Child Custody and Time-Sharing in Florida

 

If you recently went through a divorce, the idea of child custody may be daunting. It is a complicated bit of law and deals with some difficult subjects for every family. You should, of course, retain the help of a lawyer, but if you want to get a little information for yourself, here is what you should know.

Time-sharing

The first thing to know about child custody in Florida is that there is no such thing. It is called time-sharing, meaning neither you nor the other parent will have custody of your children. You will, instead, share your child’s time as the court decides is best. The way their time is divided will depend on the court’s decision on your parenting plan.

Parenting Plan

The parenting plan for your child can be mutually agreed upon or it can be decided upon by the court. Because custody is not a concept that’s applied in Florida, you are granted more flexibility in how your child’s time is allocated. If you are agreeing upon your plan without the help of a judge, it is important to get the help of a lawyer. An amicable divorce is a great start, but creating a parenting plan that covers all the details is a task best handled by an expert.

If you leave it up to a judge to decide they will look at your case holistically and make a decision they believe is in the best interest of your child. The things they may consider includes, but is not limited to:

·         your involvement in your child’s life; including education, sports, medical care, etc.

·         your commitment to cultivating an amicable relationship with the other parent

·         the appropriateness of your home for children; sleeping arrangements, child-proofing, age-appropriate toys

·         proven ability to deliver on temporary parenting plans or previous parenting plans, if any history of childcare

Visitation

Because Florida law does not include the concept of custody, there is also no such thing as visitation. The parenting plan may outline something similar to visitation, but in the past, special kinds of visitation such as supervised visitation have only been included in extreme cases.

Child Support

Child support is calculated by a number of factors including income, health insurance, childcare costs. This is done with the Florida Child Support Calculator. Though it cannot guarantee an accurate result, this calculator should give you some idea of what kind of payments you will be making. The amount of child support you pay will of course depend on what percentage of the time-sharing is yours.

Temporary Orders

While your divorce is being finalized and the parenting plan is being decided upon, there will be temporary orders put in place. It is especially important to follow these guidelines carefully if you believe your child custody case will go to court. If you prove your ability to follow these temporary rules, the courts will likely look favorably.

Modification

Once a parenting plan has been established, it becomes significantly more difficult to change the way your child’s care is handled. This is why it’s important to get a lawyer’s help; they will work to ensure your parenting plan is right for your situation. If you do need to make a modification, you will need to prove that there is a reason the change is necessary. You will be asked to prove that the child’s situation is significantly different than when the parenting plan was established.