Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

How long must one reside in Florida before a petition for divorce can be filed? According to Florida Statute Chp. 61.021, “To obtain a dissolution of marriage, one of the parties to the marriage must reside 6 months in the state before the filing of the petition.” This residency requirement was at issue in the case Robinson v. Christiansen, 3D19-1709 (Fla. 3d DCA March 25, 2020).

The parties were married in Norway in 2007. During their marriage, the wife and the husband would travel back and forth between Norway and Denmark to be together. The wife filed her petition for divorce in February 2019 and the husband moved to dismiss based on lack of jurisdiction. At a hearing on the husband’s motion, the court received evidence and testimony indicating the wife had undergone surgery in Denmark in September 2018 and in January 2019. She also filed for permanent residency in Denmark in January 2019 and testified this was for medical purposes. The wife testified to spending time in Miami for the six months immediately preceding her filing for divorce, but she could not recall the addresses where she was physically present during her stay. The trial court found the wife to lack credibility and granted the husband’s motion to dismiss.

The wife appealed. Reviewing under an abuse of discretion standard, the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision. The court held “‘The trial court’s discretion is abused ‘only where no reasonable [person] would take the view adopted by the trial court.’ [. . .] Under this deferential standard, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s determination that the wife failed to meet the residence requirements for filing a dissolution of marriage petition in Florida.”

If you are not sure where you should file your petition for divorce and/or if you meet the requirements to secure a divorce in Florida, schedule a meeting with a Miami divorce lawyer to go over the specifics of your case.