Florida Divorce Jurisdiction

In Florida, certain jurisdictional requirements must be met before a dissolution of marriage case can proceed. There are three main jurisdictional “checkboxes” that must be addressed: subject matter jurisdiction, personal jurisdiction, and venue.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Subject matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear a certain type of case (a “matter”). Subject matter jurisdiction is a mandatory requirement; it cannot be waived by either party.

In dissolution of marriage proceedings, one of the parties must have resided in Florida for 6 months before the filing of the petition. The term “reside” generally means a legal residence in Florida with an intention to stay there, as opposed to a temporary residence.

As long as this residency requirement is met, a Florida court has subject matter jurisdiction over the divorce proceedings and can grant a divorce. If the filing party is seeking alimony, child support, or division of property, then the court must also have personal jurisdiction over the non-filing party.

Personal Jurisdiction

Personal jurisdiction is the court’s authority to tell an individual to do or not do something. Whether a court has personal jurisdiction over an individual in a particular case depends on that person’s present, past, and ongoing contact with the state.

Although a Florida court need not have personal jurisdiction over the non-filing party to simply grant a divorce, the court must have personal jurisdiction to order alimony, child support, or division of property.

A court in Florida has personal jurisdiction over a party in a divorce proceeding if the party maintained a matrimonial domicile in Florida at the time the action commenced or if the party resided in Florida preceding the commencement of the action. There is a lot of caselaw interpreting this requirement, and each case is very fact-specific.

Unlike subject matter jurisdiction, a lack of personal jurisdiction can be waived. Because of this, it is very important to raise the issue as early and as precisely as possible. Be sure to speak with a Florida divorce attorney if you have been served with a petition for dissolution of marriage and you believe there may be a jurisdictional issue. If your jurisdictional challenge is not pled properly, it is waived.

Venue

Venue is a concerned with whether a case has been filed in the proper court within the state. This is a geographical issue, as opposed to a jurisdictional issue.

For a divorce case, the proper venue is either the county where the parties last lived as a married couple or the county in which the respondent resides.

Sarasota Divorce Attorney

If you have questions about proceeding with a divorce or if you have been served with a divorce petition, please call Loftus Law to schedule a consultation with an experienced Sarasota divorce attorney. There are a number of case-specific considerations involved in determining whether jurisdiction is proper in any given situation. At your consultation, we look forward to explaining the law, discussing the legal options specific to your circumstances, and answering whatever questions you may have.