Uncontested Divorce With Three Properties and a Cash Settlement, No Children

The Situation

A married couple of about four years, with no children, had been living apart for several months and agreed to end the marriage. They lived together in Florida until separating, and both were Florida residents. Most of the value sat with one spouse: three homes in three different states, each with its own mortgage, several retirement and bank accounts, and a number of personal debts, including loans from family. The other spouse had no ownership in any of those properties. They also had two vehicles with a loan on one and a joint bank account. One spouse hired the firm, and the other took part by signing the documents. Their main question was how to document a cash settlement, paid partly before the case was filed, together with a clean separation of everything else.

What They Agreed On

The spouse who owned the homes keeps all three, along with each mortgage, and the other spouse waives any claim to them and agrees to sign any lender or title document needed to confirm that. That same spouse keeps his retirement accounts and the bank and brokerage accounts in his own name, and each keeps whatever is titled solely to them. The joint checking account is emptied into the account of the spouse whose salary funded it and closed within a set number of days after judgment.

In exchange for the property division, that spouse pays a total cash settlement, with a portion already paid before filing and credited in the agreement, and the balance due as a single lump sum within a stated number of days after judgment, with statutory interest if it is late. He also pays off the loan on the jointly financed vehicle, which goes to the other spouse, within a stated number of days, and delivers written proof of payoff. Each spouse is responsible for their own debts and for any loan on the vehicle they keep, and each indemnifies the other. Both waived alimony, and the spouse who retained the properties paid the court filing fee and the notary fees.

How the Case Moved

The firm drafted the full packet from the intake answers. One of the documents had to be corrected and signed again before the remote notary after a question about the financial disclosure answers was resolved. The case was filed 15 days after the spouse hired the firm, under a written venue agreement. The court entered the Final Judgment 6 days after filing, which is 21 days after hire. The judgment ratified the settlement agreement.

What Slowed It Down

The main adjustment was the financial disclosure questionnaire. The spouses had chosen not to exchange full financial disclosure documents, and the questionnaire answer reflecting that had to be corrected and re-signed so it matched the signed waiver already in the packet. That added a second short notary session before filing.

What Other Couples Can Take From This

When one spouse keeps nearly all of the property and pays a cash settlement, the agreement can show the whole picture: what each spouse keeps, the payment amount, what has already been paid and credited, the due date for the balance, and what happens if it is late. Setting deadlines for the joint account closing, the vehicle payoff, and the document-signing obligations in the agreement itself gave both spouses clear dates after judgment.