61.043

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

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section FL-LEGleg.state.fl.us JustiaFla. Statutes CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
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.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1999–2025 · leading case: T.D. v. K.D.
T.D. v. K.D. (1999) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “See § 61.043(1) Fla. Stat. (1997) ("A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s.”
Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas (2015) fladistctapp · cites it 4× “-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.”
Stockdale v. Stockdale (2025) fladistctapp · cites it 4× “(describing the circuit court’s original jurisdiction in all cases in equity); § 61.043(1), Fla. Stat. (requiring that a proceeding for dissolution commence in the circuit court).”
Td v. Kd (1999) fladistctapp · cites it 2× “NOTES [1] See § 61.043(1) Fla. Stat. (1997) ("A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s.”
— 61.043(1) — 3 cases
T.D. v. K.D. (1999) fladistctapp “See § 61.043(1) Fla. Stat. (1997) ("A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s.”
Stockdale v. Stockdale (2025) fladistctapp “(describing the circuit court’s original jurisdiction in all cases in equity); § 61.043(1), Fla. Stat. (requiring that a proceeding for dissolution commence in the circuit court).”
Td v. Kd (1999) fladistctapp “NOTES [1] See § 61.043(1) Fla. Stat. (1997) ("A proceeding for dissolution of marriage or a proceeding under s.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney (Florida Bar No. 39104). For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.