Florida Form 12.901(a) preparation checklist

Start with the free official form

Florida Courts currently lists Form 12.901(a), dated June 2025, as a petition titled “Joint Petition for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage.” The PDF contains three pages of instructions followed by the three-page petition. Read all six pages before using this checklist.

Source freshness: the Florida Supreme Court has announced family-law form title changes effective October 1, 2026, and stated that the forms remain valid during the transition. Check the current forms index ↗ before starting. Read the official amendment opinion ↗

Read every stated criterion before selecting this petition

The official instructions list circumstances that must all be true for the simplified procedure. They address Florida residence, the spouses’ agreement that the marriage cannot be saved, children and pregnancy, division of assets and liabilities, alimony, waiver of trial and appeal, both signatures, and both spouses attending the final hearing together.

Those are legal and factual determinations. Sun State does not ask screening questions, decide whether the criteria are met, recommend this petition, or direct anyone to use a different petition. If either spouse is uncertain, review the official instructions and seek help before completing the form.

1. Case, residence, and marriage information

Have the basic information you independently intend to enter available:

• Judicial circuit and Florida county
• Case number and division, if assigned
• Petitioner’s and respondent’s full legal names
• Each spouse’s county and state of residence and the date residence there began
• Date and location of the marriage

The official instructions state that residence must be proved to the court and describe several possible forms of evidence, including certain Florida identification or voter records, testimony, or an affidavit. Read the PDF for the complete requirements rather than relying on this summary.

2. Settlement and financial-disclosure selections

The petition presents choices about how the spouses have documented their asset-and-liability agreement and about the financial documents being filed. Before selecting anything, review the displayed language and the referenced forms:

• Whether Form 12.902(f)(3), the marital settlement agreement, is attached or the agreement is not in writing
• Whether financial affidavits are being filed with the petition
• Whether the spouses have executed Form 12.902(k), the joint verified waiver identified by the petition

Sun State does not create an agreement, classify property or debt, decide which financial-disclosure choice applies, or determine whether another document is complete or legally sufficient.

3. Former-name requests

The petition includes optional boxes for either spouse to request restoration of a former name and a blank for that full former name. The software enters only the selection and name supplied by the customer; it does not advise whether to request restoration or determine the legal effect of the request.

4. Contact information and signatures

The petition has separate signature sections for the petitioner and respondent. Each section includes a signing date, signature, printed name, address, city/state/ZIP, telephone number, and email address.

Sun State leaves signing dates, signatures, and the nonlawyer-assistance section blank. Both spouses remain responsible for reading the completed petition and following the official signing instructions.

5. Filing materials and the final hearing

The official instructions discuss steps beyond filling the petition. Before filing, review the clerk’s current local instructions and organize the materials the official PDF identifies, which may include:

• The completed joint petition and a copy for the spouses’ records
• The chosen documentation concerning the marital settlement
• The selected financial-disclosure documents
• Evidence of Florida residence described in the instructions
• A Family Court Cover Sheet, Form 12.928
• The filing fee or an application for civil indigent status
• The Final Judgment of Simplified Dissolution of Marriage, Form 12.990(a), if the local court instructs the spouses to bring it

The instructions state that both spouses must attend the simplified-dissolution final hearing at the same time. Hearing scheduling and document practices can depend on the jurisdiction, so confirm the current process with the clerk or court.

Complete the petition the spouses already selected

The official blank PDF is free. Sun State’s optional $29 self-service software transfers customer-supplied entries into its configured Form 12.901(a) and delivers editable, print, and unchanged blank PDFs. It does not screen for eligibility, select filing choices, prepare signatures, file documents, or review the petition for legal sufficiency.

Official information and independent help