General Information for Self-Represented Litigants (02/18)
To serve and receive documents by e-mail, you must designate your e-mail addresses by using the
Designation of Current Mailing and E-mail Address, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form
12.915, and you must provide your e-mail address on each form on which your signature appears. Please
CAREFULLY read the rules and instructions for: Certificate of Service (General), Florida Supreme Court
Approved Family Law Form 12.914; Designation of Current Mailing and E-mail Address, Florida Supreme
Court Approved Family Law Form 12.915; and Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516.
Default. After being served with a petition or counterpetition, the other party has 20 days to file a
response. If a response to a petition is not filed, the petitioner may file a Motion for Default, Florida
Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.922(a), with the clerk. This means that you may proceed
with your case and set a final hearing, and a judge will make a decision, even if the other party will not
cooperate. For more information, see rule 12.080(c), Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.
Answer and Counterpetition. After being served, the respondent has 20 days to file an answer
admitting or denying each of the allegations contained in the petition. In addition to an answer, the
respondent may also file a counterpetition. In a counterpetition, the respondent may request the same
or some other relief or action not requested by the petitioner. If the respondent files a counterpetition,
the petitioner should then file an Answer to Counterpetition, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family
Law Form 12.903(d), and either admit or deny the allegations in the respondent’s counterpetition.
Mandatory disclosure. Rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, requires each party in a
dissolution of marriage to exchange certain information and documents, and file a Family Law Financial
Affidavit, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(b) or (c). Failure to make this required
disclosure within the time required by the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure may allow the court to
dismiss the case or to refuse to consider the pleadings of the party failing to comply. This requirement
also must be met in other family law cases, except adoptions, simplified dissolutions of marriage,
enforcement proceedings, contempt proceedings, and proceedings for injunctions for domestic or
repeat violence. The Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure, Florida Family Law Rules of
Procedure Form 12.932, lists the documents that must be given to the other party. For more
information see rule 12.285, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, and the instructions to the
Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form
12.932.
Parenting Plan. If your case involves minor or dependent child(ren), a Parenting Plan shall be approved
or established by the court. Parenting Plan, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form,
12.995(a), Safety-Focused Parenting Plan, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.995(b),
or Relocation/Long Distance Parenting Plan, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form
12.995(c). The Parenting Plan shall be developed and agreed to by the parents and approved by a court.
If the parents cannot agree, or if the agreed Parenting Plan is not approved, the court must establish a
Parenting Plan. The Parenting Plan shall contain a time-sharing schedule and should address the issues
regarding the child(ren)’s education, health care, and physical, social, and emotional well-being.
Setting a hearing or trial. Generally, the court will have hearings on motions, final hearings on
uncontested or default cases, and trials on contested cases. Before setting your case for final hearing
or trial, certain requirements such as completing mandatory disclosure and filing certain papers and
having them served on the other party must be met. These requirements vary depending on the type of
case and the procedures in your particular jurisdiction. For further information, you should refer to the
instructions for the type of form you are filing.