Hialeah Divorce Court: Where to File in 2026

Hialeah residents do not file at a separate Hialeah divorce court. Your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage goes to the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts in the 11th Judicial Circuit, filed electronically through myflcourtaccess.com. The Miami-Dade filing fee runs roughly $408 to $410. Our firm prepares uncontested Florida divorces for a $750 flat attorney fee statewide (court costs ~$408-$410 and notary are separate).

If you live in Hialeah and both spouses agree on everything, the mechanics of the Hialeah divorce court are simpler than most people expect. This guide covers exactly where your case is filed, what the Miami-Dade Clerk charges, which standardized Florida forms you need, and how a licensed Florida attorney can prepare the entire uncontested package for a flat fee. Antonio G. Jimenez has practiced Florida family law since 2006, and this article reflects how Chapter 61 dissolution actually works in the 11th Circuit.

Where Do You File for Divorce if You Live in Hialeah?

There is no standalone Hialeah divorce court. Hialeah is a city inside Miami-Dade County, and every dissolution-of-marriage case for Miami-Dade is handled by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court through the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts. Under Florida Statute 61.021, at least one spouse must have lived in Florida for six months before filing, and the petition is filed in the county where either spouse resides.

For Hialeah residents, that county is Miami-Dade. Dissolution matters are administered through the circuit's Family Division. Physical family-law filings and hearings for Miami-Dade are centered at the Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center in downtown Miami, but because Florida moved to mandatory electronic filing, most Hialeah couples never set foot in a clerk's office to file. The Miami-Dade Clerk maintains a family law self-help section and self-help centers with information on the standardized forms, which is useful if you are handling any part of the process on your own.

The key point: your Hialeah divorce court is the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, and your gateway to it is the Clerk of the Courts plus the statewide e-filing portal. For a fuller local walkthrough, see our guide on how to file an uncontested divorce in Hialeah.

What Is the Hialeah Divorce Court Filing Fee?

The filing fee for a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Miami-Dade County is typically about $408 to $410. This is a court cost set by the county clerk under Florida's statutory fee schedule, and it is separate from any attorney fee. Court filing fees are set by each county clerk and are separate from our flat attorney fee. As of August 2026, verify the current amount with your local clerk.

Beyond the base filing fee, Hialeah couples should budget for a few predictable costs:

• County filing fee: approximately $408 to $410, paid once when the petition is filed.
• Process server or sheriff service: roughly $40 to $75, if your spouse must be formally served rather than signing a waiver.
• Notary fees: several documents in an uncontested case must be signed before a notary; budget around $10 per signature or a flat notary-session fee.
• Certified copies of the Final Judgment: a small per-copy fee if you need certified copies for name changes or records.

If you genuinely cannot afford the fee, Florida offers a Motion to Defer Filing Fees using Family Law Form 12.902(a), which the court reviews based on your finances. For a line-by-line breakdown specific to your city, our uncontested divorce cost in Hialeah article lays out every item.

How Do You E-File a Divorce in Miami-Dade County?

Florida requires electronic filing for divorce cases, and Miami-Dade is no exception. Dissolution petitions are submitted through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. You create a portal account, select Miami-Dade County and the family law case type, upload your completed forms as PDFs, and pay the filing fee online by card (a small statutory convenience fee applies to card payments).

The standardized family law forms are published free at flcourts.gov. Once the petition is accepted, the clerk assigns a case number in the 11th Judicial Circuit, and the case is docketed in the Family Division. If your spouse is not signing a waiver, the other party must be served and then has 20 days to file an Answer under the Florida rules; Florida has no separate mandatory waiting period after filing beyond that response window.

When our firm handles your case, we prepare every form, assemble the PDF packet correctly for the 11th Circuit, and file it through the portal on your behalf, so you are not troubleshooting an e-filing account or guessing which form version Miami-Dade accepts. E-filing errors, such as an incorrectly completed financial affidavit or a missing signature page, are one of the most common reasons an otherwise agreed divorce gets bounced back.

What Are the Two Uncontested Divorce Paths in Florida?

Florida offers two routes for an agreed divorce, and choosing the right one matters. The first is a simplified dissolution under Florida Statute 61.052(2), and the second is a regular uncontested dissolution resolved by a written Marital Settlement Agreement. They are not interchangeable, and the eligibility rules are strict.

Simplified dissolution uses Form 12.901(a), the Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage. It is only available when there are no minor or dependent children, neither spouse is seeking alimony, both spouses agree on how to divide property and debts, and both spouses appear together at the final hearing. It is fast, but it requires each spouse to give up the right to a trial and the right to demand financial disclosure from the other.

A regular uncontested dissolution uses Form 12.901(b)(1) (dissolution with property but no dependent or minor children) or Form 12.901(b)(2) (dissolution with dependent or minor children). This path applies whenever there are children, an alimony arrangement, or one spouse cannot appear at the hearing. It is resolved through a written Marital Settlement Agreement and, when children are involved, a Parenting Plan.

Here is how the two paths compare:

Both paths still require six months of Florida residency and both are strictly no-fault. If you have children or any support term, the regular path is almost always correct. Our overview of uncontested divorce in Hialeah explains which path fits common family situations.

What Forms Does the Hialeah Divorce Court Require?

The Miami-Dade Family Division uses Florida's standardized family law forms, all available at flcourts.gov. The core documents for an uncontested case typically include:

• The petition: Form 12.901(a), 12.901(b)(1), or 12.901(b)(2), depending on your path and whether you have children.
• The Marital Settlement Agreement: the written contract dividing property, debts, time-sharing, child support, and alimony. Simplified cases use Form 12.902(f)(3).
• A Family Law Financial Affidavit: Form 12.902(b) (short form) or Form 12.902(c) (long form), generally due within 45 days of service under Florida's mandatory disclosure rule.
• A Notice of Joint Verified Waiver of Filing Financial Affidavits: Form 12.902(k), which lets both spouses agree to waive filing the affidavits under Florida Family Law Rule 12.285, though the underlying disclosure duty still exists.
• For couples with children: a Parenting Plan and a Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (Form 12.902(e)), plus a UCCJEA affidavit (Form 12.902(d)).
• Final documents: the Final Judgment of Dissolution and, in many cases, a Final Disposition Form.

The Marital Settlement Agreement is the heart of most Hialeah divorce court filings. Under equitable distribution in Florida Statute 61.075, marital assets and debts are divided fairly, and your MSA is where the two of you memorialize that division so a judge can approve it. If children are involved, the Parenting Plan must specify a time-sharing schedule and how parental responsibility (decision-making on education, healthcare, and activities) is shared under Florida Statute 61.13.

Does Miami-Dade Require a Final Hearing for Uncontested Divorce?

Yes. Florida uncontested dissolutions generally conclude with a brief final hearing where the court reviews the paperwork and enters the Final Judgment of Dissolution. In a simplified dissolution, both spouses must attend that hearing. In a regular uncontested case, often only the petitioner needs to appear to testify to the jurisdictional facts (residency and that the marriage is irretrievably broken) and confirm the settlement.

The 11th Judicial Circuit schedules these hearings on the family docket, and the court controls scheduling, so no attorney can promise an exact date. In practice, an agreed case with complete, correct paperwork is often finalized within a few weeks to a couple of months after filing, depending on the court's calendar. Florida has no mandatory waiting period comparable to some other states; the main timing driver is the 20-day response window after service and the availability of a hearing slot.

Because fault is not an issue under Florida Statute 61.052, the final hearing is not a trial and does not involve testimony about who did what in the marriage. The judge is confirming that the statutory requirements are met and that the settlement is proper, then signing the Final Judgment.

What Are the Residency and Grounds Requirements?

Two requirements gate every Hialeah divorce court case. First, residency: Florida Statute 61.021 requires that at least one spouse have been a Florida resident for six months immediately before filing. You prove residency with a Florida driver's license, a Florida voter registration card, or the sworn testimony of a corroborating witness who knows you are a Florida resident. Military personnel stationed in Florida satisfy the same requirement.

Second, grounds: Florida is a pure no-fault state. Under Florida Statute 61.052, the only ground for dissolution is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. You cannot file based on adultery, abandonment, or cruelty, and you do not need your spouse's consent to obtain a divorce if you maintain the marriage is irretrievably broken. Fault is generally irrelevant to the divorce itself, although financially relevant misconduct, such as intentional dissipation of marital assets, can factor into equitable distribution under Florida Statute 61.075(1)(f) or alimony under Florida Statute 61.08.

On alimony: the 2023 reform (Senate Bill 1416, effective July 1, 2023) eliminated permanent alimony. The remaining forms are bridge-the-gap (maximum 2 years), rehabilitative (maximum 5 years), and durational (capped by marriage length). In an uncontested case, spouses commonly waive alimony entirely in their Marital Settlement Agreement, which is fully permitted.

How Much Does an Uncontested Divorce Cost in Hialeah?

Our firm prepares an uncontested Florida divorce for a $750 flat attorney fee, and that price is the same in Hialeah as it is in every one of Florida's 67 counties (court costs ~$408-$410 and notary are separate). There is no hourly billing and no surprise invoice. The flat fee covers full representation by a licensed Florida attorney: we prepare and review your petition, your Marital Settlement Agreement, your financial affidavit or waiver, and, if you have children, your Parenting Plan and child support worksheet.

We position on transparency, not on being the cheapest option in the market. Some services advertise lower teaser rates, but a low-cost online form-filling service is usually a non-lawyer document-preparation product that cannot give you legal advice, cannot tell you whether your settlement actually protects you, and cannot catch a substantive error before it becomes a rejected filing or an enforceability problem years later. An attorney-prepared uncontested divorce at a flat fee gives you the same predictable price with the safeguard of a Florida lawyer reviewing the entire package. For a full comparison, our uncontested divorce lawyer in Hialeah page walks through what full representation includes.

Here is a realistic total-cost snapshot for a Hialeah uncontested divorce:

When Is an Uncontested Divorce the Right Fit?

An uncontested divorce is the right fit when both spouses genuinely agree on every issue: how to divide property and debts, the time-sharing schedule and parental responsibility for any children, child support consistent with the Florida Statute 61.30 guidelines, and whether either spouse will receive alimony. If you agree on all of that, an attorney-prepared flat-fee package is efficient and predictable.

A case is not a good fit for the flat fee when there is a genuine dispute the two of you cannot resolve, when one spouse will not participate, when there are hidden or contested assets, or when there is a history of domestic violence that makes negotiating a fair agreement unsafe. If any of those apply, the case is contested and the flat fee does not apply. If you are unsure which category you fall into, contact our office and we will help you determine whether your situation qualifies as uncontested before you commit to anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

The questions below cover the most common issues Hialeah couples raise about filing, fees, and forms.

This article provides general information about Florida divorce law and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique. The Law Office of Antonio G. Jimenez can prepare your uncontested divorce for a $750 flat attorney fee (court costs and notary separate); contact our office to confirm whether your case qualifies as uncontested.