Many clients ask us at their initial consultation, “when is the right time for me to file for a divorce?” Like many legal and strategic questions, the answer is, “it depends”.
From a legal perspective there are some bad times to file for divorce. If you are the spouse who is in need of continuing financial support (alimony) from your spouse after the divorce, it might be advisable to wait until you’ve passed the 17-year mark, which is the minimum length of marriage for alimony under current Florida law to be presumed to be “permanent”. If your spouse was the primary wage-earner, and they just lost their job, this is not the ideal time to get divorced. You might consider waiting until they find a new job. On the other hand, perhaps you know that you are going to receive stock options that will be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in six months, as an incentive to remain with your company. Now is the time to file! The marital assets are determined as of the date of filing, so your stock options will not have to be shared with your spouse. Or perhaps you are the spouse who is likely to have to pay alimony. The sooner you file, the fewer number of whole years you will have been married, so the fewer number of years you’ll be obligated to pay alimony.
Every angle must be considered when deciding when to file. The answer depends on your unique situation. This is the time for expert professional help. Call Nancy K. Brodzki, Esq., Florida Bar Board Certified Marital & Family Law attorney, at 954-932-8300 for your confidential appointment today, and find out whether now is the right time for you to file for divorce.
