Mexico Beach, FL Divorce Law Firms & Lawyers

This is a tricky case.  If your child has been in Colombia for the past three (3) years as well, the State of Florida may not take jurisdiction of your case as it could argue that Colombia has jurisdiction.  However, I would advise to file the case in Florida as it appears that Florida would at least have jurisdiciton to dissolve the marriage.  Additionally, the fact that the child is a US citizen (and presumably not a citizen of Colombia) the Court may be inclined to exercise jurisdiction to attempt to compel the child to be returned to the US.  This could be a relatively complex case and require significant legal efforts.  An attorney would need to go through the very specific facts of your case in order to best prepare a plan to procure a divorce and establish time-sharing between you and your child. The international jurisdiction issues aside though, there is no requirement that the other party sign an agreement.  It takes two (2) people to get married, but it only takes one (1) person to get divorced.  The problems lie in your ability to convince a local court to the settle the issues regarding your child.  

  The United States courts recognize divorces from other countries, so the divorce would be "valid" in Miami, FL. You do not need to register it for it to be valid. UNLESS, you are trying to pursue some sort of relief from the FL courts with regards to the divorce decree. Than you would need to domesticate the foreign judgment (divorce) and proceed from there depending on the relief you are seeking. It is a technical and complicated matter and I would suggest you retain an attorney for this process.       Best of Luck,   Helena Y. Farber, Esq. ~Associate Attorney~   Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.