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Law Office of Susan L. Ray, P.A.
Phone:  (239) 210-2100  |  Fax:  (866) 397-1370 
 

DIVORCE 
A Dissolution of marriage is initiated like most any other civil law suit. A Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed in the Circuit Court. A summons will be issued and your Spouse will be personally served with the Petition and will have 20 days to file their Answer or response. Both of you will be required to provide complete financial disclosures 

Susan with grown children
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 which include, at a minimum, the list of Mandatory Disclosures promulgated by the Supreme Court of Florida. These can be waived if your divorce is uncontested (agreed to). Further, unless the divorce is completely uncontested, you will be required to attend mediation. Mediation generally lasts about 3 hours but can be as much as 8 hours or even more. 

Should you be unable to come to an agreement at mediation, your case will be set for a trial. All family law trials take place before a Judge only – there is no jury. (This is called a bench trial.) This means the Judge is the only one who determines the facts and decides the outcome. The Judge will base her decision on the testimony presented by witnesses and all of the financial documentation which is either already in the court file or newly presented at the trial. This means the Judge can hear your testimony, your spouse's testimony and the testimony of any other witnesses who have knowledge of any of the issues in your case.  Any of the witnesses, excluding the Husband and Wife, may be subpoenaed. If subpoenaed and the witness fails to appear, he or she can be held in contempt of court. In addition, all testimony is taken under oath and must be truthful. Statements that are not truthful are considered perjury and are punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. Either party can also subpoena documents needed for trial, including phone or bank records.  


Phone:  (239) 210-2100  |  Fax:  (866) 397-1370 

    Call, text or e-mail with questions or to make an appointment.  Be sure to include your phone number in the comment section.
    SusanRayLaw@Gmail.com

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