March 8, 2008

Florida's Parent Education Class: Do I Have to Go?

Florida courts require divorcing couples with children take a class about children and divorce, so the answer is yes if you have children. The Family Division clerks in my area tell me they get many questions about the class, so we'll have a brief run-down on "the class."

First, if you have children, you must take the class. It's the law.

Second, there are many providers of the class. If the class is a DCF-approved 4 hour class, it meets the requirement. We provide the class online.

Third, although the class is available online, be aware that some judges require in-person attendance. Clay, Duvall, Hillsborough and Collier counties are notorious for banning online classes, but individual judges in other areas may also require in-person attendance.

You need to ask about the policy of your judge with respect to online classes. You can check the judge's page on the court website for instructions. Many post specific instructions and you should definitely be familiar with those instructions. If there is no information on the website, you should contact the judge's judicial assistant whose number is listed in the blue pages of the phone book.

Next time we will answer questions
asked by pro se parties this week about the parent education class.

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