1. What are the residency requirements for filing for divorce in Florida? 
You or your spouse must be a resident of the state for at least six months before filing for a divorce in Florida.

2. Does Florida have a waiting period?      
The court will not grant a divorce until at least 20 days after you file — unless there is some unusual circumstance that would make that waiting period unfair.

• The marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there's no hope of getting back together.
• Or your spouse has been found to be mentally incapacitated and has been for at least three years. See Fl. St. 61.052 (1)(b). That means that you have to wait at least three years to commence a divorce at that point. Also if, during a divorce, a spouse is adjudicated mentally incapacitied and this becomes the grounds for divorce, then the divorce can't begin until three years have passed. 

If you and your spouse don't have any young children, your spouse doesn't deny that your marriage is irretrievably broken, and the court agrees, your divorce can proceed.  

If you and your spouse do have children, or if your spouse argues that your marriage is not irretrievably broken, the court may order:

• One or both of you to seek counseling; 
• You to put everything on hold for as long as three months to see whether you can work things out; 
• Or it can take some other action it decides is in the best interests of you and your child.   

This rarely happens. Most Florida judges take the attitude that it takes two willing parties to make counseling work.  However, a conservative judge may grant the motion.

4. How does Florida determine the division of property?   
You and your spouse are encouraged to come up with a settlement on your own and present it to the court. If you can't agree, the court will divide your  assets and liabilities for you. The court must commence with the presumption that the division should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution. The court first will determine what is non-marital property and exclude that from consideration. It will then divide your marital property according to what would be most equitable, or fair. To decide  whether there will be an equal or unequal division of marital assets and liabilities, the court will look at:

• You and your spouse's contributions to your marriage, including caring for your home and children.
• You and your spouse's economic situations.
• How long you were married.
• Any interruptions in you or your spouse's careers or education.
• Any contribution you or your spouse made to the other's career or education.
• Whether it would be best for one of you to keep some property such as interest in a business or professional practice without any interference from the other.
• What role you and your spouse each played in acquiring, improving or generating income from both your marital and non-marital property (this goes for whether you or your spouse incurred debt from that property, too.)
• Whether it would be best for one of you to keep your home as a residence for your child or whether there is some other reason for one of you to keep your home.
• Whether you or your spouse intentionally wasted or destroyed any marital property during the two years before you filed for divorce or since you filed for divorce.
• Any other factors the court decides are relevant.
  

Florida defines marital property as:

• Any  income, asset, or debt you or your spouse acquired while you were married , whether you singularly or both of you together acquired it.
• Any increase in value to your non-marital property that came as a result of efforts by you or your spouse while you were married or from some contribution of marital funds gifts you and your spouse gave to each other while you were married.
• Any benefits you or your spouse acquired while you were married, such as retirement, pension and profit-sharing benefits your home, whether it was acquired before or after you were married.