Divorce Courts in Miami

By Family & Relationships Last updated Tuesday, July/09/2024

When divorcing in Miami, you could avoid a long court battle.law courts image by Peter Helin from Fotolia.com

Couples filing for divorce in Miami have three types of courts to choose from depending on their location and the issues they have to settle. Florida law makes it possible for couples who do not have protracted disagreements to end their marriage amicably through what is known as a "simplified divorce." In some divorce proceedings however, issues such as the division of wealth, custody of children and visitation rights could necessitate a court case and these also determine the kind of court that would hear the case.

Simplified Divorce Courts

In a simplified divorce case, the couple will generally have no dependent children and would also have settled the issue of the division of family property. An important condition that divorcing couples have to meet in Miami is that one or both parties should have been a Florida resident at least six months prior to filing for divorce. When these conditions are met, the couple could have their case heard by the Florida county courts, which also handle uncontested divorce cases and other minor cases.

Divorce cases that involve the determination of child custody and the settlement of other issues such as child support, division of property and alimony are heard by Florida circuit courts. In general, circuit courts, while having a general jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases, have been put in place to handle cases beyond the jurisdiction of county courts.

In the county of Miami-Dade, the differentiation in jurisdiction between circuit and county courts seen in the rest of Florida does not exist. The jurisdictions are combined in this county and divorce cases in the county, regardless of their nature, are settled in the county's family courts. The county also has district courts that have limited jurisdiction over some cases including divorce. Some district court locations include Caleb and Hialeah.

Divorce cases in Miami can be settled quite easily and inexpensively where the couple has amicably settled some of the issues which would otherwise make the process time-consuming, energy-sapping and a waste of resources.