Three (3) Ways To Divorce For Less in 2026

Divorce can be challenging both emotionally and mentally, but it doesn’t have to financially drain you. While every case is unique and has its own distinct set of facts and circumstances, there are some practical steps you can take that may reduce costs associated with legal fees, without sacrificing your rights. Whether you and your spouse agree on most issues or anticipate some areas of disagreement, understanding the options available to you can potentially make a significant difference in the overall cost of your divorce. There are several strategies that can help keep expenses under control. In this blog, we discuss three ways that can potentially help you divorce for less in Florida.

Notably, it’s important to keep in mind that every family law case is different and distinct depending on the specific facts of your case. Therefore, this blog is merely limited to educational purposes only, and should not be used as legal advice. You should always speak to a licensed attorney regarding your specific and unique circumstances of your family law related case. This blog does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship.

1. Simplified Divorce

The first way to divorce for less is if the parties qualify for a simplified divorce - no minor children, no alimony, and no unresolved property or debt disputes.  A simplified divorce has a special description in Florida law - it is essentially, when parties have no assets, no children, and no financial issues to deal with.

But, even if, the parties have some degree of financial issues to resolve (i.e a house, joint bank accounts, vehicles, etc), parties can have a simplified divorce if the parties are able to agree what will occur with the house, joint bank accounts, vehicles, etc. There’s two ways to go into it. The first option is to resolve those issues before you file. For example, if you have a bank account together, decide how the money will be split then close the account. Also, if you have a car together, deal with the refinancing. Moreover, if you have a house, figure out the issue with the house.

If you can go in front of the court with all issues agreed to, or at the very least say to the court, that there are no children, no assets or liability issues to be divided, neither party wants alimony from the other person, and we don't have any children, then you can potentially get divorced, either simplified or uncontested (depending on the facts of your unique and distinct case).

2. Resolving All Issues Prior to Filing For Divorce

In an uncontested case, typically the parties have already resolved issues related to minor children, assets, liabilities, support (if any are applicable). By resolving those issues (if any), you don’t have anything to fight about in court. In this scenario, you might have a home that you're not going to sell before you file, or you do have children, or there is a situation where some alimony is going to be paid, or someone’s going to give the other party money. You can still divorce for less. It may not be as less as a simplified divorce, but still for less because the parties have resolved all (or most) of the larger issues prior to filing for divorce. The parties (or their attorney) would have already prepared, at least before going into court, the settlement agreement.

To handle most, if not all, the financial matters, as well as a parenting plan to address the parenting matters. Notably, the requirement to do these things pre-suit, which is before litigation, you’re still required to do some level of disclosure, especially when you're dealing with the income portion of child support if that’s applicable. You also want to have very real discussions as it relates to what a parenting plan is going to look like for your co-parent as well as the children. And it’s very important that you seriously look at any of these assets, debts, or alimony and come up with a thorough agreement that resolves those issues. Now, being frank, these things are very complicated depending on the unique circumstances of your case.

Also, there are situations in which you can actually, both you and the other parent or your spouse, can go to a mediator without lawyers, and have that mediator who is an objective third party assist you in negotiating these aspects of your divorce. Now, you can also do so with attorneys, still pre-suit, and the attorneys can help the couple come to an agreement on major issues.

Get the discovery, exchange it, and then the couple can go to mediation. However, in light of us discussing making it less, as you can see, the more you have to do, it may be more money, but it's much less than going through traditional litigation. Now, if you go the mediator route, this doesn’t mean that the mediator replaces the judge. What happens is the mediator would assist both you and the other party in coming up with an agreement that, if successful, you guys would execute. And once that’s executed, you would still have to file your petition through the court. The key is that the couple would have entered into an agreement before filing the petition.

3. Go Through The Emotional Phases of Divorce Before Filing for Divorce

This is deep. Whether it’s just you going through the process yourself, either through therapy, or honest and open communication with close family and/or friends, or even expressing yourself through a means of healthy creative outlets; in our experience, the people who have gone through the stages emotional of their divorce or breakup spend so much less on the divorce because their wants/needs/preferences related to major issues (especially related to the minor children and support) are typically not driven by emotionally charged responses but rather are decided through composed analytical reasoning.

Usually at this point, the parties have already gotten past the frustration, the hurt, the pain of divorce; and the parties are ready to move on. Making sure that you’re in the appropriate headspace to navigate divorce is important.

CONTACT THE EXPERIENCED MARITAL & FAMILY LAW ATTORNEYS AT THE JOSEPH FIRM, P.A.

Attorney Marck K. Joseph, Esq., BCS is a Board Certified Marital and Family Law expert and the owner of The Joseph Firm, P.A. With almost fifteen (15) years of experience in Martial & Family Law, he is uniquely qualified in helping in most types of family cases, including divorce matters.

If you are involved in a family law matter in Florida, consulting with an experienced family law attorney can help you navigate the legal process while advocating for the best interests of your child. Our law firm fully understands the challenges of navigating marital and family law issues, and we’re always ready to provide the highest-quality legal representation. Whether your case settles outside the courtroom or goes to trial (or final hearing), our attorneys go the extra mile for every client.

Our firm offers free case evaluations to determine whether the firm can assist you with your case, and if we can, a case consultation meeting will be scheduled. The experienced divorce lawyers at Joseph Firm, P.A. are ready to hear your story. We provide smart, aggressive family law representation to clients. To learn more, call (305) 501-0992.