Uncontested Divorce Self Employed Florida: $750 (2026)

An uncontested divorce self employed florida spouses can complete costs a $750 flat attorney fee at the Law Office of Antonio G. Jimenez (court costs of about $408-$410 and notary are separate), the same price in all 67 Florida counties. It stays uncontested only if both spouses already agree on the business's value, division, and any support figures in a written Marital Settlement Agreement under Florida Statutes Chapter 61.

Being a business owner or freelancer does not disqualify you from a flat-fee uncontested divorce. What matters is agreement. If you and your spouse have already resolved how the business, its income, and the marital finances are handled, your case can proceed as an uncontested dissolution under F.S. 61.052. This guide explains how self-employment income and business value fit into a Florida divorce, which forms apply, and where the line sits between an uncontested case and a contested one that needs litigation.

What Makes a Self-Employed Divorce Uncontested in Florida?

An uncontested divorce in Florida means both spouses agree on every issue: how marital property and debts are divided, time-sharing and child support if there are children, and alimony. For a self-employed spouse, that agreement must extend to three extra questions that salaried couples rarely face: what the business is worth, whether it is marital or separate property, and what the owner's true income is for support purposes.

Under Florida Statute § 61.075, Florida uses equitable distribution, dividing marital property fairly but not necessarily 50/50. A business started or grown during the marriage is generally marital property subject to division, regardless of whose name is on the paperwork. If both spouses agree on how to handle that asset, the case is uncontested. If they dispute the value, the classification, or the income, the case becomes contested and our $750 flat fee no longer applies.

The practical test is simple. Have you and your spouse reached a genuine, informed agreement on the business and the finances? If yes, an attorney-prepared uncontested divorce is likely a good fit. If you are still fighting over what the company is worth or how much the owner really earns, those disputes must be resolved first — through negotiation, mediation, or a valuation expert — before a flat-fee uncontested path makes sense.

How Is a Business Valued in a Florida Divorce?

Florida courts recognize three approaches to valuing a closely held business, and a certified valuation expert (often a CPA accredited in business valuation) chooses the method that fits. Under the equitable distribution framework of F.S. 61.075, the value assigned to the business directly affects how the rest of the marital estate is divided.

• Income approach: values the business on its ability to generate future earnings, projecting future income and discounting it to present value. Common for professional practices, consulting firms, and medical offices with steady cash flow.
• Asset approach: adds up the fair market value of assets and subtracts liabilities. Common for asset-heavy businesses, real estate holding companies, or a company being wound down.
• Market approach: compares the business to similar businesses that have sold. Useful when reliable sales data exists, but misleading if the comparable sales are too dissimilar.

The hardest issue is goodwill. Florida law distinguishes enterprise goodwill — value tied to the business itself, which is marital and divisible — from personal goodwill, which is tied to the individual owner's reputation, skill, and relationships. Personal goodwill is treated as non-marital and is generally not subject to division. In a contested high-asset case, each spouse may hire a competing expert, producing very different numbers, and the judge decides which valuation carries more weight.

For an uncontested case, you do not need a courtroom battle of experts. Many amicable business-owning couples agree on a value themselves, sometimes after a single joint appraisal, and simply record the agreed figure and the buyout or offset in their settlement. That agreement is what keeps the case uncontested.

How Do Florida Courts Determine Self-Employed Income?

Florida calculates child support using the Income Shares Model under Florida Statute § 61.30, combining both parents' net monthly incomes. For a self-employed parent, gross income is defined as gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses. But Florida courts do not simply accept the net income printed on a tax return.

When support is at issue, courts look beyond the Schedule C bottom line. They scrutinize business deductions to separate genuine business costs from personal benefits or discretionary write-offs. Personal expenses run through the business — a personal vehicle, meals, or a phone — are frequently added back to income, increasing the amount available for support. Florida's definition of gross income under F.S. 61.30 is broad: it can include rental income, royalties, recurring gains from property, and retained business earnings when a shareholder-parent cannot show a legitimate corporate purpose for withholding distributions.

Self-employed parents also pay both halves of Social Security and Medicare — the 15.3% self-employment tax — which is deducted before the support obligation is calculated. Courts typically expect 3-5 years of business records: tax returns, profit-and-loss statements, and balance sheets. Incomplete records can lead a court to draw negative inferences or impute income.

On imputation, the Fourth District Court of Appeal's 2025 decision in Nicholas v. Nicholas, 405 So. 3d 363 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025), held that a court imputing income must make specific findings about the amount imputed and the basis for it; a bare imputation without an evidentiary foundation is subject to reversal. Before imputing, the court must first find that any underemployment is voluntary. In an uncontested case, spouses avoid all of this by agreeing on the income figure used in their child support guidelines worksheet.

Is Your Business Marital or Separate Property?

Classification is often the first fight in a business-owner divorce, and it determines what is even on the table. Under F.S. 61.075, separate (non-marital) property generally includes assets owned before the marriage or received by gift or inheritance and kept separate. Marital property includes assets and the growth in assets acquired during the marriage.

A business you started before marriage may still have a marital component. If the company grew during the marriage through the efforts of either spouse, that increase in value — called active appreciation — can be marital and divisible even when the underlying business began as separate property. Commingling matters too: if business income was deposited into joint accounts or used to support the household, a business that started as separate property can become partly or wholly marital.

For spouses who agree on how to characterize the business, none of this requires a trial. You can state in your Marital Settlement Agreement that the business is separate, marital, or a mix, and how any marital portion is offset against other assets. If you cannot agree on classification, that dispute must be resolved before an uncontested filing.

What Forms Does a Self-Employed Uncontested Divorce Require?

Florida uses standardized family law forms available at flcourts.gov, filed through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. The path depends on your family situation, not on the fact that you are self-employed.

• Simplified dissolution (F.S. 61.052(2), Form 12.901(a) Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage): available only when there are no minor or dependent children, neither spouse seeks alimony, the spouses agree on property and debt division, and both spouses appear at the final hearing. It is faster but waives the right to trial and to financial disclosure from the other spouse.
• Regular uncontested dissolution: use Form 12.901(b)(1) (Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Property but No Dependent or Minor Children) or Form 12.901(b)(2) (with dependent or minor children). This path is used when there are children, alimony, or one spouse cannot appear at the hearing, and it is resolved through a written Marital Settlement Agreement and, if there are children, a Parenting Plan.

The centerpiece is the Marital Settlement Agreement. For a simplified dissolution the standard form is Form 12.902(f)(3). A complete MSA for a business owner should address property and debts (including the business and any buyout or offset), time-sharing and the parenting plan, child support, and alimony (which spouses may waive by agreement).

On financial disclosure, a Family Law Financial Affidavit is generally required within 45 days — Form 12.902(b) (short form, under $50,000 gross annual income) or Form 12.902(c) (long form, $50,000 or more). Many self-employed spouses use the long form because their income sources are more complex. Spouses may agree to waive filing the affidavits by filing Form 12.902(k) (Notice of Joint Verified Waiver of Filing Financial Affidavits) under Florida Family Law Rule 12.285, though waiving disclosure carries real risk when one spouse controls the books. Our financial affidavit guide explains the short and long forms in more detail.

How Much Does an Uncontested Divorce Cost for a Business Owner in Florida?

Our firm prepares an uncontested Florida divorce for a $750 flat attorney fee — the same price statewide, whether or not you own a business. Court filing fees, set by each county clerk and typically about $408-$410, plus notary fees, are separate and paid by you. As of July 2026, verify the current filing amount with your local clerk, because fees vary by county.

That flat fee assumes your case is genuinely uncontested — that you and your spouse have already agreed on the business value, its division, and any support figures. If a forensic valuation, competing experts, or litigation over income becomes necessary, the matter is contested and priced differently. The comparison below shows why the uncontested path is worth protecting.

For a deeper cost breakdown, see our guide on the cost of an uncontested divorce in Jacksonville and property division in an uncontested Florida divorce.

When Is a Self-Employed Divorce Too Complex to Be Uncontested?

Some business-owner divorces genuinely need litigation, and it is fair to recognize when. A flat-fee uncontested divorce is usually not the right fit when:

• The spouses disagree on what the business is worth and cannot reach a number together.
• One spouse suspects the other is hiding income, running personal expenses through the business, or understating revenue.
• There is a claim of dissipation — under F.S. 61.075(1)(f), a court can award a larger share to one spouse if the other intentionally wasted, depleted, or destroyed marital assets after the marriage broke down.
• The business is large or has multiple owners, partnership agreements, or complex tax structures.
• The parties dispute whether the business, or its appreciation during the marriage, is marital or separate.

If any of these describe your situation, the answer is not to force an uncontested filing — it is to resolve the dispute first. Sometimes a single neutral valuation, a candid conversation, or mediation is enough to bridge the gap and convert a contested case into an uncontested one. Our guide on converting a contested divorce to uncontested in Florida walks through how couples close those gaps. When agreement is reached, the flat-fee path reopens; when it cannot be, full-scope litigation is the right tool.

Do Both Spouses Need Their Own Attorney?

An uncontested divorce is not a contested lawsuit, but a licensed Florida attorney can prepare only one side's documents. Our firm prepares your uncontested divorce papers, reviews the Marital Settlement Agreement and any parenting plan for completeness, and answers your legal questions. We do not represent both spouses at once, and we do not offer legal advice to the spouse we are not representing.

This is where full representation by a Florida attorney differs from a non-lawyer document-preparation or typing service. A form-filling service can transcribe what you tell it, but it cannot give legal advice, cannot tell you whether your MSA actually protects a business interest, and cannot catch a substantive error in how a buyout or income figure is drafted. For a self-employed spouse, those details matter — an ambiguous MSA clause about a business can create a fight years later.

As a Florida family lawyer who has handled dissolution matters since 2006, I have seen amicable business-owner divorces stay simple when the paperwork is clear, and I have seen sloppy drafting turn an agreed case into years of post-judgment litigation. We are not saying you cannot represent yourself. We are saying that for a business owner, an attorney-prepared uncontested divorce at a flat, transparent fee gives you a professional review of the documents that carry your financial future. See our Jacksonville uncontested divorce lawyer overview for how the flat-fee representation works.

What About Alimony and Retirement Accounts?

Effective July 1, 2023, Senate Bill 1416 eliminated permanent alimony in Florida. Under F.S. 61.08, the remaining forms are bridge-the-gap (maximum 2 years, non-modifiable), rehabilitative (requires a specific plan, maximum 5 years), and durational, which is capped by the length of the marriage — 50% of the marriage length for short-term marriages under 10 years, 60% for moderate-term marriages of 10-20 years, and 75% for long-term marriages over 20 years. Durational alimony cannot be awarded for marriages under 3 years, and spouses may agree to waive alimony entirely in their MSA.

For business owners, alimony often intertwines with income determination — the same scrutiny of add-backs and true earnings that applies to child support can apply to a need-and-ability-to-pay alimony analysis. In an uncontested case, the spouses simply agree on the alimony terms (or waive them) and record it in the settlement.

Retirement accounts and business-linked plans (a solo 401(k), SEP-IRA, or pension) are marital to the extent funded during the marriage and are divided under equitable distribution. Dividing a qualified plan usually requires a separate court order. Our QDRO and retirement accounts guide explains how those transfers work in an uncontested divorce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Detailed answers to common questions about an uncontested divorce for self-employed spouses and business owners in Florida appear in the FAQ section below.

Disclaimer

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.