Divorce and family court — Indian River County, Florida

Divorce, paternity, custody and support cases from every part of Indian River County, Sebastian and Fellsmere included, are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court Domestic Relations Department in Room 136 of the Vero Beach courthouse.

The department sits at 2000 16th Avenue, Room 136, Vero Beach, and answers at (772) 226-3100 (Clerk divorce page). Its pages split the family docket into divorce, custody by a family member, alimony and child support, and paternity, each with its own packets, and every packet page posts an Application for Civil Indigency for filers who cannot pay. The judges who decide these cases belong to the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, which also serves Martin, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties (Nineteenth Circuit Self-Help FAQ).

Residence is the first gate for a divorce. Under section 61.021, a divorce requires that one of the spouses have lived in the state for 6 months before filing (section 61.021, Florida Statutes), and the Vero Beach Clerk repeats the rule as at least 6 months immediately prior to filing.

Opening a divorce at the Vero Beach courthouse costs $408.00, or $418.00 with a summons, while paternity and family custody cases cost $300.00 and changes to an existing order cost $50.00.

At the Vero Beach courthouse, the paternity packet is meant for a parent seeking to establish paternity, time-sharing and child support, and carries a $300.00 fee, $310.00 with a summons (Clerk paternity page). The custody packet serves a grandparent, aunt, uncle, adult sibling or other relative within the third degree who wants temporary custody of a child, at the same $300.00 and $310.00 (Clerk custody page). The general fee schedule adds $295.00 for a counter petition and $50.00 for a motion reopening a case (Clerk fee schedule).

Families from Fellsmere to Vero Beach who already hold a court order use three $50.00 packets to change support, parental responsibility or a parent's home base, and a no-fee contempt packet to enforce the order.

The modification of parental responsibility packet asks the court to change residential designation, time sharing and other relief in an existing order or judgment, and the relocation packet asks permission to move more than fifty (50) miles; each costs $50.00, or $60.00 with a summons, at the Vero Beach Clerk (Clerk divorce page).

Support changes run through the Modification of Support packet at the same price, and the Clerk of the Circuit Court charges nothing to file a Motion for Contempt asking the court to enforce an existing order (Clerk alimony and child support page). The support page also posts two license packets: a Petition to Contest Suspension of License, used only within 20 days of the mailing date on a notice of delinquency and listed with no filing fee, and a Petition to Reinstate License for a license or registration already suspended for unpaid support, for which no fee is stated.

Cases enforced by the Department of Revenue use a separate request, Form B, for a hearing in an open child support enforcement case (Clerk support page), while Form A lets a party already in a Vero Beach case ask its status, request a hearing date or tell the case manager about new filings (Clerk paternity page).

An uncontested divorce filed in Vero Beach typically reaches a final hearing in about 90 days, and state law sets a 20-day floor and a 45-day deadline for the parenting course when children are involved.

The Vero Beach Clerk puts the floor for an uncontested divorce at 90 days and says contested cases run longer (Clerk divorce page), and the Nineteenth Circuit says most uncontested cases, where both sides sign and file an agreement resolving every issue, are set for a final hearing within 90 days of filing (Nineteenth Circuit Self-Help FAQ). Section 61.19 forbids a final judgment until at least 20 days after the petition is filed unless delay would cause injustice (section 61.19, Florida Statutes).

Parents in a Vero Beach or Sebastian divorce with minor children, and in paternity cases that decide parental responsibility, must finish the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before a final judgment (section 61.21, Florida Statutes). The course runs at least 4 hours; the petitioner completes it within 45 days after filing and the other parties within 45 days after service, unless the court excuses them, and each side files proof before judgment.

Mediation is part of the circuit process for Vero Beach and Sebastian families. Both parties file a Financial Affidavit first, and when their combined gross annual income is less than $100,000.00 the case manager may refer the case to the Nineteenth Circuit Mediation Program, which schedules the session once the judge signs the order (Nineteenth Circuit Self-Help FAQ). After judgment, magistrates may hear post-judgment family cases, but only with the consent of all parties, and a written objection to a referral is due within 10 days of service of the referral order.

Child support and alimony in Indian River County flow through the State Disbursement Unit in Tallahassee, though payers may also pay in person at the Vero Beach courthouse with cash or a card.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court states that Florida created the State Disbursement Unit in 1994 and that Indian River County contracts with it to collect and disburse all support, alimony, other maintenance and fees (Clerk alimony and child support page). Mailed payments go to P.O. 8500, Tallahassee, FL 32314-8500, with both parties' names, the case number, a social security number and the ordering county. At 2000 16th Avenue the Clerk accepts cash, credit and debit cards for support but does not accept money orders or personal checks; phone payments run through N-Court at 877-794-0052.

The 4 percent payment fee, capped at $5.25, appears in the Family Services Division of the Clerk fee schedule (Clerk fee schedule). Recipients outside a Department of Revenue case can sign the Clerk's direct deposit form, and the five most recent payments can be checked online with a social security number and the Vero Beach case number (Clerk support page).

Procedural help with family forms is available at the Clerk of the Circuit Court Self-Help Center at the Vero Beach courthouse, which also schedules low-cost attorney consultations and keeps kiosks in Sebastian and Fellsmere.

Family Law is the first of the center's three subjects, and it helps people purchase, complete and submit family forms, explains court process, and books cost-effective attorney consultations without acting as anyone's lawyer (Self-Help Center). Calls go to 772-226-3162 with Spanish spoken. The courthouse desk at 2000 16th Ave. keeps weekday hours of 8:30 to 4:30 with a 1:00 to 2:00 closure, and kiosks stand at the Up Center on 27th Street in Vero Beach, the Sebastian Office on U.S. 1 and Fellsmere City Hall on S. Orange St.

Each of the Clerk's family pages links four self-represented litigant videos, covering a portal account request, do-it-yourself documents, new cases and filings into existing cases, so a filer in Gifford or Vero Lake Estates can start a Vero Beach family case online (Clerk custody page). Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Domestic Relations pages of the Indian River County Clerk of the Circuit Court.