Your Rights In Florida

• Your rights in a Florida divorce do not include the right to have an attorney appointed for you. Your rights in a divorce mean that unless you have somebody who's providing you with legal representation, to help you navigate through this minefield.
• Are you filing for divorce? Do you need help understanding the law and preparing for filing? Contact a Nassau County divorce attorney today. Call 904-544-6855 to Schedule Your Immediate Free Consultation!

The rights you have in your divorce case in Florida are spelled out in many, many statutes and laws that we have. You can also expect that if you're in front of a judge, and your spouse has a lawyer, and you do not, that the court has to treat you the same way as the party who has a lawyer. That is, you have to be governed by the rules of evidence when you're trying to admit certain documents into evidence, or you want the judge to consider certain facts. Are you trying to introduce hearsay evidence and testimony? You can expect the judge to say that you had the same rights as the party that does have a lawyer.

The courts in Florida are going to treat you with dignity and respect, almost uniformly. That's what I have seen. When you are talking about the division of property, those are called assets in Florida, and the division of debts, there's a law that applies to how a court is going to divide property. And that law says that property is going to be divided in a fair, just, and equitable manner. But to read the law, and to understand the case law that applies, takes a great deal of training and experience, so that the proper legal arguments can be made. And it's very difficult to do that in a vacuum, when you do not have experience.

Years ago, I represented a party in a divorce, who was going to college full time and working a job, and this man came to see me and said, “I don't have time to read all the divorce laws and understand all of my rights. Even though I want to represent myself, I don't think I can do an adequate job.” Most of the time, it takes that revelation for you to accept the fact that you need help, and that these are very serious matters. These are consequences that are involved. Oftentimes, children, and property, and spousal support, child support, and everything is getting thrown at you all at once, together with a legal process that is going to dictate when you have to do things and how they're to be done, and having that revelation that you need help could be the biggest decision that you make, and oftentimes the wisest decision you make.