Pensacola Divorce Attorney

Not all legal representation is created equally. If you’re searching for qualified counsel for your Pensacola divorce, make sure you evaluate potential lawyers carefully. Consider looking at the following:

• Experience. When navigating a divorce, you want an attorney with experience. This not only includes having years in the game, but also experience handling a broad array of issues that arise in divorce and family cases, including experience with issues in your case. Don’t be afraid to ask if they’ve handled matters like yours in the past – it’s a great way to gauge a lawyer’s experience.
• Results. When speaking with potential lawyers for your case, ask about the results and outcomes they’ve secured in previous cases. Have they helped clients with children secure favorable custody rulings? Have they helped protect certain assets that were important to their clients? Get the low-down on their past results and how they went about obtaining them.
• Qualifications. In addition to asking about a lawyer’s experience, it’s also wise to ask them about their qualifications. Some lawyers may have special training or certifications, including certifications in mediation, an out-of-court dispute resolution process that can be especially useful when it comes to promoting efficiency in divorce cases.
• Stature in the Legal Community. Awards and recognition from peers speak volumes when it comes to assessing the quality of an attorney. A lawyer who is respected by fellow counsel and the judiciary is likely someone you can trust to handle your case.

We can offer same-day consultations at our Pensacola family law firm for important matters that just can’t wait. When you call to set up your consultation, please let us know if you would like a same-day appointment, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Our Pensacola office is located at 109 E. Garden St., Suite B, Pensacola, FL 32502. If you would like to schedule an initial consultation there, please call 800-822-5170 or fill out an online contact form. We have offices throughout Florida, too, for your convenience.

During an initial consultation, it can be useful for our attorneys to review bank statements and other financial summaries that could be relevant to your case, such as if you are entering a divorce or need to decide on child support payments. If there are police reports that we should see, such as if you want to divorce due to domestic violence, please feel free to bring them as well. Consultations with our legal team are always kept confidential. Otherwise, when you call to arrange a consultation, let us know what you need help with, and we will mention if there’s any specific documentation we should review during the first meeting.

As someone who is considering a divorce, your initial consultation can be as much about the issues in your case as it is about how a lawyer can help. As such, come prepared to your consultation with a few important questions. Some examples include:

• What is your experience with divorce law and with the issues in my case?
• How does your firm work to promote efficiency and save costs in litigating my case?
• What should I know about any potentially problematic issues in my case, and how would you handle them?
• What do you think about my stated objectives? Are they realistic and obtainable or will I need to strike compromise in other areas of my case to get certain things I want?
• How does your practice handle challenging issues such as high-net-worth marriages, domestic violence, or high conflict?

At Virga Law Firm, we take the time to educate clients about what they can expect with their cases and how to best prepare. But if you are just starting out, there are some things you can do as you embark on the journey ahead.

• Educate yourself. Take the time to learn about the divorce process, what you can expect, and how the Court addresses certain issues. Florida’s court websites have a great deal of helpful information on these topics.
• Gather documentation. Gather all documentation you think your attorney will need. This includes information about your finances (i.e. individual and shared accounts, retirement assets, and more), your children, and other documentation you think may be important.
• Get organized. Being organized can save a great deal of time and stress, and in turn money. Find ways to get organized by keeping your files and documents handy and having a calendar to remember important dates, meetings with your attorney, and hearings.
• Trust your attorney. Divorce can be an emotionally turbulent venture, which is why part of your preparation should focus on the “big picture” and ways to help yourself help your attorney. Remember, you hired an attorney to guide you through the process and should trust their counsel and advice.

The average hourly rate of a divorce attorney in Florida is roughly $260, but that rate can vary depending on factors such as the attorney’s experience, skill, and reputation. And while quality legal representation certainly comes at a cost, there is immense value in working with proven counsel – especially in matters with as large of an impact on one’s future as divorce.

If you’re considering the costs of hiring a Pensacola divorce attorney, don’t forget that you will also have a great deal of control over the cost of your case. That’s especially true when it comes to your willingness to communicate effectively with your lawyer, ex-spouse, and opposing counsel, and your ability to strike compromise on important issues to avoid the added expenses that accompany conflict and litigation.

At Virga Law Firm, we make it a priority to educate clients about ways to maximize efficiency in their cases and save on legal costs. We can discuss costs, retainer fees, hourly rates, and cost-saving measures further during an initial consultation.

While you can control variables in your case that impact the ultimate cost of paying for legal representation, court fees associated with filing for a Florida divorce are relatively straightforward.

If you’re filing for divorce in Escambia County, for example, you’ll be required to pay some fixed costs. These include:

• An initial filing fee - $408
• A Summons to satisfy service requirements - $10 
• A filing fee (if responding with an answer plus a counter petition) - $403

Court costs can vary depending on the county in which you file. You can learn more about court costs in Pensacola divorce actions on our blog or by speaking with a member of our team.

It depends. Florida law allows courts to order one party in a divorce case to pay for the other’s reasonable attorney’s fees and other expenses under certain circumstances. Some examples of situations where attorney’s fees may be awarded:

• Your spouse earns significantly more income than you.
• Your divorce attorney defends you against allegations made by your spouse.
• Your spouse engaged in domestic violence, failed to pay child support, or was engaged in some other act of wrongdoing.
• Your spouse filed frivolous motions to intimidate you or delay the process.

Awards for attorney’s fees can ensure that both parties have access to qualified counsel and that one party is not unfairly disadvantaged during the process. When available, our team helps clients seek recoveries for attorney’s fees and other certain costs in their cases.

After you file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce), your spouse must be officially notified. However, you are not legally permitted to serve the divorce papers yourself in the state of Florida. You may, of course, tell them you intend to file for divorce or that you have done so, but this does not count as official notification.

The most common means of serving divorce papers is having the sheriff or a county-certified private servicer deliver them to your spouse. The court in the county where you both live or where your spouse lives can also mail the divorce papers to your spouse’s residence. If you prefer not to use either of these options, you may also leave the divorce papers at your spouse’s residence with another person who lives there and is at least 15 years old.

In other cases, such as in cases of missing spouses or spouses who dodge servicers, the law also allows you to announce your divorce in an official, legitimate newspaper or other written publication that your spouse is likely to see. You must do so 4 times before you can enter a default judgement and proceed without them.

If you file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, your spouse must be notified. Once they have been officially “served,” they are typically required to submit a written response in 20 days or less. Your spouse can either submit an answer, contest the information in the divorce papers, or file a counter-petition of their own. If they do not respond within 20 days, you may be able to file a default judgement with the court and continue the process of divorce without your spouse’s input. If this occurs, and you go through the divorce process without your spouse, they are still legally obligated to fulfill the terms of their divorce.

If your spouse is nowhere to be found, you can still get a divorce. However, you can’t proceed the way you would if they lived right down the street. You have to deliberately search for your spouse and make demonstrable effort to find them before going ahead with your divorce. This ought to include visiting most recent known residences, workplaces, and so on, as well as performing searches online and via social media and checking with their friends and relatives.

Should the search for your spouse prove unsuccessful, you may file a statement with the court swearing that you have done everything in your power to find them and have been unsuccessful in doing so. Once you have filed your sworn statement and 60 days have gone by, the court may allow you to notify your spouse in the newspaper or other publication.

You can, indeed, get divorced without hiring an experienced divorce attorney. However, the significant likelihood of costly error far outweighs the potential benefits. Using an online service or filling out the divorce papers without legal help is never advised, although it may be an option in cases of uncontested divorce between couples who have been married a very short amount of time, have no transmutated assets, and have no children or shared property. However, even in such cases, filling out divorce papers incorrectly can cost you in the long run.

The length of time it takes to finalize a divorce can vary depending on a number of factors, such as the complexity of the issues involved, the willingness of the parties to negotiate and reach an agreement, and the court's schedule. In general, an uncontested divorce can be finalized relatively quickly, sometimes within a few months, especially if the couple has already reached an agreement on all of the issues involved. However, a contested divorce can take significantly longer, sometimes up to a year or more, particularly if the case goes to trial. It's important to note that every divorce case is unique, and the timeline for finalizing a divorce can vary depending on the specific circumstances of the case.

Yes, it is possible to modify a divorce agreement after it has been finalized in Florida. However, the ability to modify a divorce agreement depends on the specific terms of the agreement and the circumstances of the case. If you're considering modifying any of the terms of your divorce, you should contact a Pensacola divorce lawyer to discuss your situation. We can help guide you through the process and ensure that your rights and interests are protected.

In most cases, it is necessary to go to court for a divorce. This is because a divorce is a legal process that must be approved by a judge in order to be finalized. However, the extent to which you need to go to court can vary depending on the circumstances of your case. For example, in an uncontested divorce it may be possible to finalize the divorce without a court hearing. Instead, the parties can submit their agreement to the court for approval and the judge may sign off on the divorce without the need for a formal hearing. However, in a contested divorce it is likely that a court hearing will be necessary. This is because the court may need to hear evidence and arguments from both sides before making a decision on the contested issues. In some cases, multiple court hearings may be necessary before the divorce can be finalized.