Different states have different laws on how to go about dissolution of marriage. According to divorce laws in Florida, a petition for dissolution of marriage should first be filed with the clerk of the circuit court. The only people who can file for dissolution of marriage in Florida are those whose marriage has broken down irretrievably or one party can prove that the other party is mentally incapacitated.
Residency requirements should also be met before the courts can accept the case. Divorce laws in Florida require that one of the divorcing parties have resided in Florida for at least six months prior to filing for a dissolution of marriage. If the petitioner/s don't meet the residency requirements, the courts of Florida will not have jurisdiction over the divorce case.
In terms of division of property in Florida, it's more favorable for the divorcing party to reach an agreement about how to divide their property. Should the parties not be able to agree on how to divide the property, the court will step in and divide it for them, and make the division equitable. Just keep in mind that equitable means splitting it in a fair way, not splitting it down the middle.
Generally, properties are classified as either marital and non-marital. Marital properties are assessed in order to be assigned a monetary value, after which is divided according to several factors including (but not limited to):
Contribution to marriage - Each spouse has contributed to the marriage, whether as the primary wage earner or as the one who takes care of the house and children.
Economic circumstances - This determines whether each spouse will be able to keep up a certain lifestyle they have been accustomed to, or will not be subjected to financial hardship because of the divorce.
How long the marriage lasted
Career interruption - Whether one spouse gave up his/her career in order to care for the family and how long it will take for training or finding another job.
Age of the children - Whether the children would be better off living in a marital home up to a certain age.
Contribution of one spouse towards the career of the other
In terms of deciding child custody, laws on divorce will always keep the best interest of the child in mind. Most states' laws about divorce will take into account the fact that both spouses must share equal responsibility for the child. Courts prefer that parents work out child custody and visitation agreement amicably out of court. Mediation is encouraged in order to make sure that each parent agrees to the arrangement and all possible effort has been made to ensure that children don't go through further stress in child custody hearings. If the parents are not able to come to an agreement, that's the time that the court will step in and decide child custody as well as child support based on several factors such as the age of the child, the income and expenses of both spouses, other information about each parent that would affect the best intersts of the child, and more.