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Offering 50 Years Combined Experience in Marital and Family Law
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Divorce Attorneys Orlando

The experienced Orlando divorce attorneys at The Sanders Firm, P.A understands the hardship that a divorce can bring to an individual's life. Therefore, we strive to be there for our clients during this challenging and stressful time by providing them with the proper representation. Our law firm has years of experience and has guided hundreds of clients in Orlando throughout the divorce process.

Divorces are usually very personal lawsuits. Typically, a court is asked to make impactful decisions that can change the lives of the individuals and any children that are involved. If your divorce leads to a trial, a judge will have to divide assets and liabilities, determine if alimony is appropriate, and dictate how much time each parent will spend with the child. Furthermore, a judge will have to calculate child support, dissolve the marriage itself, and make other personal decisions.

With that said, it's critical you have an Orlando divorce attorney with the skill, ability, and reputation to represent you as their litigator in the courtroom. You don't want an attorney that settles your case without fighting for your best interests.

Although most people never think they will have to deal with a divorce when they get married, sometimes that's the unfortunate reality. At The Sanders Firm, P.A, we know divorce.is never an easy thing. However, you can depend on us to help you through the process every step of the way.

Divorce in Florida

Florida is a no-fault divorce state. The two requirements that must be proven to obtain a divorce in most Florida cases are showing that the marriage is irretrievably broken and residency.

In Florida, it is not necessary to show mental cruelty, abuse, abandonment, or have a legal separation. If one spouse testifies that the marriage cannot be put back together, that is, the marriage is irretrievably broken, a divorce will be granted. In rare circumstances, a court can order a cooling-off period or require counseling. If one spouse is adamant that the marriage is broken, a judge usually will not delay the case moving forward.

A person must be a resident of Florida for six months before filing for a divorce in Florida. Residency is usually proven by the filing of a Florida Driver's license or an affidavit sworn to by another Florida resident that the party has met the six-month residency requirement. Only one spouse is required to satisfy the six-month residency requirement for Florida to grant a divorce.

A divorce may also be granted in Florida if a spouse is guilty of being incompetent for three years.

Every marriage is unique, and every divorce is equally unique. The stated purpose of the divorce statute, if a marriage cannot be saved, is to promote the amicable settlement of disputes that arise between parties to a marriage and to mitigate the potential harm to the spouses and their children caused by the process of legal dissolution of marriage.

Divorce cases can be resolved in several ways. The process can be as simple or complex as the circumstances unique to the conflict and the parties. Some other cases that may arise from a divorce include domestic violence and spousal support cases.

Many couples can reach an agreement on most or all of their issues in regard to their case. When this occurs, it is recommended that the bullet points of the agreement, usually referred to as a "kitchen table agreement" be presented to an experienced family law attorney to draft a proper marital settlement agreement. The martial settlement agreement acts as a binding contract that the court, once ratifies, reserves jurisdiction to enforce.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that an attorney be present to draft the agreement and, if necessary, a different attorney is obligated to review the contract before signing and filing the agreement with the court. A final judgment is drafted, which allows the court to ratify and accept the marital settlement agreement and reserves jurisdiction to enforce it in the future

Under this scenario, a short hearing before the judge is all that is required to obtain the divorce. If children are involved, a parenting plan must also be drafted and filed with the court. Divorcing by agreement is by far the least expensive and least traumatic way to divorce.

Divorce Mediation

Many couples wish to resolve their case out of court but need assistance doing so. Mediation and collaborative law are processes that can help you resolve the situation out of the courtroom.

A mediator is a neutral, third party who is trained to encourage and facilitate negotiations. A mediator can't decide a case but can help settle it. A settlement reached in mediation is almost always binding and can partially or fully resolve the case. Nearly all family law cases will be referred to mediation. Approximately eighty percent of cases settle at mediation. Tristan Sanders is a Supreme Court of Florida Family Law Mediator who has acted as a Mediator in over five hundred mediations since 2007 and has assisted Central Florida families in reaching out of court resolution on their terms.

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Meet the Team

We strive to provide professional, proactive, and passionate marital law representation.

Many cases can be settled pre-litigation, saving the family thousands of dollars avoiding the stress and conflict inherent in litigation.

Read Our Full Bios

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Attorney

Silvia Sanders

"We’ve been representing families in Central Florida for over 25 years. We are dedicated to providing exceptional service to our clients. Our focus is on what makes a case unique and getting the best possible results for our clients."

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Attorney

Tristan Sanders

"The Sanders Firm, brings a child-focused approach to this law practice and strives to minimize the negative impact of legal proceedings on children, while reaching the best possible outcome for our clients."

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Collaborative Law

Collaborative Law is a team-based approach to family law that takes place outside the courtroom. Both lawyers, a financial neutral, a mental health neutral, and each of the two parties work together to arrive at a solution in a non-confrontational way. While a judge may not have access to every piece of information in a family law case, collaborative law emphasizes complete transparency and allows both parties and the collaborative team to make fully-informed, mutually beneficial decisions. Divorce Lawyer, Tristan Sanders, is a member of the Collaborative Family Law Group of Central Florida.

Child Support

Child support calculations under the Florida Statute Guidelines involve a number of factors ranging from net income to tax exemptions. While these factors tend to fall within the basic expectations of most parents self-calculating child support, there are others, such as the number of overnights a child spends, that can drastically affect child support orders. Most parents are unaware of the inner workings of Florida’s child support guidelines until their child support calculations force a payment that is unsustainable. The experienced family law attorneys at the Sanders Firm can help you ensure child support is calculated correctly the first time.

Alimony

Alimony calculations in the state of Florida depend on two basic factors – the duration of your marriage and the type of alimony recommended for your unique set of circumstances. Each of the four types of alimony has specific qualifications, set time limits, and other basic requirements. Alimony payments can affect the financial health of both spouses over the course of several years and even a lifetime. Hiring a family law attorney like The Sanders Firm ensures your calculations will accurately reflect your family’s needs.

Domestic Violence

If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic violence – whether physical or sexual assault, battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, or any other action that has caused you injury – contact the authorities. Afterward, don’t hesitate to contact The Sanders Firm. Our compassionate, discreet family law attorneys have the experience to ensure your injunction for protection proceeds efficiently, allowing you to feel safe in your home once again. Alternately, The Sanders Firm addresses domestic violence injunction defense as well as dating violence, repeat violence, and stalking, since these issues often precede contentious divorce proceedings.

Equitable Distribution

When two parties divorce in Florida, property and assets obtained during the marriage are subject to equitable distribution to both parties. Equitable distribution aims to allow each party to leave the marriage with their own property as well as a proportional share of what was earned during the marriage. However, some items, such as homes, stock options, and retirement savings, can have both premarital and marital aspects, and can be difficult to proportion and divide. Attorneys at the Sanders Firm have over 50 years of experience with equitable distribution and can help you navigate the technicalities involved in the divorce process.

Modification Cases

While judgments in alimony, child support, and child custody cases are considered final, the decisions in each of these types of cases are dependent on one or both party’s financial, legal, and sometimes emotional circumstances at the time. Circumstances change, often altering the individual’s ability to adhere to the specifications set forth by the judgment. In some cases, the individual may request a modification to the original judgment. Modifications require fact- finding and mediation and should be handled by an experienced family law attorney. The Sanders Firm can help you determine your risks and the likelihood your modification request will be successful.

Paternity

Most people think of paternity as the simple establishment of one individual as a child’s biological father. However, legal paternity also determines the father’s rights and obligations to a child that was born outside the boundaries of marriage. Without legal paternity, the biological mother’s status as sole legal custodian of the child limits the father’s ability to have any involvement in the child’s life. Adjudication of paternity must come before any child support or child visitation hearing takes place. Discuss your paternity case with the Sanders Firm to begin positive movement toward your parental rights and obligations.

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Legal Articles

13. Jan
What Factors Determine Who is the Recipient of Alimony Payments in Florida

What Factors Determine Who is the Recipient of Alimony Payments in Florida

Alimony is court ordered spousal support.  Spousal support may be ordered by the Court, either during the pendency of the divorce or after the divorce, as the result of a final hearing.  Find out more about our family lawyers Orlando who can help Temporary Alimony Available in Florida Court ordered spousal support during the divorce …
7. Jun

How Do I Modify Child Support in Florida ?

After child support has been established, the amount can only be modified after a showing of a substantial change in circumstances. There are several ways to show a substantial change in circumstances. Number of children. Older court orders in cases with more than one child may not contain an automatic “step-down” provision to change child …