Florida is a “no-fault” divorce state, which means that Florida law treats both parties equally regardless of any wrongdoing on the part of one spouse. One spouse can unilaterally procure a divorce decree even if the other party does not wish to end the marriage, but the divorcing couple must be in agreement if they want to undergo a simplified divorce, which is a much easier, faster, and less expensive divorce process offered by the Florida court system.
In a contested case, each party will hire a divorce lawyer. In an uncontested divorce case, each spouse can hire a divorce attorney if they want, but they also have the option of saving on attorney fees by filing an online divorce. The role of an uncontested divorce attorney is mostly just educating their client about family law, which is not a necessary expense.
In Florida, the spouse who initiates the divorce proceedings is called the “petitioner,” and the other spouse is called the respondent. There is no benefit or advantage to either of these roles. The only difference is that the petitioner and respondent are responsible for filing slightly different divorce papers (the petitioner files the petition, and the respondent files the response). Both parties will be treated equally by the court.
