds and value businesses
Vocational evaluators to address imputed income for an underemployed spouse
Custody evaluators or guardians ad litem when child-related issues are sharply disputed

Mediation

Florida circuits require mediation before a contested family case can be tried. A neutral mediator -- usually a Florida Supreme Court certified family mediator -- spends a full day or half day with the parties and their attorneys, shuttling between rooms to find common ground. Most contested cases settle in mediation. The settlement is enforceable as soon as it is reduced to writing and signed by both parties and their counsel under Florida Family Law Rule 12.741.

Trial

If mediation fails on any issue, that issue is tried to the judge. Florida family law trials are bench trials -- there is no jury. Each side presents witnesses, financial exhibits, parenting plan proposals, and expert testimony. The judge enters a written Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage with detailed factual findings that address every disputed issue.

Pleading and the 20-Day Answer Period

A contested Florida divorce begins with the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in the circuit court of the county where either spouse resides, accompanied by a $409 filing fee in Miami-Dade. The petition recites the jurisdictional facts -- residency for the preceding six months under Florida Statutes § 61.021 and irretrievable breakdown of the marriage under FS § 61.052 -- identifies the marital assets and liabilities in general terms, and requests the relief sought, including equitable distribution, alimony, a parenting plan, child support, and attorney's fees.

Once served by personal service or by waiver, the respondent has 20 days to file a written Answer under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140(a), as incorporated into family practice. The Answer admits or denies each allegation and may assert affirmative defenses. The respondent typically files a Counter-Petition at the same time, putting his or her own affirmative claims at issue. Failure to file a timely Answer can result in entry of a clerk's default and, ultimately, a default Final Judgment, although Florida courts are reluctant to enter substantive family-law relief on default without an evidentiary hearing.

The Standing Temporary Order on Financial Restraints

Upon filing in the Miami-Dade Eleventh Judicial Circuit Family Division, a Standing Temporary Order (sometimes called a standing administrative order) takes effect by operation of local rule. The order prohibits both parties from:

Selling, transferring, encumbering, concealing, or dissipating any marital or jointly held asset, except in the ordinary course of business or for ordinary household needs
Canceling, modifying, or allowing to lapse any health, life, automobile, or homeowner's insurance covering the other spouse or the minor children
Changing beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, or other testamentary instruments
Removing minor children from the State of Florida without written consent of the other parent or order of the court
Harassing, threatening, or interfering with the other spouse

Violations are punishable by contempt and can produce equitable remedies including asset restoration and attorney's fees. The standing order is one of the most important practical protections a Miami-Dade litigant has, and it is enforceable from the moment of filing.

Mandatory Disclosure Under Rule 12.285

Within 45 days of service of the initial pleading, every party in a contested case must serve a complete set of mandatory disclosure documents pursuant to Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285. The list is extensive:

A sworn Family Law Financial Affidavit (Form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c))
All federal personal and business income tax returns and W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s for the prior three years
Pay stubs covering the prior three months
Statements for all bank, brokerage, money-market, and retirement accounts for the prior three months, and the prior twelve months for any account in which the party has an interest
Credit card and revolving-debt statements for the prior three months
Promissory notes, deeds, mortgages, and loan applications for the prior twelve months
Documents evidencing any claim that an asset is nonmarital, including premarital, gift, or inheritance origin
Health and life insurance policy declarations
Documents evidencing the income of any business in which the party has an interest

Mandatory disclosure cannot be waived in a contested case (it can be waived by written stipulation in uncontested cases only). The party who fails to comply is subject to sanctions under Rule 12.285(k), including the striking of pleadings, prohibition against introducing evidence on undisclosed matters, and award of attorney's fees.

Discovery Tools Beyond Mandatory Disclosure

Mandatory disclosure produces a financial snapshot. A contested case usually requires significantly more. The discovery rules of Florida civil procedure -- modified by Florida Family Law Rules 12.280 through 12.380 -- give us a comprehensive toolkit:

Interrogatories. Up to ten standard family law interrogatories under Form 12.930(b) plus additional case-specific written questions. Interrogatories are answered under oath and are useful for locking down a party's position on income, assets, and the chronology of acquisitions.
Requests for production. Document demands that go beyond the mandatory-disclosure list -- closing statements on real estate, settlement agreements, stock option grants, deferred compensation, partnership K-1s, and supporting schedules for any business interest.
Requests for admission. Used to narrow the issues by establishing undisputed facts -- the date of marriage, the existence of a particular account, the authenticity of a particular signature.
Depositions. Sworn testimony under Rule 12.310. We depose the opposing spouse in nearly every contested case, and frequently depose business partners, bookkeepers, accountants, and lenders.
Third-party subpoenas. Subpoenas duces tecum to banks, employers, brokerages, and credit card companies under Rule 12.351, with required notice to the opposing party and an opportunity to object.
Inspection of business premises. Used selectively when valuation of a closely held business requires onsite review of inventory, equipment, or records.

Temporary Relief Motions

While the case is pending, either party may seek temporary relief. Common motions include temporary child support and time-sharing, temporary alimony, exclusive use and possession of the marital home, and an interim award of attorney's fees and costs under Florida Statutes § 61.16. Section 61.16 authorizes the court to require the financially superior spouse to fund the other spouse's reasonable attorney's fees so that both sides have meaningful access to the court. A well-supported motion under FS § 61.16 is often the most important strategic step the less-monied spouse takes in the first ninety days of a case.

Temporary relief hearings are typically scheduled for 30 minutes to an hour. The court relies primarily on the financial affidavits, supplemented by limited live testimony. Temporary orders are not appealable as of right and are subject to modification on a showing of changed circumstances.

Court-Ordered Mediation in Miami-Dade

By Administrative Order of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, contested family cases must be referred to mediation before any contested issue is set for trial. The mediator is a Florida Supreme Court certified family mediator, selected by agreement or appointed by the court, and is paid by the parties (typically equally or in proportion to income). A half-day mediation in Miami-Dade currently runs $400 to $1,500 per side depending on the mediator's experience; a full day runs roughly twice that.

Most contested cases settle in mediation. A written settlement reached at mediation is enforceable under Florida Family Law Rule 12.741 as soon as it is reduced to writing and signed by the parties and their counsel. The agreement is then formalized as a Marital Settlement Agreement and incorporated into an uncontested Final Judgment.

Case Management and Pretrial Procedures

Miami-Dade Family Division judges manage their dockets actively through case management conferences under Florida Family Law Rule 12.200. The first conference is typically scheduled within 90 to 120 days of filing. The court enters a case management order setting deadlines for completion of discovery, exchange of expert reports, mediation, and the pretrial conference. Failure to meet a case management deadline can result in exclusion of evidence or witnesses.

Before trial, the court will require a pretrial stipulation listing the issues to be tried, the witnesses, the exhibits, and the estimated time required. The pretrial stipulation focuses the parties on what truly remains in dispute and frequently produces last-minute settlements.

Trial Structure

Florida family-law trials are bench trials -- there is no jury. A typical Miami-Dade contested trial runs one to four days, depending on the number of disputed issues and the complexity of the marital estate. The structure follows civil practice:

Opening statements (often waived in a bench trial)
Petitioner's case in chief -- direct testimony, cross-examination, and admission of exhibits
Respondent's case in chief
Rebuttal as needed
Closing arguments, often submitted as written closing memoranda
The judge enters a written Final Judgment with detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law addressing every disputed issue

Expert Witnesses

Expert testimony is the rule, not the exception, in contested Miami-Dade divorces with substantial assets or contested parenting. The most common experts include:

Forensic accountants to value closely held businesses, trace nonmarital funds through commingled accounts, identify dissipation of assets, and reconstruct income for self-employed spouses
Vocational evaluators to address imputation of income to a voluntarily underemployed or unemployed spouse under FS § 61.30(2)(b)
Real estate appraisers for the marital home and any investment property
Business valuation experts applying income, market, or asset approaches to closely held interests
Social investigators appointed under Florida Statutes § 61.20 to investigate and report on the best interests of the child in contested time-sharing cases
Guardians ad litem and parenting coordinators in high-conflict parenting disputes
Mental health professionals conducting psychological evaluations of one or both parents under Rule 12.363 when a parent's fitness is at issue

Appellate Review

The Final Judgment is appealable to the Third District Court of Appeal for Miami-Dade cases. The notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of rendition of the Final Judgment. Equitable distribution rulings are reviewed for an abuse of discretion and require competent substantial evidence supporting each finding. Parenting determinations receive deferential review because of the trial judge's superior position to evaluate credibility, but findings unsupported by the record are reversible. Attorney's fee awards under FS § 61.16 are reviewed for abuse of discretion. The cost of an appeal -- briefing, the record on appeal, and oral argument -- typically runs $15,000 to $40,000 per side, and the relief on appeal is most often a remand for further proceedings rather than an outright reversal.

Cost Drivers and Budgeting

A contested Miami-Dade divorce can cost anywhere from $15,000 to well into six figures per side. The major cost drivers are discovery (especially depositions and document review), expert witnesses, contested temporary relief hearings, multiple mediations, and trial preparation. We provide every contested client with a written budget at the outset, broken down by phase, and we update the budget at each case management conference so there are no surprises.

Strategies for Narrowing the Issues

The single most effective cost-control strategy in a contested case is to settle the issues that can be settled and try only the issues that genuinely require a judicial decision. We routinely use partial mediated settlements, stipulations as to the value of particular assets, and agreed parenting plans to remove issues from the trial calendar. The fewer the disputed issues, the shorter the trial, the lower the expert costs, and the more focused the court's attention on what actually matters.

The Cost of Conflict

Contested divorces are expensive. The greatest cost driver is conflict that is disproportionate to the stakes -- fighting for months over personal property that could be split with a coin toss, or relitigating a single weekend in the time-sharing schedule. We work to settle the issues that can be settled, narrow the issues that must be tried, and ensure that the money you spend on litigation produces a measurable benefit in the final outcome.

Call 786-522-1411 for a confidential consultation about your contested Florida divorce.