Lake County Family Court: how, where and when to do each step

Where family cases are filed in Lake County

Lake County belongs to the Fifth Judicial Circuit (with Marion, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando). Every family case in the county, whether you live in Clermont, Leesburg, Eustis, Mount Dora or Groveland, is handled in one place:

• Lake County Courthouse, 550 W. Main Street, Tavares, FL 32778. The Clerk's family office (Domestic Relations) and the injunctions office are in the East Wing. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone (352) 742-4100.
• Free parking in the garage at 200 N. Sinclair Ave. (7-foot clearance).
• Online: with or without a lawyer, you can file through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (myflcourtaccess.com).
• The building has security screening; allow extra time and bring photo ID.

What it costs to open a case

Fees are statewide: about $408 for a divorce, $300 for paternity, custody or child support without a divorce, $10 per summons and about $50 to reopen a case for a modification. Protective injunctions are free. If you can't pay, ask the Clerk for the indigency application; if approved, you pay no filing fee or circuit mediation.

The basic steps of a family case

1. Petition with the cover sheet, notice of related cases, social security notice and, with children, the UCCJEA affidavit. Lake also has its own affidavit of residency form to prove the six months in Florida.
2. Service by the sheriff or a process server, or voluntary acceptance. The other side has 20 days to answer.
3. Mandatory disclosure: financial affidavit and Rule 12.285 documents within 45 days.
4. Standing orders: when a family case is opened in the Fifth Circuit, both parties are automatically bound by a standing order (one version for cases with children, another without) that prohibits, among other things, taking the children out of state, emptying accounts or cancelling insurance while the case is pending. Read it: violating it is contempt.
5. Parenting course, mediation and hearings.
6. Final judgment, never sooner than 20 days after the divorce petition is filed.

No lawyer? The Family Self-Help Office

In Lake, self-help comes from the court, not the Clerk, through Family Court Case Management:

• Where: fifth floor, East Wing of the Lake County Judicial Center, 550 W. Main Street, Tavares.
• Walk-in hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. Phone (352) 742-4301 (leave a message and they call back). There's also an online inquiry form at circuit5.org.
• What they do: explain the procedure, give you the checklists for each case type (divorce with and without children, paternity, name change, temporary custody by a relative, stepparent adoption, modifications, contempt) and review your file to tell you what's missing before the final hearing.
• What they don't do: legal advice, or fill out the forms for you.
• Forms are free at flcourts.gov; the Clerk sells printed packets.
• Free legal help: Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida serves Lake: (800) 405-1417.

The parenting course

In every divorce with minor children and every paternity case where parental responsibility is decided, each parent must complete the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the final judgment. It's a minimum of 4 hours, can be taken online, in English or Spanish with any provider approved by the Department of Children and Families (myflfamilies.com), and the certificate is filed in the case.

Mediation: how it works in Lake

In the Fifth Circuit, family mediation requires a judge's order: without an Order for Mediation the office won't schedule anything.

• Requirements: an open case, a financial affidavit from both parties filed within the last 12 months, and the referral order (requested by motion; the order form is at circuit5.org).
• Court program: available if combined annual income is under $100,000. Scheduled by emailing lakemediation@circuit5.org with a copy of the order. Sessions are held at the Tavares Judicial Center or by video conference.
• Cost: based on combined income, on the state's usual scale ($60 per person per session under $50,000 and $120 above); free if indigent. Confirm the amount when scheduling.
• Over $100,000 combined, you must hire a certified private mediator.

How you get a hearing

• Without a lawyer: once the file is complete, the Self-Help Office reviews it and the case moves to the final hearing; the court mails you the notice with date, time and how to appear. Go to the fifth-floor office when you think you've filed everything: they confirm.
• With a lawyer or for motions: hearings are coordinated with the division's judicial assistant, by email, using the judge's available dates and after conferring with the other side. Each Lake judge publishes their own instructions at circuit5.org; check them.
• Virtual: the Fifth Circuit holds many family hearings on Zoom, especially short ones. Your notice says whether it's virtual or in person and includes the link.
• Magistrates: some matters (child support, contempt, temporary relief) are heard by a general magistrate instead of the judge; you'll receive an order of referral and can object.

Interpreter: in family cases the court normally does not provide a Spanish interpreter; bring a qualified one. In protective injunction cases it does.

Uncontested divorce: the final hearing

If both sides signed the marital settlement agreement (and the parenting plan if there are children): complete the file per the checklist (answer or waiver, financial affidavits, certificates of disclosure and of the parenting course, agreement, parenting plan and child support worksheet), ask the Self-Help Office to review it, and the court sets a short final hearing, often on Zoom. The simplified dissolution (no minor children, no pregnancy, full agreement) is filed with both spouses present before the Clerk.

Child support

• Cases opened by the Department of Revenue (DOR) are heard by a child support hearing officer, not the family judge. DOR's statewide line: (850) 488-5437.
• In a divorce or paternity case, support is calculated with the Florida guidelines and decided by the judge or magistrate.
• Payments go through the State Disbursement Unit.
• If you got a license suspension notice, the window to object is short.

Use our child support estimator to know what to expect, and read how Florida child support is calculated.

Protective injunctions (domestic violence)

• Where: the Clerk's Injunctions / Domestic Violence office, Lake County Courthouse, 550 W. Main Street, Tavares, East Wing, third floor. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone (352) 742-6625.
• Cost: none. Staff help you with the petition and take it to the judge the same day.
• What happens next: if there's merit, the judge signs a temporary order; the other person must be served in person by the sheriff. The hearing is set within 15 days; if you don't show up, the order is dismissed.
• Help: Haven of Lake & Sumter Counties offers advocates, shelter and court accompaniment. If you're in immediate danger, call 911.

Practical tips for court day

• Use the free Sinclair Avenue garage and allow 15 minutes for building security.
• If the hearing is on Zoom, log in 10 minutes early, from a quiet place, camera on and microphone muted until you're called.
• Bring copies of any document you want to show; for virtual hearings, send them ahead per the judge's instructions.
• Keep your address current with the Clerk; notices go to the address in the file.

How we can help

We handle family cases in Tavares and all of Lake County, in English and Spanish: divorce, child custody, child support, mediation representation and other family law services. Start with a free 15-minute call; a longer or in-person consultation costs $150.

Luis A. Morales has been a lawyer since 2001, is admitted in Florida and Puerto Rico, and handles each case personally from Orlando, 45 minutes from Tavares.

Frequently asked questions