You have probably already had the conversation. What you need now is not an explanation of what a divorce is, but a clear answer about how long this takes, what it costs, and what happens first. Khonsari Law Group is a St. Petersburg divorce lawyer practice handling dissolution of marriage cases in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, led by founder Rohom Khonsari.
Whether you are looking for a divorce attorney in St. Petersburg FL or comparing St. Pete divorce attorneys generally, those three answers are what the decision usually comes down to.
The short version: an uncontested dissolution in Pinellas County can finish in about two to three months. A contested one usually runs eight to eighteen. Filing costs $408.00. Everything after that depends on how much the two of you can agree on.
Call (727) 269-5300 to talk through where your case is likely to land.
How Long Does a Florida Dissolution of Marriage Take?
Florida sets a floor of 20 days and no ceiling. Under section 61.19 of the Florida Statutes, no final judgment of dissolution may be entered until at least 20 days have passed from the date the original petition was filed, unless the court finds that waiting would cause injustice.
In practice the floor almost never governs. What governs is disagreement.
An uncontested case where both spouses have signed a marital settlement agreement before filing typically finishes in six to twelve weeks in Pinellas County, limited mostly by the court's calendar. A case that needs financial disclosure, a mediation session, and a short hearing runs three to six months. A genuinely contested case involving disputed assets, a business, or a timesharing fight commonly takes eight to eighteen months.
The variable is not the courthouse. It is how many issues remain open when you walk in.
What Does It Cost to File in Pinellas County?
The filing fee for a petition for dissolution of marriage in Pinellas County is $397.50, plus $10.50 for recording and reporting the final judgment, for a total of $408.00. A summons costs $10.00 each, and a counterpetition is $295.00. Those figures come from the Pinellas County Clerk's published fee schedule and were confirmed in September 2026.
Hillsborough County charges $408.00 for a dissolution filing, with the same $10.00 summons fee.
Court costs are the small part. Attorney fees, mediation, and any valuation or forensic work are where the real number is decided, and all three scale with how contested the case becomes. We break down what a Florida dissolution actually costs separately, including how the paths compare.
One thing worth knowing early: under section 61.16, a Florida court can order one spouse to contribute toward the other's attorney fees based on need and ability to pay. A financial imbalance between spouses does not automatically mean the lower-earning one goes unrepresented.
Is Your Case Contested or Uncontested?
This is the single fork that decides your timeline, your cost, and how much of your life the next year absorbs. Everything else is detail.
| Uncontested | Contested | |
|---|---|---|
| What it means | Both spouses agree on every issue | One or more issues remain open |
| Typical duration in Pinellas | 6 to 12 weeks | 8 to 18 months |
| Court appearances | Often one brief final hearing | Multiple hearings, possible trial |
| Mediation | Usually unnecessary | Normally required before trial |
| Main cost driver | Document preparation | Discovery, experts, hearing time |
Most cases start contested and become uncontested somewhere in the middle. That movement is where a lawyer earns the fee, and it happens faster when the financial picture is assembled properly the first time rather than fought over in pieces.
What Are the Grounds for Dissolution in Florida?
Florida is a no-fault state, so you do not have to prove wrongdoing. Section 61.052 recognizes only two grounds, and one of them is rarely used.
The marriage is irretrievably broken. This is the ground in nearly every case. One spouse saying so is enough, and the other cannot block the dissolution by disagreeing.
Mental incapacity of one spouse. Narrow, with specific statutory requirements, and uncommon.
Residency. Under section 61.021, one of the parties must have resided in Florida for six months before the petition is filed. This is jurisdictional, and it is the most common reason a petition gets rejected outright.
Simplified versus regular dissolution. A simplified dissolution is available only where there are no minor or dependent children, neither spouse is seeking support, both agree on how property and debt are divided, and both attend the final hearing. It costs the same $397.50 to file. Everything else is a regular dissolution.
Where minor children are involved, the court can order counseling or continue the case for up to three months to allow for reconciliation, though it must still grant the dissolution once it finds the marriage irretrievably broken.
How Does a Case Move Through the Sixth Judicial Circuit?
Pinellas County dissolution cases are heard in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, and the sequence is predictable even when the outcome is not. Knowing the order helps you see where the pressure points are.
The petition is filed with the Clerk and the other spouse is served. The respondent has 20 days to answer. Both sides then complete mandatory financial disclosure, which in Florida means a financial affidavit plus tax returns, pay records, bank and investment statements, and debt documentation exchanged under the family law rules rather than only on request.
That disclosure step is the one most people underestimate. An incomplete affidavit slows everything downstream, and an inaccurate one creates problems that surface at the worst moment.
Contested cases are then referred to mediation before the court will set a trial. Many resolve there. If yours does not, the court sets an evidentiary hearing, and the judge decides the open issues and enters a final judgment.
If you are early in this and unsure what to gather, call (727) 269-5300 before you file anything.
The First Three Decisions You Will Actually Face
In our practice, almost every St. Petersburg dissolution turns on three early choices, and they arrive before anyone talks about the law.
Who stays in the house. This is a practical decision with legal consequences. Moving out does not forfeit your interest in the property, but it does change the daily arrangement a court may later be asked to preserve, particularly where children are involved.
Whether you file first. Filing first carries no substantive advantage in Florida. It carries a practical one, because the petitioner sets the initial timing and is not reacting to someone else's schedule.
What you say in writing. Text messages, emails, and social media posts from the first two weeks show up in mediation and at hearings more often than anything else. The most damaging documents in most family law files were written by the person they damaged.
What Gets Decided in a Florida Dissolution?
Four categories, and only the ones that apply to your marriage. A dissolution divides what you own and owe, sets support if any is warranted, and establishes a parenting arrangement if you have children together.
How is property divided?
Florida uses equitable distribution, which starts from equality. Section 61.075 directs the court to begin with the premise that distribution should be equal unless a listed factor justifies otherwise.
Marital assets generally include what was acquired during the marriage regardless of whose name is on it, appreciation of separate property caused by marital effort or funds, interspousal gifts, and retirement benefits accrued during the marriage.
Nonmarital assets include what each spouse brought in, inheritances, and anything a valid written agreement excludes. Intentional dissipation or waste of marital assets within the two years before filing is one of the factors that can move a court off an equal split.
Where a closely held business, executive compensation, or substantial investment holdings are in play, the analysis gets considerably deeper, and that is covered on our high asset dissolution page.
What about the children?
Florida decides parenting through timesharing and parenting plans, not custody. Since 2023 the law carries a rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing is in a child's best interests, which changed the starting point for every one of these cases.
Will there be alimony?
It depends on need and ability to pay, and it is not automatic. Section 61.08 recognizes bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, durational, and temporary support.
Durational awards are capped by the length of the marriage and by a percentage of the income difference between the spouses. Permanent alimony was eliminated in Florida in 2023, so an award that runs indefinitely is no longer available regardless of how long the marriage lasted.
Why Work With Khonsari Law Group
Rohom Khonsari has practiced law in Pinellas County for years and built the firm around family law matters in this circuit, which means familiarity with the judges, the mediators, and the local expectations that never appear in a statute.
The firm holds an A+ accreditation from the Better Business Bureau and is an Avvo Client Choice winner. Mr. Khonsari has been asked for legal commentary by ABC Action News, Bay News 9, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and the Tampa Bay Times.
The approach here is steady rather than combative. Most dissolutions resolve better when the financial work is done thoroughly and the conflict is kept narrow, and clients who resolve their dissolution through mediation generally spend less and finish sooner. Where an agreement is not possible, the case gets prepared for a hearing.
Our office is at 150 2nd Avenue North, Suite 970, in downtown St. Petersburg.
Divorce Questions People Ask Before They Call
How much will my divorce cost if my spouse and I agree on everything?
An uncontested dissolution is the least expensive path. Beyond the $408.00 filing fee, cost depends on drafting the marital settlement agreement and parenting plan correctly, which is a fixed amount of work rather than an open-ended one. Agreement reached before filing costs meaningfully less than agreement reached after.
Do both of us have to agree to the divorce for it to happen?
No. One spouse stating that the marriage is irretrievably broken is sufficient in Florida, and the other cannot prevent the dissolution by refusing to participate. A spouse who ignores the case entirely can have a judgment entered without their input.
Can I file in Pinellas County if my spouse lives in Tampa?
Usually yes. Venue generally follows where the parties last lived together as a married couple or where the respondent resides, and cross-county situations between Pinellas and Hillsborough are routine. We handle cases in both circuits.
What happens if my spouse hides money?
Florida requires full financial disclosure from both sides, and a court can penalize a spouse who conceals assets, including by adjusting the distribution. Concealment usually leaves a trail in tax returns and account records, which is one reason the disclosure stage is worth doing carefully rather than quickly.
Starting Well Matters More Than Fighting Hard
The dissolutions that end badly usually went wrong in the first month, when someone moved out without thinking it through, sent a message they could not take back, or signed something to make an argument stop. The ones that end cleanly generally started with a clear picture of the finances and a realistic view of what was actually in dispute.
Khonsari Law Group represents people through dissolution of marriage in St. Petersburg, across Pinellas County, and in the Tampa area. Legal help you can count on.
Call (727) 269-5300 or contact Khonsari Law Group to schedule a consultation. The office at 150 2nd Avenue North, Suite 970, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 is open Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.