For your filing to be complete, you will need to serve a copy of your divorce papers to your spouse. You can do this in several ways, including:
The easiest option is to have your spouse fill out an “Answer and Waiver of
Service”. He or she can find the form at the courthouse, fill it out, have it
notarized and delivered to the clerk. If your spouse is not cooperative, you
can pay either a sheriff or a private service to serve the divorce papers.
Sheriffs are sometimes less expensive, but they may take some time to
deliver the papers. A private company is usually faster. As a last resort, when
you cannot locate your spouse, you can publish a notice of the divorce in
your local newspaper. This is a more expensive option, but sometimes you
do not have much of a choice. Florida also requires you to give a completed
financial affidavit to your spouse, where you list all of your income, assets,
debts, etc. You must do this within 45 days of serving your spouse with
divorce. With your spouse served and all forms submitted, you only have to
wait for the final decision of the court. In Florida, an uncontested divorce can
take a minimum of four weeks to process.