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Divorce is rarely just a legal event. It is the unwinding of a shared life, and the decisions made during it, about your children, your home, and your finances, tend to follow you for years. That is a heavy thing to carry while also trying to keep your daily life running, which is exactly why having someone handle the legal side makes such a difference.
At Weldon Law Group, PLLC, we represent people through divorce across Jacksonville, Duval County, and Northeast Florida, from straightforward cases where both spouses agree, to contested matters that end up in front of a judge. Our aim is the same either way: protect what matters to you and get you to the other side on stable footing.
Attorney Ian Weldon built his career in Florida courtrooms as a trial attorney, which means that if your divorce turns adversarial, you are not starting over with a lawyer who would rather avoid a fight. We work toward settlement where it serves you, and we are ready to litigate where it does not.
The sooner we understand your situation, the more we can do to shape the outcome.
Florida calls divorce a dissolution of marriage, and the process is more structured than most people expect. Knowing the basic framework upfront takes away some of the fear, because it shows that even a hard divorce moves along a defined path rather than an open-ended one.
Florida is a no-fault state. You do not have to prove your spouse did anything wrong; you only have to state that the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning it cannot be repaired. A second ground, mental incapacity, exists but is rare and requires a spouse to have been legally declared incapacitated for at least three years.
Two practical rules also apply: at least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing, and the court cannot finalize the divorce until at least 20 days after the petition is filed. We confirm you meet these thresholds before anything is filed, so the case does not stall on a technicality.
Which path your divorce takes depends on how much you and your spouse agree on:
There is also collaborative divorce, a structured out-of-court approach for spouses who want to resolve things cooperatively. Part of our first conversation is figuring out which of these realistically fits your situation, rather than forcing you down the longest or most expensive road by default.
Nearly every divorce comes down to the same handful of questions. Each one is a significant area of law in its own right, so the summaries below are the short version, with a fuller explanation available where you need it.
If you have children, this is usually what matters most. Florida builds every case around a parenting plan covering decision-making and a time-sharing schedule, and since 2023, the law starts from a presumption of equal, 50/50 time-sharing. How that presumption plays out in your case depends heavily on the facts, which we cover in depth on our child custody page.
Divorce often reshapes both households financially. Child support follows statutory guidelines based on income and time-sharing, while alimony changed significantly under Florida’s 2023 reform, which ended permanent alimony in favor of time-limited types tied to the length of the marriage. Because both turn on accurate financial detail, we handle them together and explain more on our spousal and child support page.
Florida follows equitable distribution, which means marital property and debt are divided fairly, though not always equally. The court begins from the idea of an even split but can adjust it when fairness calls for it, and cases involving a business, real estate, or retirement accounts require careful valuation. We go deeper into this on our property division page.
Two of the most common questions we hear are how long a divorce takes and what happens in the meantime. The honest answer is that it depends on your case, but the path itself is predictable, and knowing the stages ahead of time makes the whole thing far less daunting.
A Florida divorce moves through a recognizable sequence, and we handle each stage with you so nothing catches you off guard:
We keep the paperwork accurate and the deadlines met at each of these stages because a case built carefully from the start rarely unravels at the end.
A contested divorce can take months, and life does not pause while it runs. Florida lets the court put temporary orders in place to hold things steady in the meantime, which can include temporary support, a temporary time-sharing schedule, exclusive use of the family home, and help with attorney’s fees. If you are worried about how you will manage financially or see your children before the divorce is final, this is often the first thing we address, so you are not left waiting without protection.
Contact us for more information about our services.
Not every divorce settles quietly, and some carry stakes that make a careful, prepared approach essential. A spouse may fight for control of the children, hide or undervalue assets, or refuse to negotiate in good faith. Where there are substantial or complex assets, such as a family business or significant investments, an accurate valuation can be the difference between a fair outcome and a costly one. And where there is a history of domestic violence in the marriage, safety has to come first and shapes everything that follows.
These are the cases where courtroom experience earns its keep. We prepare every divorce as though it could be contested, because the ones that are ready for a fight tend to resolve on stronger terms even when they never reach trial.
Most of what we do is take the process off your shoulders and give you a clear plan at each stage. For our clients, that generally means:
We also handle post-divorce modifications when life changes down the road, whether that involves support, time-sharing, or another term of your judgment, which you can read about on our modifications page.
Choosing a divorce lawyer often comes down to a single question: can they handle your case if it becomes a fight? Attorney Ian Weldon spent more than a decade as a trial attorney before founding this firm, so a contested hearing is familiar territory rather than something to steer around. Clients working with us can expect:
We represent clients throughout Jacksonville, Duval County, and the surrounding communities of Northeast Florida. Se habla Español
Question | Answer |
How long does a divorce take in Florida? | It depends on the agreement. An uncontested divorce can finish in a few weeks after filing, subject to the 20-day minimum, while a contested divorce commonly takes several months to a year or more, depending on how much is disputed and how complex the assets are. |
Can my spouse stop the divorce if they don’t want it? | No. Because Florida is a no-fault state, one spouse stating the marriage is irretrievably broken is enough. Your spouse can make the process slower or more contested by disputing the terms, but they cannot force you to stay married. |
Do I have to go to court to get divorced? | Often, no. Many divorces are resolved through settlement or mediation, with only a brief final hearing or none at all. Court becomes necessary when you and your spouse cannot agree on custody, support, or property and need a judge to decide. |
Is there such a thing as legal separation in Florida? | No. Florida does not recognize legal separation the way some states do. Couples who want to formalize arrangements without divorcing can use tools like a postnuptial agreement or, in some situations, a petition for support unconnected with a divorce. We can walk you through which option fits. |
Can one lawyer represent both of us to save money? | No. A single lawyer cannot represent both spouses, because your interests are legally opposed, even in a friendly divorce. One spouse’s lawyer can prepare an agreement, but the other should have it reviewed independently before signing. |
Will I have to pay or receive alimony? | It depends on factors like the length of the marriage and each spouse’s finances. Florida’s 2023 reform replaced permanent alimony with time-limited types, so any award is now tied to specific needs and durations. We can give you a realistic read once we know your circumstances. |
Is everything really split 50/50? | Not necessarily. Florida divides marital property equitably, which means fairly rather than automatically in half. The court starts from an even split but can adjust it when the circumstances justify doing so, especially in cases with complex or unequal assets. |
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