Florida Statute 61.043 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 61
DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE; SUPPORT; TIME-SHARING

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61.043 Commencement of a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for alimony and child support; dissolution questionnaire.—

(1) A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s. 61.09 shall be commenced by filing in the circuit court a petition entitled “In re the marriage of , husband, and , wife.” A copy of the petition together with a copy of a summons shall be served upon the other party to the marriage in the same manner as service of papers in civil actions generally.

(2) Upon filing for dissolution of marriage, the petitioner must complete and file with the clerk of the circuit court an unsigned anonymous informational questionnaire. For purposes of anonymity, completed questionnaires must be kept in a separate file for later distribution by the clerk to researchers from the Florida State University Center for Marriage and Family. These questionnaires must be made available to researchers from the Florida State University Center for Marriage and Family at their request. The actual questionnaire shall be formulated by researchers from Florida State University who shall distribute them to the clerk of the circuit court in each county.

History.—s. 5, ch. 71-241; s. 11, ch. 98-403.

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Amendments to 61.043

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 61.043

Total Results: 6 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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Glades Flying Club v. Americas Aviation & M. Ins. Co., 235 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970).

Cited 16 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1970 Fla. App. LEXIS 6345

certificate * * *." [Emphasis added.] * * * * * * "Section 61.43 MEDICAL CERTIFICATES: Duration. "(a) A first-class

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Td v. Kd, 747 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).

Cited 9 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 16864, 1999 WL 1191521

...Meanwhile the matter should be heard at the earliest possible time by the judge assigned to the dissolution of marriage case to enable the mother and father to be heard on this matter plainly affecting the interests of their minor child. STONE and POLEN, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] See § 61.043(1) Fla....

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T.D. v. K.D., 747 So. 2d 456 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999).

Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

minor child. STONE and POLEN, JJ., concur. . See § 61.043(1) Fla. Stat. (1997) ("A proceeding for dissolution

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Walter Bradshaw v. Fed. Aviation Admin. (11th Cir. 2021).

Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

Standards (FAA-S-ACS-8B) as required by 14 CFR § 61.43(a) and FAA Order 8900.2B, Chapter 5, Paragraph

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Stockdale v. Stockdale (Fla. 1st DCA 2025).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...circuit court *—that must apply the statute. Second, it is the initial petition that must remain pending for the statute to apply. And third, the statute applies not only to petitions that have been filed on or after July 1, 2023, but also to those that are still pending. * Section 61.043(1), Florida Statutes, requires that a proceeding for dissolution of marriage “be commenced by filing in the circuit court a petition ....

...Const. (providing that the county courts exercise “the jurisdiction prescribed by general law”). The Legislature has by statute given circuit courts exclusive authority to hear dissolution cases. See § 26.012(c), Fla. Stat. (describing the circuit court’s original jurisdiction in all cases in equity); § 61.043(1), Fla....

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Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas, 163 So. 3d 644 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 6051, 2015 WL 1874457

...Id. Because this case does present a controversy between the parties, this case is both procedurally and factually distinguishable from Oliver. Therefore, we see no need to certify conflict. -8- Section 61.043, Florida Statutes (2013), expressly places subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate divorce proceedings with the trial courts: "[a] proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s....

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