St. Johns County Uncontested Divorce with Children Attorney

Divorcing when children are involved adds a layer of complexity that even the most cooperative couples feel. Every decision about where the kids sleep, who pays for what, and how major choices get made has to be written into a legally enforceable parenting plan before a St. Johns County judge will sign off on your divorce. For parents who are on the same page about most things, the goal is to get that plan written correctly the first time, so it holds up years from now and does not require a return trip to court. St. Johns County uncontested divorce with children is not simply about filing paperwork. It is about building an agreement that accounts for your children’s real lives, your actual incomes, and the specific circumstances your family faces in this community.

St. Johns County has grown rapidly, and with that growth comes a mix of families navigating divorce in different ways. Some parents share straightforward schedules and uncomplicated finances. Others are dealing with one spouse who commutes to Jacksonville for work, school districts that matter deeply to both parents, or a family home in Ponte Vedra or Nocatee that carries significant equity. An uncontested divorce works when both parents commit to resolution, but the quality of the resolution depends entirely on how well the agreement is drafted.

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. handles uncontested divorce and mediation for families in St. Johns County and throughout northeastern Florida. The firm’s focus on family law exclusively means that every client here is navigating the same category of challenge, and the work reflects that depth of focus.

How Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. Approaches Divorce for St. Johns County Parents

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. is a Fort Lauderdale-based family law firm that practices family law exclusively, with a strong focus on uncontested divorce, divorce mediation, and conflict resolution. The firm serves clients not only in Broward County and South Florida but also in St. Augustine and St. Johns County, making it one of the few family law practices with a genuine presence in this region alongside deep expertise in Florida’s family law statutes.

The firm’s approach pairs practical legal guidance with genuine counseling. Parents who understand how Florida’s parenting laws actually work, and who stay grounded through the emotional side of separation, make better decisions for their children. That is not a side note to the legal work here. It is built into how the firm handles every case. For St. Johns County parents who want a resolution that is fair, enforceable, and reached without unnecessary conflict, this firm offers a direct path to get there.

Florida’s 2023 family law reforms changed both alimony and the presumption around timesharing, and any agreement signed today must reflect those changes. The firm keeps current with how those laws apply in practice and drafts agreements that stand up to judicial review at the St. Johns County courthouse.

What an Uncontested Divorce Involving Children Actually Covers

• Parenting Plan Requirements: Florida law requires every divorce involving minor children to include a parenting plan. The plan must address who makes decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities, as well as the specific timesharing schedule each parent follows week to week and during holidays.
• Equal Timesharing Presumption: Under Florida’s updated statute, equal timesharing is now the legal starting point. A parent seeking a different arrangement must present evidence that rebutting the presumption serves the child’s best interests. In an uncontested divorce, parents can agree on a schedule that differs from a strict 50/50 split as long as it is supported by legitimate reasons documented in the parenting plan.
• Child Support Calculation: Florida uses a statutory formula that considers both parents’ incomes, the number of overnights each parent has, health insurance costs, and child care expenses. Because the formula is predictable, child support is often one of the most straightforward issues for cooperating parents to resolve, but the numbers must be accurate and the income figures fully disclosed.
• School District and Relocation Issues: St. Johns County is served by highly regarded public schools, and school district boundaries often factor into where children will primarily live. If a timesharing schedule crosses district lines, the parenting plan needs to address school enrollment clearly. Any planned relocation beyond 50 miles requires separate court approval under Florida law.
• Property Division with a Family Home: Many St. Johns County families own homes in growing communities like Nocatee, Ponte Vedra Beach, or Fruit Cove where real estate has appreciated significantly. How the marital home is handled, whether one spouse keeps it, it is sold, or there is a deferred sale, requires agreement on value and equity, and that agreement must be written precisely to avoid future disputes.
• Health Insurance and Dependent Coverage: The parenting plan and child support order must specify who carries health insurance for the children and how uncovered medical expenses are split. Changes in employer coverage after the divorce can trigger modification if the existing order does not account for that possibility.
• Alimony Where Applicable: Not all divorces with children involve alimony, but when one spouse earns significantly less or left employment to care for children, it can be part of the settlement. Florida now recognizes bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony, each with specific duration limits tied to the length of the marriage. No form of permanent alimony is available for cases filed after July 1, 2023.

Preparing for an Uncontested Divorce in St. Johns County

Florida requires that at least one spouse have lived in Florida for six months before filing. If you have recently relocated to St. Johns County from another state, confirm that you meet this residency requirement before initiating the process. Uncontested divorce cases in St. Johns County are filed with the Circuit Court at the St. Johns County Courthouse located in St. Augustine. The courthouse handles all family law matters for the county, and a judge must review and approve your marital settlement agreement and parenting plan before the divorce is finalized.

Before filing, gather documentation that will support accurate financial disclosure. This includes recent pay stubs and tax returns for both spouses, bank and investment account statements, mortgage statements, retirement account balances, and any documentation of business income if either spouse is self-employed. Florida requires both spouses in a divorce to complete a financial affidavit, and incomplete or inconsistent disclosure can delay approval of an otherwise agreed case or create problems later if a party claims the settlement was based on inaccurate information.

A common mistake in uncontested divorces with children is treating the parenting plan as a formality. Parents who draft a plan without thinking through the specifics, such as what happens on school holidays, who picks up the child when a parent is traveling for work, or how decisions get made when the parents disagree, often find themselves back in court within a few years resolving exactly those gaps. A carefully written plan that anticipates your family’s actual schedule is worth the time it takes to build correctly at the outset.

If there are any issues you and your spouse have not fully resolved, mediation is a practical bridge. A neutral mediator helps both parties work through the remaining disagreements in a confidential setting, and whatever you resolve in mediation can be incorporated into your final settlement. The St. Johns County area has certified family law mediators, and the court may refer cases to mediation as part of the process if any contested issues surface during the filing.

What the Parenting Plan Actually Needs to Say

Florida’s parenting plan statute requires specificity. Vague language like “the parents will share time with the children as agreed” does not satisfy the court’s requirements and does not protect either parent if the arrangement breaks down. The parenting plan needs to state which parent has the child on which days, how exchanges happen, where exchanges take place, and what the protocol is for holidays and school breaks. It also needs to designate parental responsibility, either shared or sole, for each category of major decision, including medical care, schooling, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities.

For St. Johns County families, geography matters. A parent living in St. Augustine Beach and another in Palm Valley face a different logistical reality than parents who live in the same subdivision. The parenting plan should reflect actual driving distances and realistic exchange points. Many families use a school campus or a centrally located public location for exchanges, and specifying that location in the plan removes ambiguity about who goes where and when.

When both parents participate in building the parenting plan, either through direct negotiation with attorney guidance or through mediation, the result tends to fit the family’s real situation better than any schedule a judge might impose after a contested hearing. Parents who design their own schedule and commit to it voluntarily also tend to follow it more consistently, which is better for the children. A St. Johns County uncontested divorce attorney can help translate your mutual understanding of what works for your family into a plan that meets the court’s legal requirements.

Questions St. Johns County Parents Ask About Uncontested Divorce

Does Florida require us to appear in court even if our divorce is uncontested?

In many uncontested divorces, especially those involving children, a brief final hearing before a judge is required. The judge reviews the marital settlement agreement and parenting plan to confirm they meet Florida’s statutory requirements and serve the children’s best interests. This hearing is typically short when everything is in order.

How is child support calculated if we plan to split time equally?

Florida’s child support guidelines use an income shares model. Both parents’ net incomes are combined, the baseline support amount is determined from a schedule, and then each parent’s share is adjusted based on how many overnights each has with the child. An equal timesharing schedule does affect the calculation, but it does not necessarily result in zero support obligation. The parent with the higher income typically still pays some amount to the parent with the lower income.

Can we agree to waive child support entirely if we both prefer that arrangement?

No. Florida courts will not approve a complete waiver of child support if the statutory calculation produces a support obligation. Child support is considered a right of the child, not of the parent, so parents cannot contract away from it entirely. You can agree on an amount, but the court will compare it to the statutory guideline and will require justification if the agreed amount deviates significantly from the formula.

What happens to our agreement if one of us moves out of St. Johns County after the divorce?

A Florida court that entered your divorce decree retains jurisdiction over modifications to the parenting plan and child support even if one spouse moves. However, if both parents eventually relocate to another state, jurisdiction can shift. Any relocation more than 50 miles from the primary residence at the time of the divorce requires either the other parent’s written agreement or court approval through a formal relocation petition.

How long does an uncontested divorce with children typically take in St. Johns County?

The timeline depends on how quickly documents are prepared and how promptly the court schedules hearings. An uncontested divorce in St. Johns County where everything is filed correctly and the court’s calendar is manageable can often be finalized within a few months. Delays typically arise from incomplete financial disclosure, missing documents, or a parenting plan that the court requires revisions to before approval.

Do we each need a separate attorney for an uncontested divorce?

Florida does not require both parties to have separate attorneys, but one attorney cannot represent both spouses. If only one spouse retains an attorney, that attorney represents only that spouse. The other spouse can review documents, consult independently if they choose, or proceed without representation. Having at least one spouse represented helps ensure the agreement is complete, accurate, and meets legal requirements.

What if we agree on everything now but anticipate changes in income or schedules after the divorce?

The parenting plan and child support order can be modified later if there is a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances. Rather than leaving the current agreement vague in anticipation of changes, it is better to write the agreement to reflect current reality clearly and address modification through the legal process if and when circumstances actually change. Courts look at what the situation was when the order was entered, so clarity now matters.

Our children are teenagers. Do they get any say in the timesharing schedule?

Florida courts can consider the reasonable preferences of a child, and the weight given to those preferences typically increases with the child’s age and maturity. In an uncontested divorce, however, the parents control the agreement. If both parents agree to a schedule that reflects the teenager’s preferences and daily reality, the court will generally approve it. The preference of a minor child is one factor in the best interests analysis, not a deciding one.

Can we include provisions in the parenting plan for decision-making during the college years?

A Florida parenting plan governs the child until the age of majority, which is 18 in Florida. Provisions that purport to govern a child after they turn 18 are generally unenforceable. Child support obligations can extend beyond 18 only in limited circumstances under Florida law. If funding college expenses is a concern, addressing it in the marital settlement agreement rather than the parenting plan is a more defensible approach.

We own a home in Ponte Vedra. Can we defer the sale until our youngest finishes high school?

Deferred sale arrangements, where one spouse stays in the home with the children until a future event triggers a sale, are possible and sometimes approved by Florida courts. These arrangements must be carefully structured in the settlement agreement to address mortgage responsibility, maintenance costs, property tax obligations, and how equity will be divided when the sale eventually occurs. The longer the deferral period, the more detail the agreement needs to include to prevent disputes down the road.

Serving Families in St. Johns County and Surrounding Communities

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. represents parents and spouses throughout St. Johns County and the surrounding region. The firm works with clients across St. Augustine, St. Augustine Beach, and the established neighborhoods of Vilano Beach and Anastasia Island. Families in the master-planned communities of Nocatee, Ponte Vedra, and Ponte Vedra Beach regularly face the intersection of high-value real estate and family law, and the firm handles those property and parenting issues with care. The firm also serves residents of Fruit Cove, Julington Creek, Palencia, World Golf Village, and the growing areas of Palm Valley and Durbin Crossing.

Further into the county, the firm represents clients in Hastings, Switzerland, and the rural communities along the St. Johns River corridor. For parents in these communities, the practical realities of distance, school access, and commuting factor into realistic parenting plans. The firm’s work in St. Johns County sits alongside its longstanding service to clients in Broward County, Boca Raton, and southern Palm Beach County, giving the firm a broad view of how Florida’s family law system operates in different court systems and communities.

Talk to a St. Johns County Uncontested Divorce Attorney About Your Family’s Situation

A well-drafted uncontested divorce with a solid parenting plan gives your children stability and gives you both clarity about what comes next. If you and your spouse are ready to work toward an agreement, or if you have questions about whether an uncontested process is the right fit for your situation, a St. Johns County uncontested divorce attorney at Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. can help you understand your options and your realistic path forward.

The first 15 minutes of your consultation are free. Call Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. to talk through where you stand and what it would take to reach an agreement that works for your family now and holds up years from now.