Uncontested Divorce With Two Separate-Property Houses and a Name Restoration

The Situation

A childless couple, married a little over a year and a half, came to the firm with an agreement already reached between them. They owned two houses, several vehicles, separate retirement accounts and a few individual debts. Both houses were the husband's separate property: one was a gift and the other was bought before the marriage, and each was titled and mortgaged in his name alone. The wife wanted to resume her former name. Nobody disputed anything.

What They Agreed On

• The husband keeps the vehicles in his possession and pays the loan on the truck. The wife keeps her car and pays its loan.
• Each spouse keeps their own retirement account in full, so no retirement division order was needed.
• Each spouse is responsible for the credit cards and loans in their own name.
• The husband keeps both houses and the mortgages, and the wife signs quitclaim deeds within ten days after judgment so no cloud on title remains.
• Neither spouse receives alimony, and each pays their own attorney's fees.
• The joint bank accounts had already been split evenly and are closed within thirty days after judgment.
• The wife's former name is restored in the Final Judgment.

How the Case Moved

The couple hired the firm and drafting started right away. The packet was a standard no-children set: a petition, an answer and waiver of service, a joint waiver of financial affidavits, special interrogatories, and the settlement agreement. Both spouses reviewed the drafts, and the firm confirmed a couple of small factual details with them before the documents were finalized. Both then signed remotely in front of an online notary, so neither had to travel. The case was filed 26 days after they hired the firm, and the proposed Final Judgment, with the executed settlement agreement attached, went to the judge once the court assigned a case number. The Final Judgment was entered 32 days after hiring and 6 days after filing.

Why It Moved Quickly

The parties had not waived the 20-day waiting period under F.S. 61.19, but that period is not a floor the court must wait out, and the judge entered the judgment 6 days after filing. The settlement also did the heavy lifting: with every asset and debt assigned to one spouse by name, there was nothing left for the court to sort out.

What Other Couples Can Take From This

When real estate is one spouse's separate property and everything else is divided in kind, the settlement can stay short, and the work is mostly in making each clause specific: who signs which deed and by when, who pays which loan, and who closes which account. Those details are what make the order easy to carry out after the judge signs it.