Palm Beach County Divorce Lawyer
Williams & Varsegi, LLC represents people ending marriages across Palm Beach County and neighboring Broward County, from high-net worth, high-conflict cases to uncontested and simplified matters, and the firm practices exclusively in divorce and family law. If you are searching for a Palm Beach County divorce lawyer, you are probably weighing something specific: a house in Boca Raton or Delray Beach with real equity, a business that supports the whole family, a custody schedule that has to work around two commutes, or a spouse who has already started moving money around.
Florida’s rules have shifted a good deal in recent years. Permanent alimony no longer exists, courts now begin from a presumption of equal time-sharing, and the way certain assets are classified was amended again by the Legislature in 2024. A divorce filed today does not play out the way a friend’s divorce from a decade ago did, and the details matter when your savings, your home, and your children’s schedule are on the table.
How a Palm Beach County Divorce Typically Unfolds
Let me walk you through the usual arc, because knowing what comes next takes a lot of the dread out of it. One spouse files a petition for dissolution of marriage in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which covers Palm Beach County. At least one of you must have lived in Florida for six months before the filing. Florida is a no-fault state, so the ground is simply that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The only other ground, mental incapacity, requires that a spouse has been adjudged incapacitated for at least the preceding three years, and it comes up rarely.
Once the other spouse is served, the case moves into financial disclosure. Both sides exchange documents and sworn financial information, and in cases with business interests or investment accounts, this is where forensic accountants and business valuators earn their fees. Temporary issues, such as who stays in the house, who pays what, and what the interim parenting schedule looks like, are often sorted out early so the family has some stability while the rest is worked out.
Mediation comes next in most cases, and a large share of them settle there. If they do not, the case goes before a judge in the Family Court division, who decides whatever is left. Florida law does not allow a final judgment until at least 20 days have passed since the petition was filed, though a court can act sooner if waiting would cause injustice. In an agreed case with no children, that is close to the real minimum. In a contested case, the calendar is driven by discovery, expert work, and the court’s schedule, not by the statute.
Why Choose Williams & Varsegi, LLC for Your Palm Beach County Divorce
Williams & Varsegi, LLC is a boutique firm that practices exclusively in divorce and family law, with over twenty years of experience serving clients throughout Palm Beach and Broward County. The attorneys are Katie and Emerald Williams, and clients work directly with experienced attorneys who know their case rather than being handed off to people who have never read the file. The firm is made up of skilled negotiators and experienced litigators with extensive courtroom experience, so a case that can be settled gets settled on good terms, and a case that cannot is prepared for trial from the start.
Where a divorce involves a business, a professional practice, or a complicated portfolio, the firm works with forensic accountants, business valuators, and other experts. The firm also handles divorces involving physicians, federal employees, and police and fire personnel, where pensions, benefits, and professional licenses raise questions that ordinary property division does not. Because the work is confined to family law, the attorneys know how Florida’s divorce statutes are applied in these courtrooms and how local judges tend to approach the recurring disputes.
Clients describe the experience in consistent terms. Reviews on the firm’s site call the team very responsive and knowledgeable, praise the staff for being on time and easy to work with, and say Emerald Williams kept every promise she made at the initial consultation. One client who was represented for more than three years said Katie made the process smoother and less anxious. The firm carries a 5-Star Rating from its clients.
Issues That Drive Divorce Cases in Palm Beach County
- Equitable Distribution of Marital Property: The court first sets apart each spouse’s nonmarital assets and debts, then starts from the premise that marital assets and liabilities should be divided equally unless there is justification for an unequal split. Either way, the judge must make written findings identifying and valuing the significant assets. The cut-off date for what counts as marital is generally the earliest of a valid separation agreement or the filing of the petition.
- Business Interests and Professional Practices: Palm Beach County has no shortage of closely held companies, medical practices, and family enterprises. The marital portion of a business, its valuation, and whether one spouse keeps it and buys out the other are frequent points of contention, and the Legislature amended the statute in 2024 on how the marital interest in a closely held business is treated.
- Alimony: Florida now recognizes bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony. Permanent alimony was eliminated for cases filed after the 2023 reform. Length of marriage, measured from the wedding date to the filing date, sorts the case into short-term (under 10 years), moderate-term (10 to 20 years), or long-term (20 years or more), and that classification caps how long durational support can last.
- Time-Sharing and Parental Responsibility: Florida law now carries a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests. Disputes tend to center on school logistics, work schedules, and whether one parent’s request to depart from a 50/50 split is justified by the child’s circumstances.
- Child Support: Support follows the statutory guideline, which presumptively sets the amount. It turns on both parents’ net incomes, the number of overnights each parent has, health insurance, and child care costs. For combined net income above the top of the guidelines schedule, the statute adds a set percentage of the excess, so higher-earning families still have a defined starting point.
- Relocation: A move of at least 50 miles from the prior residence that lasts 60 consecutive days or more counts as relocation under Florida law. Temporary absences for vacation, education, or a child’s health care do not. A parent objecting to a proposed relocation has 20 days after service of the petition to file a written objection.
- Premarital Agreements: A written agreement signed by both spouses is enforceable without any consideration beyond the marriage itself, but it can be defeated if it was involuntary, the product of fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or unconscionable when signed and without fair financial disclosure. A child’s right to support cannot be reduced by such an agreement.
- Simplified and Uncontested Divorces: Couples who agree on everything may qualify for a simplified dissolution or a streamlined uncontested case, which moves faster and costs less, but the paperwork still needs to be right so the agreement holds up later.
What to Do and Where to Go if Divorce Is Coming
Start with paper, not strategy. Gather several years of tax returns, recent pay stubs, bank and brokerage statements, retirement account statements, mortgage and loan documents, business financials if either of you owns a company, and any premarital or postnuptial agreement. If you can see the whole financial picture before anyone files, you will make better decisions about the house, support, and settlement. Do not move money, close accounts, or transfer property out of panic. Hiding or shifting assets is both a serious penalty risk in a Florida divorce and a credibility problem with the judge.
Then talk to a lawyer before you talk to your spouse about terms. A first consultation is a chance to learn whether your situation looks like an uncontested filing, a mediated settlement, or a case likely to be litigated, and to find out what residency, timing, and filing choices you have. If you have children and are worried about a sudden change, such as your spouse threatening to relocate, that is worth raising at the first meeting.
Filing happens in the Family Court division of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. The main courthouse is in West Palm Beach, and the circuit also operates courthouses in Palm Beach Gardens, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade. The North County and South County courthouse clerk offices accept new family court cases, which is useful if you live in the northern or southern part of the county. Clerk offices are open Monday through Friday during standard business hours, and any appeal from a final judgment goes to the Fourth District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach.
If safety is part of the picture, tell your attorney right away. A domestic violence injunction can be sought whether or not a divorce is pending, though any pending case must be disclosed in the petition. A temporary injunction issued without the other side present lasts for a fixed period of up to 15 days, and the court sets a hearing at the earliest possible time.
The common mistakes are predictable: posting about the divorce on social media, moving out without considering how it affects time-sharing, signing a marital settlement agreement without reviewing the valuation of what you are giving up, and assuming that an uncontested case does not need legal review. Slowing down at the beginning prevents most of them.
Alimony After the 2023 Reform: What Palm Beach County Spouses Should Know
Because so many Palm Beach County marriages involve one spouse with a substantially higher income, alimony is where the 2023 changes are felt most. Bridge-the-gap alimony is capped at two years, ends if either party dies or the recipient remarries, and cannot be modified in amount or duration. Rehabilitative alimony is capped at five years and must follow a defined plan for education or retraining. Durational alimony cannot be awarded after a marriage of less than three years, and its length cannot exceed 50 percent of a short-term marriage, 60 percent of a moderate-term marriage, or 75 percent of a long-term marriage.
The monthly amount is capped too: it cannot exceed the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 35 percent of the difference between the parties’ net incomes. A court may also consider adultery and any resulting economic impact when setting the amount. Modification rules changed as well. For cases filed after the reform, a court must reduce or end alimony when the recipient is in a supportive relationship with an unrelated person, and a paying spouse who has reached normal retirement age, or the customary retirement age for the profession, may seek a reduction if retirement has genuinely reduced the ability to pay. A spouse can begin that process up to six months before an anticipated retirement. Older permanent alimony awards entered before the reform remain in effect but can be modified under the statute.
Palm Beach County Divorce FAQs
How long does a divorce take in Palm Beach County?
There is a minimum of 20 days from filing before a final judgment can be entered, but that is a floor, not a forecast. An agreed divorce with no children can finish in a matter of weeks. Contested cases involving custody disputes, business valuation, or significant conflict commonly take a year or more.
Do I have to prove my spouse did something wrong?
No. Florida requires only that the marriage is irretrievably broken. Adultery is not a ground for divorce, though a court can consider it, along with any economic effect, when deciding alimony.
How is property divided in a Florida divorce?
The court identifies each spouse’s nonmarital assets, then divides marital assets and liabilities beginning with the premise of an equal split. An unequal division requires justification, and the judge must issue written findings explaining it.
Will I get alimony, and for how long?
It depends on the length of the marriage, the difference in your incomes, and the recipient’s reasonable need. Only temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational alimony are available now, and each has its own limits on length and modification.
Is equal time-sharing automatic now?
Not automatic, but Florida law now presumes that equal time-sharing serves a child’s best interests. A parent asking for something different has to present facts that overcome that presumption.
My spouse earns far more than the guideline schedule tops out at. How is child support set?
For combined net income above the top of the guidelines schedule, support starts at the schedule’s maximum figure and adds a percentage of the income above it. That percentage is 5 percent for one child and rises with each additional child, up to 12.5 percent for six.
Can my spouse move out of the area with our children while the case is pending?
A move of 50 miles or more that lasts at least 60 days is treated as a relocation, and where a parenting plan is in place it generally requires an agreement or court approval. If a relocation petition is served on you, you have 20 days to file a written objection.
Does a prenuptial agreement automatically hold up?
Not always. It has to be in writing and signed by both of you, and it can be set aside if it was signed involuntarily, through fraud, duress, coercion, or overreaching, or if it was unconscionable and you did not get fair financial disclosure. It also cannot reduce a child’s right to support.
What if my spouse owns a business or professional practice?
The marital portion of the business has to be identified and valued, usually with a qualified business valuator. The Legislature changed how the marital interest in a closely held business is defined in 2024, so the classification question deserves close attention.
Can I change a time-sharing schedule after the divorce is final?
You must show a substantial and material change in circumstances. The Legislature removed the requirement that the change be unanticipated, which made that showing somewhat more attainable than it used to be.
What if my spouse and I agree on everything?
You may qualify for a simplified or uncontested process. Even then, having a lawyer review the agreement helps ensure it covers retirement accounts, debts, insurance, and parenting details, so nothing has to be reopened later.
Does it matter which Palm Beach County courthouse I use?
The case belongs to the Fifteenth Circuit’s Family Court either way. Filing at the North County or South County courthouse can be more convenient depending on where you live, and your attorney will advise on logistics for your situation.
Serving Divorce Clients Across Palm Beach County and Beyond
Williams & Varsegi, LLC represents clients throughout Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton and Delray Beach in the south through Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and West Palm Beach, and north into Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, and Juno Beach. The firm also serves families in Highland Beach, Greenacres, Lantana, and Palm Springs, as well as clients in the Glades communities of Belle Glade and Pahokee. Because South Florida families often live in one county and work in another, the firm also handles cases for clients in neighboring Broward County, including Coral Springs and Parkland.
Whether you are untangling a portfolio in Boca Raton, working out a parenting schedule in Wellington, or sorting out a business interest in Jupiter, the divorce is decided under the same Florida statutes, but the facts of your household drive the outcome.
Talk With a Palm Beach County Divorce Attorney
If you are weighing a divorce or have just been served, a conversation with a Palm Beach County divorce attorney at Williams & Varsegi, LLC can help you understand where you stand on property, support, and time with your children before you make any moves. Call to schedule a consultation, and the team will sit down with you, learn what matters most, and build a plan around your circumstances.
