Divorce paperwork is usually filed with the intention of ending a marriage. But sometimes, the marriage has other plans.
Reconciliation during a divorce may not be the outcome you expected when the case began, but it happens. Couples reconsider, and circumstances change. Sometimes, after taking the first legal steps toward ending a marriage, both spouses decide they would rather give it another chance.
That raises an interesting question: What happens to the divorce case that is already sitting in court?
Filing for divorce does not make you divorced. It starts the legal process, and until a court enters a final judgment dissolving the marriage, you are still legally married.
So, if you and your spouse decide to stay together, you may still have options. The next step is figuring out what to do with the case you already started.
If We Both Reconcile, Can We Cancel the Divorce?
If both of you want to stay married, the pending divorce case can potentially be dismissed.
Florida even has a family-law filing called a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, which can be used to notify the court that a party is voluntarily dismissing a petition, counterpetition, or other pleading.
But there is an important catch. If your spouse has already filed a counterpetition, dismissing your original petition does not necessarily make their counterpetition disappear with it.
Think of the petition and counterpetition as two separate requests asking the court for a divorce. Getting rid of yours does not automatically get rid of theirs. So, if both spouses have asked the court for relief, both sides may need to address their pending pleadings before the divorce case can truly come to an end.
In other words, reconciliation may be mutual, but make sure the paperwork is too.
What Happens to Everything That Already Happened in the Case?
Reconciliation does not rewind the case as though it never existed.
If the court has already entered temporary orders involving support, parenting, property, or other issues, do not assume that deciding to stay together automatically erases them. Likewise, don't simply skip an upcoming hearing because the two of you worked things out.
Your marriage may know you reconciled. The judge still needs the memo.
What If We Want to Try Again, But We Aren't Ready to Dismiss the Divorce Yet?
This is where Florida law gets interesting.
Florida law specifically allows a court, in certain circumstances, to continue the divorce proceeding for a reasonable period of up to three months to allow the spouses an opportunity to reconcile.
That option applies when there is a minor child of the marriage or when the responding spouse denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The court may also order one or both spouses to consult with a qualified professional.
What If Only One Spouse Wants to Reconcile?
Unfortunately, wanting to save a marriage does not necessarily give one spouse the power to stop the other from pursuing a divorce. Florida is a no-fault divorce state, and the central question is whether the marriage is irretrievably broken.
As mentioned above, if the responding spouse denies that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court may take steps aimed at possible reconciliation, including continuing the proceedings for up to three months. That is not an indefinite pause button, though.
If the court ultimately finds that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the divorce can still move forward even though one spouse would rather remain married.
What If We Reconcile and Change Our Minds Again?
Maybe you dismiss the divorce, reconcile, and six months later realize that the problems that led you there have not gone away.
If the original divorce case was dismissed, you generally should not assume you can simply pick up exactly where you left off. A later divorce may require filing a new case.
That means starting the process again with a new petition and dealing with the circumstances that exist now, rather than simply pressing “resume” on the old divorce. There can also be important financial implications to consider when spouses separate, reconcile, and later separate again. Property, debts, income, and other circumstances may have changed during the reconciliation.
So, before dismissing a pending divorce because you have decided to try again, it can be helpful to understand what dismissal actually means if the reconciliation does not last.
Considering Reconciliation?
Deciding to give your marriage another chance is a personal decision. Figuring out what to do with an already-pending divorce case is where we can help.
Do not let unanswered legal questions get in the way of what could be a new beginning.
If you are thinking about divorce in Florida, we can help you find out whether we are the right fit. Call us at 850-362-7228, or complete the form on our website and we will call you.
Written by Sophia Thephasdin. Reviewed for legal accuracy by Matthew Ausley, Attorney.