How Child Custody Works in Florida
Florida resolves custody through two separate determinations: parental responsibility, which concerns the major decisions about a child, and time-sharing, which concerns the child’s schedule. A court decides each according to the child’s best interest. The sections below explain how those determinations work, and a Tampa child custody lawyer can apply them to your situation.
Florida Does Not Use the Word Custody
Florida removed the term custody from its statutes years ago and divided the concept into two parts. Parental responsibility concerns who makes the major decisions in a child’s life, such as those involving schooling, healthcare, and religion. Time-sharing concerns where the child spends time, which was formerly described as physical custody. Most orders address both, and the two need not align. One parent may have more time while both parents continue to share decision-making authority.
Shared Versus Sole Parental Responsibility
Florida begins from the position that both parents should share the major decisions. Courts order shared parental responsibility in most cases, meaning the parents confer and reach those decisions together. Sole parental responsibility is the exception. A court orders it when shared decision-making would be detrimental to the child, often in matters involving abuse, neglect, or a parent who cannot be located. Even then, the other parent may retain time-sharing.
Time-Sharing and the 50-50 Presumption
This area of Florida law changed significantly. Effective July 1, 2023, section 61.13 of the Florida Statutes established a rebuttable presumption that equal, 50-50 time-sharing serves a child’s best interest. Both parents now begin the case as equals. A parent who believes an equal schedule is not appropriate carries the burden of proving so by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the parent must show that it is more likely than not that a different schedule serves the child better. The schedule itself is set out in a Florida parenting plan that establishes the calendar, the holidays, and the exchanges.
How Judges Decide the Child’s Best Interest
When parents cannot agree, the court weighs a series of statutory factors and must record its reasoning in writing. Those factors include each parent’s history of involvement, the stability of each home, the child’s school and community ties, each parent’s moral fitness and mental and physical health, and each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. The shift toward equal time-sharing has made these cases particularly significant for fathers, and a Clearwater child custody lawyer or a fathers’ rights attorney in Tampa can help develop the record the court requires.
Changing a Custody Order Later
A custody order is not permanent. When circumstances change substantially, you may ask the court to revisit it. The guide on modifying custody and support orders explains what qualifies as a substantial and material change and how the courts address a parent who wishes to relocate with the children.
The McKinney Law Group assists parents throughout Tampa Bay in protecting their time and their role in their children’s lives. Consult a St. Petersburg family lawyer experienced in these matters, and contact our office to schedule a consultation regarding your situation.