Divorcing A Florida Inmate

by Anonymous from Texas

My husband left 10 years ago and I've not seen or heard from him since.

After years of searching the Internet, I just discovered he is an inmate in a Florida correctional facility.

I live in Texas and want to file for a divorce. How do I do this?

Answer to Florida Divorce Question

Dear Anonymous,

In order to file for a divorce in Texas, you must have been a state resident for at least six months prior to filing.

This is also true for the state of Florida.

Furthermore, the Texas County in which you live requires you to be a resident of that county for at least 90 days.

Whether you are in Texas or Florida, you will file with the appropriate court in the county where you reside. In Texas, a divorce petition is filed with district court clerk.

Since both states offer the "no-fault" ground of irreconcilable differences (Texas) or the marriage being irretrievably broken (Florida), you do not have to prove fault on the other person.

However, the state of Texas does offer a fault ground of conviction of a felony and a fault-based ground of living apart without cohabitation for at least 3 years.

Utilizing any of these grounds, you can obtain a divorce whether your spouse agrees to the case or not.

Since you already live in Texas, as long as you meet the residency requirements then you should file there.

In any of the situations mentioned above, the law does require you to notify your husband about the divorce.

If he wishes to contest the divorce, then you may have a court battle ahead of you.

If he provides an answer agreeing with the divorce, you will able to proceed with the case uncontested.

If he does not provide an answer, you will get to proceed with the case as a default divorce.

In terms of property, Texas and Florida both consider contributions to marital property.

In your case, it is unlikely that your husband has contributed to your property, so you are probably not facing property distribution. Still, you should ensure that you have everything covered. It might be in your best interests to consult with an attorney, especially if he contests the divorce.

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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