In 22 years of practicing family law in Florida, Jennifer Erlinger has seen good people make devastating mistakes — not out of malice, but out of emotion, confusion, or simply not knowing what they did not know. This article exists so that does not happen to you.
Divorce is one of the most high-stakes legal processes a person can go through. The decisions you make in the first 60 days set the tone for everything that follows — your finances, your children's schedules, your home, your retirement. Here are the seven mistakes we see most often, and what to do instead.
The First 60 Days Are the Most Important Days of Your Divorce
Decisions made in the earliest stages of a divorce — who moves out, what temporary orders say, how financial disclosure is handled — are extraordinarily difficult to reverse later. This is not the time to wait and see. This is the time to get legal guidance immediately.
Moving Out of the Marital Home Too Soon
This is the single most common — and most costly — mistake we see. A spouse feels uncomfortable, unsafe, or just wants to escape the tension, so they move out. They assume they can come back later or reclaim their interest in the house. In Florida, voluntarily leaving the marital home can have serious consequences.
Moving out can affect your property rights to the home, hurt your custody case by reducing your parenting time before any court order exists, and signal to the court that the other spouse is the primary caregiver. Florida courts look at what arrangements were in place when determining temporary and final custody schedules — and "the other parent has been living in the home with the children for six months" is powerful evidence.
Posting Anything on Social Media
In 2026, social media is one of the most powerful tools opposing attorneys use in divorce and custody cases. Photos, posts, comments, location check-ins, stories — all of it can be used as evidence. And deleted posts can often still be recovered through discovery.
We have seen divorces derailed by: a photo of a vacation taken while claiming financial hardship, a post about a new relationship while the divorce is pending, a status update expressing anger about the other parent in front of mutual connections, and check-ins at bars or late-night locations used to undermine parenting fitness claims. Anything you post is potentially a piece of evidence in your case.
Waiting Too Long to Get a Lawyer
"I'll get an attorney once things get serious." We hear this constantly — and it is almost always followed by: "I wish I had called sooner." By the time things feel serious, critical decisions have usually already been made. You may have already moved out, signed something, agreed to a temporary arrangement, or said things in text messages that will be used against you.
Florida divorce law is complex and constantly evolving. The 2023 alimony reform, the new 50/50 time-sharing presumption, equitable distribution rules, financial disclosure requirements — these are not things you want to learn about after you have already made irreversible decisions. The cost of not having an attorney in the early stages almost always exceeds the cost of having one.
Being Dishonest on Financial Disclosure
Florida Family Law Rule 12.285 requires both spouses to complete a Financial Affidavit — a sworn, detailed disclosure of all income, assets, debts, and expenses. This is signed under oath. Lying on this document is perjury.
People try to hide assets in divorces more often than you might think — underreporting income, transferring money to family members, hiding cryptocurrency, understating business value. Florida courts have seen it all, and they have the tools to find it all. Bank records, tax returns, business filings, and electronic transactions are all subject to discovery.
When hidden assets are discovered — and they usually are — courts can sanction the dishonest spouse, award the other spouse a larger share of marital assets as a penalty, and in serious cases refer the matter for criminal prosecution.
Making Decisions Based on Emotion Instead of Strategy
Divorce brings out some of the strongest emotions a person can feel — betrayal, grief, anger, fear. Those emotions are valid. But they are terrible guides for legal decision-making.
We see spouses reject perfectly fair settlement offers out of spite. We see parents fight for 100% custody when 70/30 would have served everyone better — and lose to get 40/60. We see people insist on keeping the marital home they cannot afford just because they do not want the other spouse to have it. Every emotionally-driven decision in a divorce costs money — and often costs you something you cannot get back.
A contested divorce driven by emotion can take two or more years and cost tens of thousands of dollars. The same outcome — or a better one — is often achievable in months through strategic negotiation.
Talking to Your Children About the Divorce
Florida courts take parental alienation very seriously — and even well-intentioned conversations with children about the divorce can cross lines that damage your case.
Common mistakes include: telling children details about why the marriage ended, asking children to "choose" where they want to live, making negative comments about the other parent — even subtle ones, using children as messengers between parents, and asking children to keep secrets from the other parent.
Florida Statute § 61.13 requires each parent to support the child's relationship with the other parent. A parent who interferes with that relationship — intentionally or not — faces real legal consequences including reduced time-sharing.
Signing Anything Without a Lawyer Reviewing It First
In an uncontested or amicable divorce, spouses sometimes try to work out an agreement on their own and then just have a judge approve it. This can work — but only if the agreement is actually fair and legally sound. Many people sign agreements they do not fully understand, and discover the consequences years later.
We have seen spouses sign away retirement accounts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars without realizing it. Sign alimony waivers without understanding the 2023 reform that changed what they were entitled to. Agree to parenting plans with vague language that became weapons in future disputes.
Once a Final Judgment is signed by a judge, it is an enforceable court order. Modifying it — especially financial terms — is difficult, expensive, and not always possible.
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Don't Let an Avoidable Mistake Define Your Future
Jennifer Erlinger is a former Assistant State Attorney with 22 years of Florida family law experience. She has helped hundreds of families in Jacksonville avoid exactly these mistakes — and get better outcomes because of it. Your first consultation is completely free. Call today.
Divorce is not something you want to figure out as you go. Every day without proper legal guidance is a day where decisions are being made — by your spouse, by the court, and by circumstances — that affect your future. The earlier you get the right help, the better your outcome. At Erlinger Family Law, we are ready to fight for you from day one.