What Happens to Your Covenant Marriage If You Divorce in Florida?
Over the past few decades, divorce laws have changed to reflect society’s more relaxed attitudes toward marriage and divorce. In the early 20th century, divorces were rare. You could not get divorced unless you could prove that your spouse had done something major to sabotage your marriage; domestic violence was not considered bad enough to warrant a divorce. You had to prove that your spouse had committed adultery or had abandoned you. In those days, alimony was part of almost every divorce case. Virtually all alimony recipients were women, and alimony was permanent. Today, you can get divorced simply because you and your spouse no longer want to be married to each other. Most couples agree during mediation about how to divide their marital assets and debts, and when they cannot agree, the judge decides the fairest way to divide the couple’s marital property. What if you take marriage more seriously than most people do, and indeed than state laws do? What can you do to protect your marriage from ending in divorce just because you and your spouse have trouble getting along? Unfortunately, the divorce courts are not in the business of reminding people of their marriage vows. If your spouse wants a divorce, but you believe that marriage is forever, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
The Sunshine State Is Where Sacred Promises Go to Die
Some states recognize covenant marriages, but Florida is not one of them. In keeping with the separation of church and state, covenant marriage laws do not contain any religious language, but most couples who choose covenant marriage do so on religious grounds. If you enter into a covenant marriage, the court cannot take action on your divorce filing until after you have undergone marriage counseling by a clergy member or licensed marriage counselor or family therapist.
If you file for divorce in Florida, though, your divorce proceeds according to Florida law. Your contract of covenant marriage means nothing to the Florida courts except that your marriage is legally valid and to prove when it began. If one or both spouses are residing in Florida at the time of filing the divorce petition, then Florida is probably the proper venue for your divorce case. In taking up your divorce case, Florida will follow its own procedures, namely ordering mediation, dividing the marital property equitably even if that does not mean equally, and in most cases, not assigning fault for the divorce.
Given that you and your spouse were so committed to your marriage in the beginning that you chose covenant marriage, it is probably a good idea to attend marriage counseling with a clergy member or professional therapist before you file for divorce. The court will treat the divorce filing as the real thing, though, and will move forward with the procedures to dissolve the marriage.
Contact Schwartz | White About Making Sense of Broken Dreams
A South Florida family law attorney can help you if your spouse wants a divorce even though you have a covenant marriage. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
law.cornell.edu/wex/covenant_marriage
