FL Family Law Board Cert study plan

FL Family Law Board Cert · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Marital and Family Law

Map the full Florida Bar marital and family law subject outline into a single weighted checklist, assigning each sub-area a priority tier based on tested frequency and your own baseline confidence.
Draft a one-page hierarchy chart of Florida dissolution procedure from petition through final judgment, including service, answer, counterpetition, and default paths.
Compile the controlling statutes and rules for dissolution and support into a personal citation index with section numbers only, no case holdings yet.
Time yourself on 25 mixed family law multiple-choice questions to establish a baseline accuracy percentage by sub-area.

A weighted subject-outline checklist with a documented baseline accuracy score for each sub-area.

Week 2

Distinguish marital from non-marital property under Florida equitable distribution principles, and write rule statements for the presumption of marital property and its rebuttal.
Analyze how courts treat commingled accounts, premarital contributions, and enhancements in value, drafting a short outline of the tracing burden.
Identify the statutory factors governing distribution and practice applying them to three hypothetical fact patterns.
Explain the treatment of a marital home, retirement accounts, and business interests in a distribution scheme.

A distribution outline with factor-by-factor rule statements tested against three written hypotheticals.

Week 3

Draft the alimony framework: identify each alimony type, its statutory prerequisites, and the factors courts weigh, then write a comparison table.
Apply the durational limits and the bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative, and durational distinctions to four short scenarios and predict outcomes.
Summarize modification and termination rules, including cohabitation and retirement as grounds, and note the standard of review.
Compute a rough support figure using the child support guidelines worksheet on a sample income fact pattern.

An alimony comparison table plus a completed child support guidelines worksheet with a written rationale for each input.

Week 4

Outline child custody and timesharing law, including the statutory best-interest factors and the public policy favoring frequent contact with both parents.
Diagram the relocation statute's notice, objection, and burden-shifting steps, and draft the rule statement for the governing standard.
Explain how parenting plans are structured and what a court requires before modifying a timesharing arrangement.
Complete a 50-question mixed assessment covering weeks 1 through 4 and log every miss by sub-area.

A relocation and timesharing flowchart plus a scored 50-question assessment with a categorized error log.

Week 5

Draft the marital settlement agreement anatomy: identify required provisions, waivers, and enforceability requirements, and list common drafting defects.
Compare the enforcement routes for support orders and property awards, distinguishing contempt from other remedies and noting their limits.
Outline the domestic violence injunction process, including petition, temporary and final hearing timelines, and the effect on family law cases.
Summarize jurisdiction and venue rules for family cases, including the uniform child custody jurisdiction framework and continuing exclusive jurisdiction.

A settlement agreement checklist and an enforcement remedies matrix distinguishing available relief by order type.

Week 6

Synthesize attorney's fees, costs, and ethical duties in family law, including confidentiality, conflicts, and candor obligations.
Outline paternity establishment, legitimation, and their effect on support and timesharing rights.
Review adoption and assisted reproduction basics at a survey level, writing short rule statements for the key statutory requirements.
Answer 40 practice questions under timed conditions and record accuracy by sub-area.

A one-page ethics and fees quick-reference sheet plus a timed 40-question score report.

Week 7

Write full essay-style answers to three practice family law prompts under exam time constraints, then self-grade against a rubric you construct.
Revise your weakest three sub-areas from the error log by rewriting rule statements in your own words.
Build a one-page condensed rule sheet capturing every statute, standard, and factor you have struggled to recall.
Recite your rule sheet from memory twice and mark each item you could not reproduce.

Three timed essay answers with self-graded rubrics and a marked-up condensed rule sheet.

Week 8

Run two full-length simulated exams under real timing and score each by sub-area.
Review every missed item and convert each into a flashcard or rule-sheet addition.
Rehearse the condensed rule sheet until you can reconstruct it from memory without prompts.
Draft a final-week review schedule that targets only your lowest-scoring sub-areas.

Two scored full-length simulations with a final remediation plan targeting the three lowest sub-areas.

Week 2: You can state the marital property presumption and its rebuttal, and apply the distribution factors to a new hypothetical without notes.

Week 4: You score at least 70 percent on the 50-question mixed assessment and your error log shows no sub-area below 60 percent.

Week 6: You score at least 75 percent on the timed 40-question set and can recite the relocation burden-shifting steps from memory.

Week 8: You score at least 80 percent on both full-length simulations and can reconstruct the condensed rule sheet unaided.