An Uncontested Florida Divorce With a Pre-Marital Home and an Underwater Car Loan

This couple had been married a few years, had no children, and agreed on how to divide what they had. Their case shows how an uncontested Florida divorce handles a home that one spouse owned before the marriage and a car that is worth less than its loan.

The wife owned her home before the marriage, and title to it was held in a way that predated the couple's life together. The settlement agreement confirmed the home as her separate, non-marital property, kept it entirely with her, made her solely responsible for any mortgage and expenses on it, and had the husband release any claim to it. Because she also sometimes acquires property through a business entity she controls, the agreement addressed that situation as well, so no gap was left for a later dispute.

The husband kept his vehicle and the loan on it. The loan balance was higher than the vehicle's value, which is common with a newer car. The agreement did not change who was responsible: the spouse who keeps the car keeps the loan. The firm pointed out the negative equity to the clients ahead of time so it would not come as a surprise. The wife kept the joint checking account, with a short deadline to close the account or remove the husband from it, and each spouse kept their own individual bank and retirement accounts. Each took responsibility for their own credit card and student loan debt, and both waived alimony.

The wife also asked to have her former name restored, which was included in the agreement and granted in the Final Judgment.

Two things happened before signing that are worth knowing about. First, after reviewing the draft, the husband told the firm about a retirement account he had originally said he did not have, and corrected how the wife's home was titled. Both corrections were made to the agreement before anyone signed, and the retirement language was tightened so that each spouse keeps their own accounts with a good-faith fallback if a plan administrator ever asks for extra paperwork. Second, one of the sworn questions in the packet asks whether the spouses have fully disclosed their finances to each other, and the firm asked them to confirm that before scheduling their signing session.

Both spouses signed before a Florida online notary over video. The packet was filed in the second half of September, the proposed Final Judgment was submitted to the judge the same day, and the judge entered it within days without a hearing. From the start of the engagement to Final Judgment took roughly a week and a half.