Cost of Divorce in Florida

What will my divorce cost? This is a fairly standard question, and it is a reasonable one to ask. Unfortunately, when it comes to traditional attorney representation, it is a question not easily answered. This is because several factors go into determining the total cost of a Florida divorce.

Many factors affect the cost of a divorce in Florida. Those include court fees, attorney fees, document preparation fees, trial fees, and other expenses. For these reasons, you should look at the entire process that you are venturing into when analyzing the total cost of your divorce.

The most predictable cost in any divorce is the court filing fee. This entire court filing fee is payable to the court. In Florida, the current filing fee is $408. This court fee is mandatory unless you qualify for a waiver. You can apply for a fee waiver if your income is below a certain level. If you choose Fast Florida Divorce for your divorce, we will provide the fee waiver application to you upon request, or we will provide it to you when we see it may be appropriate based on the income information you provide to us.

The most unpredictable cost is the cost of the services provided by attorneys.

In traditional attorney representation, most attorneys charge by the hour. Hourly rates for attorneys in Florida who practice family law can range from $225 to $325 per hour. It is very hard for an attorney to be able to accurately predict how much time they will spend on your case. At a minimum, even with an agreed divorce, an attorney could easily spend four to six hours on your case. This would include an initial meeting, possibly some follow up telephone calls, emails, or meetings, and then the time spent drafting and preparing your documents. Thus, an attorney with an hourly rate of $225 who spends four (4) hours on your case would charge you $900.00 for your agreed divorce. This is a reasonable amount of time to expect for a divorce that does not include dependent children.

In reality, many attorneys charge a flat fee for an uncontested or agreed divorce. That flat fee typically ranges from $1,250 to $2,500 or even higher, depending on the attorney. There are usually different rates depending on whether there are dependent children or not.

At Fast Florida Divorce, we charge $195 regardless of whether you have dependent children or not. We also offer a two payment option -- $99 each payment – for a total amount paid of $198. That’s it.

Our services for $195 (or two payments of $99) will provide you with all of the documents needed to start and then finish your divorce. And all of the documents you receive will have been prepared for you with the information you provided to us.

We also provide other services, and for those there are additional charges. However, those services are not necessary for you to get your divorce completed. (See below for a list of those additional services.)

How can I save money on my Florida divorce?

The first way to save on your divorce in Florida is by reaching an agreement with your spouse. This is not always possible, but for many reasons it is absolutely worth trying to see if agreement can be achieved.

By reaching an agreement, you do not have to pay professionals (like attorneys or mediators) to resolve disputed issues. You and your spouse can also have total ownership of your agreement and resolution.

By not overpaying for attorney and other professional services and related fees, you can control the overall financial cost of your divorce.

Even when paying for traditional representation by an attorney, most divorce cases resolve by agreement. Even for those individuals spending (tens of) thousands of dollars preparing for a court battle, almost all cases are resolved before the attorneys end up in front of the judge. In such cases, you spend a significant amount of your money paying an attorney to negotiate with your spouse’s attorney (who also costs money). Before going down that path, think hard and decide if you believe you and your spouse can reach an agreement on all issues. If you both believe you can, then it is worth giving it your very best attempt.

Once you and your spouse have reached agreement on all issues, Fast Florida Divorce is another way to save money, time, and stress. Through our comprehensive questionnaire, you provide us with the information and the agreements you’ve reached. With the information you’ve provided to us, we then prepare all of the documents you need. You and your spouse receive the attorney prepared paperwork online. This paperwork will reflect your agreements with your spouse. You and your spouse then may print the paperwork, have it notarized, and then file it with the court. Or, you can sign and notarize the paperwork online through our E-Notary service. You can also opt to have us file E-file your case for you.

For most of the cases we E-File, the divorce is completed within about 20 days of the initial filing. When you choose the E-Notary and E-Filing options, your divorce will be completed with out needing to leave your home in order to complete any of the required steps!

What is an agreed divorce?

A divorce is considered an agreed divorce or uncontested divorce when you and your spouse have reached agreement on all of the issues that must be addressed in your divorce at the time you file for divorce. This means that you and your spouse are in agreement on how all property will be divided; how all debts will be divided; and whether one of you will pay or receive alimony. If you have children, it means that you are in agreement regarding your time-sharing schedule (residential schedule) and the amount of child support that will be paid.

What does this website offer?

Through this website you can receive all of the completed paperwork required to start and finish your divorce in Florida, and you can have those documents completed entirely (100%) online.

We have created a questionnaire through which you will provide us all of the information we need to prepare your divorce documents. At your own pace, you answer the questions that apply to your circumstances, and then submit your answers.

The online attorney then prepares all of the paperwork for you and emails the paperwork to you for review. Then, you and your spouse review it, approve it, and then get ready to sign in front of a Notary Public.

Next, you and your spouse can either choose to sign and notarize the paperwork online with our E-notary service, or you can print all of the paperwork and each find a Notary Public to witness your signatures.

Once the documents have been signed and notarized, they are ready to be filed with the court. You can have us E-file your case for you with the Circuit Court, or you can do it yourself. If you choose to do it yourself, we will provide you with instructions. If we E-File for you, then we will also monitor the process until the Final Judgment on Dissolution of Marriage has been signed by the judge.

What does your service cost?

The cost of our service is $195 or two payments of $99. Our service fee includes access to the website and your online questionnaire; communication with the legal team; and attorney preparation of all the divorce paperwork needed to start and finish your divorce. We also provide you with instructions if you choose to print, notarize on your own, and file on your own. In short, you can get all of the attorney-prepared and completed documents you need to start and finish your divorce for $195 (or two payments of $99).

Here are the additional services we provide:

E-Notary Service:

Quitclaim Deed: $99

If you and/or your spouse own real estate, then a Quitclaim Deed is required to transfer the property to the person who will receive it. Even if the divorce paperwork lists who will receive the real estate, a Quitclaim Deed is required to complete the transfer of the property.

Vehicle Power of Attorney: $25

If you and/or your spouse have a vehicle that is titled in both names or in one name but the other spouse will receive the vehicle, a Vehicle Power of Attorney will allow the person receiving the vehicle to sign any necessary paperwork to transfer title to that vehicle.

Document Revisions: $50

If revisions are required to your paperwork due to changes necessary due to errors on your part or due to changes you’d like to see made after we have prepared your document, there is a fee. If we have made an error, then necessary revisions resulting from our error will be made at no cost to you.

E-Notary: $35 per spouse

E-Filing: $75

Motion to Dismiss: $35

If after starting your divorce action you decide that you want to end it before the divorce is finalized, a Motion to Dismiss can be filed with the court to dismiss or end the case.

Filing Fee Waiver: $0

The court can waive the initial filing fee ($408) if your income is below a certain threshold. If you believe your income will qualify for a waiver, or if we identify that we believe you income will qualify for a waiver, we will provide you with the filing fee waiver form at no cost to you.