
    IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO the FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE-FORM 12.901(A).
    No. SC17-1226
    Supreme Court of Florida.
    February 1, 2018
    Robert Joseph Merlin, Chair, Family Law Rules Committee, Coral Gables, Florida, Honorable Laurel Moore Lee, Past Chair, Family Law Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida; and Joshua E. Doyle, Executive Director, and Mikalla Andies Davis, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, for Petitioner
    Gregory W. Coleman, Vice Chair, Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice, West Palm Beach, Florida, and Robert T. Koehler, Florida Notary Academy, Tampa, Florida, Responding with comments
   PER CURIAM.

This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed amendments to the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

The Family Law Rules Committee (Committee) has filed an out-of-cycle report under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.140(f), proposing amendments to Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.901(a) (Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage). The proposed amendments to form 12.901(a) were approved by the full Committee by a vote of 19-1-0, and wei*e unanimously approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar. Prior to submission to the Court, the Committee did not publish the proposals for comment. After submission to the Court, the proposals were published. Two comments were filed with the Court—one from the Florida Commission on Access to Civil Justice and one by Robert T. Koehler on behalf of the Florida Notary Academy. Upon consideration of the Committee’s report and the comments filed, we adopt the amendments to form 12.901(a) as proposed by the Committee.

Form 12.901(a) is amended to eliminate the requirement that the form be notarized and instead require the parties to execute a “written declaration” pursuant to section 92.525, Florida Statutes (2017). The declaration added to the form states: “Under penalties of perjury, which can include fines and/or imprisonment, I declare that I have read this document and that the facts stated in it are true.” The elimination of the notarization requirement is meant to facilitate the electronic filing of the form by pro se litigants. The form is also amended to add “In re the Marriage of’ to the caption and to clarify the process of obtaining a court date and filing the family law cover sheet.

The amended form is adopted as set forth in the appendix to this opinion, fully engrossed, and effective for immediate use. The form may also be accessed and downloaded from the Florida State Court’s website at http://www.flcourts.org/resources- and-services/court-improvement/problem-solvmg-courts/family-courts/family-law-forms.stml. By adoption of the amended form, we express no opinion as to its correctness or applicability.

It is so ordered.

LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.

APPENDIX

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RULES OF PROCEDURE FORM 12.901(a)

PETITION FOR SIMPLIFIED DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE (02/18)

When should this form be used?

This form should be used when a husband and wife are filing for a simplified dissolution of marriage. You and/or your spouse must have lived in Florida for at least 6 months before filing for a dissolution in Florida. You may file a simplified dissolution of marriage in Florida if all of the following are true:

• You and your spouse agree that the marriage cannot be saved.
• You and your spouse have no minor or dependent children) together, the wife does not have any minor or dependent children born during the marriage, and the wife is not now pregnant.
• You and your spouse have worked out how the two of you will divide the things that you both own (your assets) and who will pay what part of the money you both owe (your liabilities), and you are both satisfied with this division.
• You are not seeking support (alimony) from your spouse, and vice versa.
• You are willing to give up your right to trial and appeal.
• You and your spouse are both willing to go into the clerk’s office to sign the petition (not necessarily together).
• You and your spouse are both willing to go to the final hearing (at the same time).

If you do not meet the criteria above, you must file a regular petition for dissolution of marriage.

This petition should be typed or printed in black ink. Each of you must sign the petition.

What should I do next?

1. After completing this form, you should file it with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where you live and keep a copy for your records.

You may document your agreement by signing a Marital Settlement Agreement, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(f)(3) and filing it with the clerk of the circuit court or you may agree that all of your assets (what you own) and liabilities (what you owe) have been disposed of by oral agreement.

2. You must prove to the court that the husband and/or wife has (have) lived in Florida for more than 6 months before filing the petition for dissolution of marriage. Residence can be proved by:

• a valid Florida driver’s license, Florida identification card, or voter registration card issued to one of you .at least 6 months prior to filing for dissolution of marriage; or
• the testimony of another person who knows that either you or your spouse has resided in Florida for more than 6 months and is available to testify in court; or
• an affidavit. To prove residence by affidavit, use an Affidavit of Corroborating Witness, Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.902(i). This form must be signed by a person who knows that either you or your spouse has lived in Florida for more than 6 months before the date that you filed the petition for dissolution of marriage. This affidavit may be signed in the presence of the clerk of the court or in the presence of a notary public, who must affix his or her seal at the proper place on the affidavit.

3. You must pay the appropriate filing fees to the clerk of the circuit court. If you and your spouse cannot afford to pay the filing fees, you may fill out an Application for Determination, of Civil Indigent Status, and file it with your petition for dissolution of marriage. You may obtain this form from the clerk and he or she will determine whether you are eligible to have filing fees waived.

. 4. Yoii will need to complete a Family Court- Cover Sheet, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.928. The clerk’s office can provide this form.'

•5. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may either obtain a date and time for a court appearance from the clerk of court, or a date and time will be provided- to you by the court. On that date, you and your spouse must appear together before a judge. Depending on your jurisdiction, you will either complete a Final Judgment of Simplified Dissolution of Marriage, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.990(a), and bring it with you to the hearing, or the judge will prepare it at the hearing. At that time, if all of the papers are in order, the judge may grant a final judgment dissolving your marriage under simplified dissolution of marriage procedures by signing the final judgment.

6. If you fail to complete this procedure, the court may dismiss the case to clear its records.

Where can I look for more information?

Before proceeding, you should read “General Information for Self-Represented Litigants” found at the beginning of these forms. The words that are in “bold underline” in these instructions are defined there. For further information, see chapter 61, Florida Statutes, and Rule 12.105, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure.

Special notes...

Remember, a person who is NOT an attorney is called a nonlawyer. If a" nonlawyer helps you fill out these forms, that person must give you a copy of a Disclosure from Nonlawyer, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.900(a), before he or she helps you. A nonlawyer helping you fill out these' forms also must put his or her name, address, and telephone number on the bottom of the last page of every form he or she helps you complete.  