How Florida Talks About “Custody”

Florida law no longer uses the words “custody” or “visitation.” Instead, the law focuses on parental responsibility, which is the authority to make major decisions about a child’s welfare, and time-sharing, which is the schedule that determines when the child is with each parent. These are addressed together in a parenting plan.

Parental Responsibility vs. Time-Sharing

Parental responsibility concerns decision-making over matters such as education, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Florida courts favor shared parental responsibility unless shared decision-making would harm the child. Time-sharing is about the actual schedule of where the child lives and spends time. A parent can have significant time-sharing even where decision-making is shared.

The Rebuttable Presumption of 50/50 Time-Sharing

Florida law now begins with a presumption that equal, 50/50 time-sharing is in the best interests of the child. This is a rebuttable presumption, meaning a parent can overcome it with evidence that an equal schedule would not serve the child’s best interests. The court then crafts a schedule based on the specific facts of your family.

The Best-Interest Factors

When establishing or modifying time-sharing, Florida courts evaluate the best interests of the child under the factors in section 61.13 of the Florida Statutes. These include each parent’s ability to provide a consistent routine, the moral fitness and health of each parent, the child’s home and school stability, each parent’s willingness to support a close relationship with the other parent, any history of domestic violence, and the reasonable preference of a sufficiently mature child.

Parenting Plans

Every Florida case involving minor children requires a parenting plan approved by the court. It describes how parents share daily tasks, sets the time-sharing schedule, identifies who is responsible for healthcare and school matters, and explains how the parents will communicate. Parents are encouraged to agree on a plan, often with help from mediation; if they cannot, the court will establish one.

Modifying an Existing Order

To modify a time-sharing schedule or parenting plan, a parent generally must show a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances, and that the modification is in the child’s best interests. Relocation with a child more than a set distance away has its own specific legal requirements.

This page provides general information and is not legal advice.