**** THIS INFORMATION IS OUT OF DATE. THE LAW CHANGED ON JULY 1, 2023 – UPDATE COMING SOON ****
As of July 1, 2023, Time Sharing and Visitation in Florida was altered when the Florida Statutes created a rebuttable presumption that a minor child would spend 50% of their time with each parent. This does not mean that a child is required to spend 50% of their time with each parent. It does mean that one parent will have to have a very good reason to reduce the other parent’s time with the child below 50% if the other parent wants 50% of the time with the child.
For example, you are not required to give a drug addicted parent 50% of the time sharing. It is important that you consult with an experienced attorney about involving time sharing and visitation in Florida.
Specifically, the revised statute states: “Unless otherwise provided for in the section or agreed to by the parties, there is a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the best interests of the minor child. To rebut this presumption, a party must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the best interests of the minor child.”
Factors for Determining Time Sharing and Visitation in Florida
The Florida Statutes no longer use the terms “child custody” and “visitation”. As of October 1, 2008, the law replaced the term “visitation” with “time sharing.” A time sharing schedule (a Parenting Plan) sets out the time that each parent will spend with their child.
Under the prior versions of the Florida Statutes, the visitation and custody provision of a final judgment would only take up a few sentences in the average final judgment. Those subjects are now addressed in a document called a Parenting Plan under the current law and is about 15 pages. The purpose of the larger document is to more specifically set out each parties responsibilities in order to minimize future litigation.
In general, the child’s time is divided into the following periods:
- Normal school year,
- Winter/Christmas Break
- Spring Break
- Summer Break
- Other holidays (Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Memorial Day, Halloween,….)
The following are some of the additional issues that are required to be decided in a Parenting Plan:
- How the parents discuss the time sharing (phone, email, text message,…)
- How the parent and child communicate when not together (phone, email, text message, Skype, FaceTime,….)
- Which parent makes the specific decisions for medical treatment, education, or discipline.
- Notification time table for out-of-state or international travel
- Which parent’s home address is to be used for public school enrollment (even if the child attends private school)
The terms of the Parenting Plan represent minimum amount of time that the minority time sharing parent may see the child. A minority time sharing parent is always allowed to ask for more time. Also, and very importantly, you are free to deviate from the terms of the Parenting Plan, so long as both parents agree to the deviation.
Careful attention needs to be paid to the time sharing schedule because of it’s impact on the Child Support Guidelines. The more nights the minority time sharing parent spend with the child (in excess of 73 nights per year), the lower the child support obligation. Each additional night will slightly lower the child support. It is very common for there to be such a reduction.
When determining a time sharing schedule, the judge starts with the assumption that it is in the child’s best interests to spend substantial time with both parents. However, this is not always the case.
The terms “sole custody” and “joint custody” have been renamed “parental responsibility.” Shared parental responsibility refers to the joint decision-making authority that most parents exercise – even those that are divorced. These decisions include: medical care, religious training, extracurricular activities, disciplinary matters, etc. When only one parent makes the decisions, they are said to have sole parental responsibility. Generally, the courts award sole parental responsibility only where the other parent is unable to exercise any authority due to addiction, incarceration, or other such situations.
Failure to agree on a time sharing schedule is one of the major reasons that cases become contested and go to trial (with the associated increase in cost). You should contact an contact an experienced time sharing attorney if you anticipate such problems in your case. If you and the other parent agree on the terms of the Parenting Plan, then you are much closer to being able to get an uncontested divorce or an uncontested paternity order.
