filing for divorce

You can file in Florida regardless of where your spouse is living now. Whether or not he will have to pay child support will be determined by the court in Florida. If the kids are not his own it may be more difficult to get support for them. If they are minor dependents and he was supporting them in the past he may be ordered to continue support.

If your husband has been absent for at least one year you can file for divorce based on desertion or abandonment (desertion and abandonment being the same thing).

Two elements must present in a desertion: the desire or intent to desert and the cutting off of the marital relationship.

Abandonment must:

• Be continued for 12 uninterrupted months
• Be must be willful and malicious
• Be beyond any reasonable expectation of reconciliation

Florida will enforce child support orders. If he stops making payments you must file a motion to place him in contempt of court. Once a motion is granted the court can enforce the action with jail, suspension of driver licenses, and suspension of professional or trade licenses. - The Divorce.com Team

Wendy Jaffe and Divorce.com can only provide general information about divorce. DO NOT RELY ON MS. JAFFE'S ADVICE ALONE. Before acting on information provided by Ms. Jaffe or by Divorce.com, talk to an attorney first about your particular facts and the law of your state. By submitting your question to Divorce.com, you are not creating an attorney/client relationship with Ms. Jaffe or with any of the other attorneys listed on this site.