James B. Jett
Clay County Clerk of the Circuit Court

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Family Law

Family Law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:

• the nature of marriage;
• issues arising throughout marriage, including spousal abuse, legitimacy, adoption, surrogacy, child abuse and child abduction;
• the termination of the relationship and ancillary matters including divorce, annulment, property settlements, alimony and parental responsibility orders (child custody and visitation, child support and alimony awards).

Marriage

Under Florida law, Florida does not recognize “Common Law” marriages, nor marriages between persons of the same sex. For purposes of interpreting any state statute or rule, the term “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the term “spouse” applies only to a member of such a union. For a marriage to be valid, the persons to be married must receive a marriage license from either a county court judge or clerk of the circuit court within sixty days before getting married; and the person solemnizing the marriage shall forward the certificate to the office of the circuit court that issued the license within ten days.

Complete information on obtaining a marriage license and getting married in Florida are on the Marriage License" page.