October 3, 2026

Florida Form 12.901(b)(1): Divorce Petition With Children, Explained

Form 12.901(b)(1) is the Florida Supreme Court approved petition that starts a divorce when the spouses have a minor or dependent child together, or one spouse is pregnant. This guide walks through each part of the form and the papers the official instructions say go with it.

Written by Jurisio with AI assistance. Each legal statement is cited to the official source listed below; Jurisio checked the quoted passages against those sources on October 3, 2026. Jurisio is not a law firm and this page has not been reviewed by a lawyer.

Form 12.901(b)(1) is the paper that starts a divorce case in Florida when there are children involved. Florida courts call a divorce a "dissolution of marriage." The person who files is the petitioner, and the other spouse is the respondent. The current version of the form is dated February 2018, shown as "(02/18)" at the bottom of each page [1].

Who this form is for

The official instructions say the form is used when you are filing for a dissolution of marriage "and you and your spouse have a dependent or minor child(ren) together, or a spouse is pregnant" [1]. Before the case can be filed in Florida, the instructions say one spouse must have lived in Florida for at least 6 months [1].

Other petitions in the Form 12.901 group cover cases without children; the forms-in-order guide shows the whole set.

What to gather before you start

The instructions list papers that are filed along with this petition [1]. Having them ready makes the petition easier to finish:

UCCJEA Affidavit, Form 12.902(d). The petition itself says you must complete and attach it in a divorce with minor children [1].
Notice of Social Security Number, Form 12.902(j) [1].
Family Law Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or (c). The 2018 petition instructions say it must be filed with the petition if the petitioner is asking for child support, and otherwise within 45 days of service of the petition on the respondent (see the short form and long form guides) [1]. A later official form, Form 12.902(k), lets both spouses jointly waive filing the affidavits with the court when they want to keep them private [4]. That form is only for spouses who have already given each other their completed financial affidavits, so it does not skip the exchange itself [4]. Its instructions also say both spouses must sign it before they enter into any agreement or stipulation that would resolve the case [4].
Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 12.902(e), if you are asking for child support. The instructions say it may be filed after the other spouse's financial affidavit is served on you, if you do not know their income [1].
Proof of Florida residence. The instructions list an Affidavit of Corroborating Witness (Form 12.902(i)) or a photocopy of a current Florida driver's license, Florida identification card, or voter's registration card [1]. The issue date of the copied card must be at least six months before the case is filed [1].
Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure, Form 12.932. The instructions say this must be filed within 45 days of service of the petition on the respondent if it is not filed with the petition, unless the spouses agreed not to exchange documents [1].
Parenting Plan, Form 12.995(a), (b), or (c). A signed and notarized plan is attached if the parents agree; a proposed plan may be filed if they do not [1].
Marital Settlement Agreement, Form 12.902(f)(1), only if the spouses have agreed on some or all issues [1].

Also have ready the date and place of the marriage, the date you separated, each child's full name and birth date, and a list of what you both own and owe.

Section-by-section walkthrough

The heading and the opening paragraphs

At the top, you fill in the judicial circuit, the county, and both spouses' names. The numbered paragraphs that follow ask for:

Residence. Which spouse (or both) has lived in Florida for at least 6 months before filing [1].
Military service. Whether each spouse is or is not in the military.
Marriage history. Date of marriage, date of separation (you can mark it as approximate), and place of marriage.
Children. A pregnancy and due date, the minor children of both spouses, children born or conceived during the marriage who are not children of both spouses, and adult children of both spouses who depend on them because of a mental or physical disability.
Financial affidavit. Whether it is filed now or "will be timely filed."
UCCJEA Affidavit and Notice of Social Security Number. These paragraphs say the two forms are filed with the petition.
Reason for the divorce. You choose one: "The marriage is irretrievably broken" [1], or one spouse has been judged mentally incapacitated for a period of 3 years before filing, with a copy of the Judgment of Incapacity attached [1].

Section I: Marital assets and liabilities

"Assets" means things you own. "Liabilities" means debts. You check either that there are none or that there are some. If there are some, you choose whether a written agreement already divides them, whether the court should divide them under section 61.075, Florida Statutes, or whether one spouse should get an interest in the other spouse's property, and why. The details of each asset and debt go in the financial affidavits, not the petition.

Section II: Spousal support (alimony)

Here one spouse either gives up alimony or asks for it, with an amount, how often it is paid, a start date, and an end date or event. The instructions warn that alimony must be requested in writing in the original petition [1]. If it is not requested in writing before the final hearing, it is waived and cannot be requested later [1].

The form and its instructions date from 2018 and still list "permanent" alimony [1]. Florida's alimony law was changed in 2023 by chapter 2023-315, Laws of Florida [3]. The current statute lets the court grant temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, or durational alimony [2]. The statute also says the court first decides whether one spouse has an actual need for alimony and whether the other has the ability to pay [2].

Section III: Parenting plan

This section asks where the children live now, whether parental responsibility should be shared or given to one parent (with reasons), and what time-sharing schedule is in the children's best interests. You can attach a proposed Parenting Plan, describe a schedule, or ask for limits such as supervised time-sharing. The instructions say a Parenting Plan must be approved or established by the court in every case with minor or dependent children [1].

Section IV: Child support

You can ask for child support under Florida's guidelines in section 61.30, Florida Statutes, and choose the date it should start from. The form also has requests for support past age 18 in two situations [1]. One is a child who is dependent because of a mental or physical incapacity that began before age 18 [1]. The other is a child who is dependent in fact, is in high school, is between the ages of 18 and 19, and is performing in good faith with a reasonable expectation of graduating before age 19 [1]. A request for an amount above or below the guidelines needs a separate motion, Form 12.943, which must be filed before the court will consider it [1]. The section also covers health and dental insurance, uninsured medical costs, and life insurance to secure support.

Section V: Other

This is where a petitioner can ask to go back to a former legal name, or list any other request.

Section VI: Request

This is a checklist summary of everything asked for in Sections I through V, so it should match the requests made earlier in the petition.

Signature and notary

The petition is signed under oath in front of a notary public or deputy clerk [1]. The form states that the penalty for knowingly making a false statement includes fines and/or imprisonment [1]. If someone who is not a lawyer helped fill out the form, they must fill in their name and contact details at the bottom [1].

What happens after filing

The other spouse must be formally notified of the petition, which the instructions call service [1]. With personal service, the respondent has 20 days to answer [1]. If the respondent cannot be located, the instructions describe constructive service, but then the court may only grant limited relief, which cannot include alimony or child support [1]. When personal service was used and the spouse has not filed an answer after those 20 days, the instructions say a Motion for Default (Form 12.922(a)) may be filed [1]. The instructions also say some circuits require mediation before a final hearing [1], and a parenting course must be completed before the final judgment [1]. The final hearing checklist covers the last step.

Questions

Do I need to have lived in Florida for a certain time before filing?

The instructions say the petitioner or the respondent must have lived in Florida for at least 6 months before the divorce is filed [1].

What if I cannot afford the filing fee?

The instructions say you can get an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status from the clerk, and the clerk will decide whether you are eligible to have filing fees deferred [1].

Can I keep my address private?

The instructions say a person who is a victim of certain crimes, including domestic violence, should leave the address and phone lines blank and instead file a Request for Confidential Filing of Address, Form 12.980(h) [1].

Can I ask for alimony later if I leave it off the petition?

The instructions say that if alimony is not requested in writing before the final hearing, it is waived [1].

How long does my spouse have to respond?

With personal service, the instructions say the spouse has 20 days to answer after being served [1].