Old “Custody and Visitation” vs. the Parenting Plan – Newer Florida Laws

In Florida child custody and visitation do not exist in the laws now, per se. In legislation which became effective October 1, 2008 in the Florida Statutes, the term “child custody” was replaced with the term “parenting plan” and “visitation” replaced with a “timesharing schedule” within the plan. The law requires all divorcing couples (or unmarried separated parents) who have a minor child(ren) to establish a parenting plan which is an agreement and/or court order that determines: Parental Responsibility; Timesharing Schedules; Child Support; and any other issues regarding the children. In almost all cases it ensures the child will continue to have frequent and continuing contact with both parents during and after the dissolution of marriage or unmarried paternity case, which is the public policy of Florida. Both parents will have “timesharing” with the child(ren) no matter how little or big their share of time is. Now no parent has “custody” in Florida.

Two Parts of Child “Custody” in the Parenting Plan

In Florida, the old prior term “child custody” now comes in essentially two parts in the Parenting Plan: Parental Responsibility and the Timesharing Schedule.

1. Parental Responsibility

Parental Responsibility refers to a parent’s right to make the important decisions regarding a child’s health, education, religion, and general welfare. The law says the court shall order shared parental responsibility in all cases unless shared would be a detriment to the child. Shared means both parents must jointly agree together on all the important decisions regarding the child. If one parent is a detriment or danger to the child the court may order sole parental responsibility in rare cases, meaning one parent makes all the decisions without having to consult the other. Under shared, if the parents cannot agree on an important issue the solution is to have the court decide. This can be burdensome, so the court can order that one parent has ultimate decision making authority over certain issues of the child if the parents cannot agree, saving time, money, and court hearings. The court may divide the various responsibilities between the parents under shared/ultimate.

2. Timesharing (and its Effects on Decision Making and Child Support)

Timesharing determines where, when, and with whom the child resides at various times or days. The timesharing schedule is generally unrelated to the parental responsibility determination. A parent cannot decide to exclude the other parent’s opinion and consent on the important decisions for the child just because that parent has the large majority of the timesharing of the child. The timesharing schedule can be anything from 50-50 to “5-95”. All parents who are not a danger or detriment to their child will have some timesharing time with their child if they want it. The court can order no timesharing for a parent (0-100) if they are a danger or detriment to the child, but usually that parent will have supervised timesharing unless they are some extreme danger to the child. In Florida the law states that the father and mother start off with an equal opportunity to have the timesharing they desire and the court is prohibited from favoring the mother more than the father. The court then goes down a list of twenty factors to determine the timesharing schedule (and parenting plan) and determine what is best for the child if the case goes to trial.

When determining the physical timesharing schedule of the child, it is important to consider the parents’ work schedules, school or daycare schedule, distance between the parents’ homes, moral fitness of each parent, how much each parent acts on the needs of the child and communicates with the other parent and allows the other parent to be involved with the child, and most importantly the best interests of the child. The court will generally consider the child’s best interests as the primary consideration in timesharing/parenting plan decisions, although best interests are determined by a list of twenty factors in the law. The court can now consider equal timesharing (50-50) much more than they could before the new law was passed.

Child support is determined by the timesharing schedule and both parties’ net incomes. The requirement to pay child support and the interference with the timesharing schedule by the other parent are two separate issues and does not authorize either parent to reduce support or timesharing based on the actions of the other parent. The solution is to go to court for enforcement or contempt, or to file a petition to modify the parenting-timesharing plan or child support. All these issues can be complex and complicated and an experienced attorney can help you decide how to resolve any issues regarding your children and the other parent.