Tag: Complex Florida Divorce Cases

Some Florida couples deal with mental incapacity issues as they overlap with divorce, and there are laws here in Florida addressing the issue. However, while Florida does allow for divorce in the event that one spouse suffers from a mental incapacity, there are particular waiting periods built into the law in order to protect infirm spouses who, in some instances, cannot defend themselves. Specifically, once determined to be officially incapacitated, an individual needs to have been incapacitated for at least three years prior to commencing dissolution proceedings.

Yet while the law has been put in place in large part to help protect those with severe injuries and conditions such as brain trauma and dementia, there are also individuals who have found themselves the victim of this particular law.

As A Hurdle

While some divorce-mental incapacity cases involve one spouse attempting to take advantage of the other, who has been deemed to be mentally incapable, there are also couples who wish to obtain a divorce, but find themselves waiting for three years or more to obtain it due to some of the loopholes in the law.