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How to Calculate and Modify Child Support: A Practical Guide for Parents

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Child support, in the eyes of the public, has generated myth, speculation, and a lot of misunderstanding. Some see it as something that is guaranteed to bankrupt them, others see it as a system that does not require paying parents to pay enough, and facing divorce, many parents are genuinely worried about what their child support payment might be.

Child Support is a Formula

The first thing to remember about child support is that it is a formula. That means that there is not a lot of argument about how much ends up being paid. So, why is there all the fighting over child support? It is because the formula is based on two things that parents or ex-spouses generally fight about: How much money each parent makes and how much time each parent will have with the children.

As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out,” which, here, means that if a parent’s income is inaccurate, underestimated, or overinflated, so too will the child support payment be an amount that parents are dissatisfied with.

Total Support for the Children

There is no shortage of law that says how a parent’s income is counted, and what part of income is counted for the purpose of child support, but the first thing to understand is how the formula itself works.

The first question to ask, when calculating child support, is how much total do the children need to maintain their basic needs? These numbers are provided in the Florida child support guidelines.

These guidelines total the income of both parents, and from that number, determine how much the child or children will need for their support. While some deviation is possible, this total number is set in the law and can be found here. As you may imagine, the total amount of support is more or less, depending on how much the parents’ combined incomes actually are.

Determining Income

That entails a determination of what the parents’ incomes are.  In cases where parents make a consistent, steady income, that may be quite straightforward. In other cases, where parents may be self-employed, have more sporadic incomes, or where job history is inconstant or unstable, that may be more difficult—this is often where parents allege the other is “hiding money.”

Even once you agree on how much each parent makes, not all income is counted—it is net, not gross income, that is used for child support purposes, and the law allows certain deductions to see what that net income figure is. 

Each Parent’s Share

Assuming there is some agreement on how much both parents earn, and thus, how much total support the children need, the formula then calculates how much of that total support number each parent should be made to pay. 

To do that, the formula takes into account the percentage of the total combined incomes that both parents earn. For example, if the guidelines say that a child should receive $1,000 per month, and each parent has equal income, each parent’s share is 50% or $500.

From there, the formula calculates the overnights that each parent has with the child. Parents will pay child support based on the percentage of overnights that they have the child. Of course, practically, both parents do not actually pay—only one will pay: the parent who, after the calculations, makes more money or else who has the child more overnights. The formula takes into account how much the nonpaying parent should contribute, and reduces the paying parent’s payment accordingly.

This is why many timesharing battles happen in divorces. Whereas normally the parents may be agreeable, and may even want the same timesharing schedule, sometimes a parent, knowing that more time with their children reduces their child support obligation, will seek more time with the children for that reason. It is also important to note that when it comes to timesharing, and how it raises or lowers your child support obligation, it is overnights that count—not time spent during the day.

Payments for things like health insurance, medical or dental expenses, medicines, or child care costs are also calculated, and parents may receive more support or have to pay less support than they normally would if they are already paying some of these expenses.

Deviating From the Number

Once you reach a final support number, the judge can deviate from the child support, but only by 5%, and parents cannot agree to have no child support paid. In fact, any agreement for child support must be approved by the judge. While parents can, of course, agree on child support at mediation or some other collaborative process, that decision is pending the judge’s approval.

If child support sounds complex, it is because it can be. That is why it is best to see a good child support attorney to get an estimate of your support obligations, instead of trying to figure it all out on your own.

Modifying Your Support

If you have young children, you can expect to pay or receive support for many years. During that time, life and your financial picture may change. Parents do have a right to modify child support, but that requires a showing that any change in financial circumstances is significant and permanent. The changed financial situation cannot be of your own making. In other words, you cannot voluntarily resign, or quit your job, or switch to a lower-paying job, just to get your child support lowered.

Many people make the mistake of, when facing dire financial problems, simply stopping or lowering support payments. But even if your financial situation should change legitimately and honestly and permanently, you still must get a court order agreeing to modify or lower child support; you cannot just decide on your own to do it. 

Contact us for help and to get information on what you can expect in your divorce case, or with your child support obligations. 

And if you found this article helpful, please leave us a review HERE.  

Child Support Essentials: Understanding Your Rights and Responsibilities

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There is an inherent irony in the public perception of child support.

On the one hand, payors (those who have to pay child support to the other parent) sometimes loathe paying child support. Many may see it as a sort of tax, or as “hidden alimony,” or even worse, a way for the other parent to pull money out of the payor parent.

On the other hand, nobody would argue with the fact that children need and deserve to be financially supported by both parents, that raising children is not an inexpensive thing to do, and most parents generally have a desire to support their kids. In fact, words like “deadbeat” and “irresponsible” are often thrown around at those who do not pay what is seen as a fair share of support.

Much of the (more extreme) beliefs on both sides comes from a fundamental misunderstanding about child support, and about the rights and responsibilities of both parents.

Your Responsibility to Manage the Money

Child Expenses

While it may be hard to grasp, given that the child support money is being paid to the other parent, child support is not actually a payment to the other parent, even if it physically goes to him or her—it’s money for the children. 

Think of the parent receiving the child support as a trustee—someone who receives child support, but who distributes and manages it, to offset the expenses related to raising or housing the children.

The Right to Know How the Support Money is Being Used

If you’re the payor parent, you cannot use how child support is being used or not used by the receiving parent as an excuse to not pay the ordered child support amount.

Admittedly, there is no oversight mechanism—nobody audits how the receiving parent uses child support, or verifies that every dollar of child support is used towards the children’s expenses. The receiving parent has no responsibility to show anybody how the support dollars were used. 

The law just assumes that any parent who has the majority of timesharing with the children will have expenses related to those children, and assumes that the child support money, directly or indirectly, is going to help pay for or offset expenses related to the children.

The Right to See the Children 

Many parents believe that if the other parent does not abide by the time-sharing obligations, as set forth in a judgment or mediated time-sharing settlement agreement or in a parenting plan, they do not have to pay child support.

This is not true; child support is not a weapon that can be withheld to coerce the other parent into giving you time-sharing. If you do feel the other parent is depriving you of court-ordered or agreed-upon time-sharing, you can go to court to enforce your right to see the children—but you cannot just unilaterally withhold child support, or use it as punishment to get back at a parent who is preventing you from seeing the children.

The Right to Adequate Child Support

Many parents, when they think of child support, think of how much the children cost or how much the receiving parent will or does need to house, clothe, feed, and take care of the children.

But that’s only part of the equation. Often, children may need more than parents can financially give. That’s why child support is based on a legal formula. Essentially, the Florida legislature has already determined how much in total support children may need. That amount varies based on the combined income of the parents.

There is room for extra payments outside of the base child support—for example, having a parent pay for half, or even all, of medical expenses, or extra curricular activities, tutoring, or counseling, just to name some categories.

So, while you may be the parent with a right to receive child support from the other parent, the amount of that payment is largely predetermined, and based on both parents’ income, as much as it is based on how much your particular children need in your particular lifestyle.

You Have the Right to Agree on the Support Amount (Within Reason)

In divorce cases, you and the other spouse have a right to agree on almost anything that you want to agree on—one benefit of going to a mediation conference or using a collaborative divorce process.

However, when it comes to child support, although you and the other parent can agree on a lower or higher amount, ultimately, it is the judge’s decision to approve the child support. Many judges may be wary of approving agreements that short-charge the children, with a child support obligation that’s less than what the child support formula says it should be.

The Right to Support, Even if You are Not Married

Child support cares about who the biological parents of the children are—it does not care about marriage. 

That means that even if you were never married to the other parent, you can still receive child support.These are called paternity actions. In some cases, the father may admit paternity, and the only issues are child support and time-sharing. In other cases, the father may dispute that he is the parent, and that must be determined before child support and time-sharing are determined by the court.

The Right to Modification of Support

If circumstances change over time, you may have the right to alter your child support payment amount.

Often, a parent may make much more, or much less, money than he or she did when the original obligation was set or agreed to. Or a parent’s lifestyle or life circumstances may change. 

Parents can ask a court to alter their child support modification—but do not just start paying more, or less (or nothing at all) on your own. Even if a modification is warranted, you still need a court’s permission to change the support amount.

His offices are located at 2431 Aloma Ave. #124, Winter Park, FL. 32792 and 3270 Suntree Blvd. Suite 103G, Melbourne, FL. 32940

Contact us for help and to get information on what you can expect in your divorce or paternity case. 

And if you found this article helpful, please leave us a review HERE.  

The Impact of Divorce on Children: Nurturing Emotional Well-Being

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If you are getting divorced and there are children in the marriage, you probably already know that the divorce will have an impact on the children’s lives and well-being. That is not to say they will forever struggle; plenty of children can and do thrive after divorce. But the fact remains that when there are children involved, both divorcing parents need to give some thought to how any divorce will affect the children’s lives.

Every Case is Different

It would be nice to just say how exactly divorce will affect all children. But that is impossible because of the variables involved in divorcing with children. Factors that may play into how children adapt to and cope with divorcing children can include:

Impact of Divorce on Children
  • The age and maturity of the children
  • The extent to which the parents are hostile or fighting with each other, either before the divorce or during the actual divorce process
  • The children’s own mental health or pre-existing mental conditions
  • How the children were doing in their lives, even before the divorce
  • The extent of upheaval in the children’s lives, post-divorce

Communication is Key

You do not want the divorce to come as a surprise out of the blue. Certainly, many older kids can look at or observe their parents and just tell that divorce is imminent. Younger kids may not have this capability. Either way, discussion is key.

One of the best things a parent can do is discuss with children about divorce, what you and your spouse will be going through, and how it will affect the kids. Unfortunately, many older kids know about divorce from movies and TV—not the best model of what kids can expect in the real world.

Putting Children in the Middle

Hopefully, you already know that you should never pit children against parents or have them make choices. Even seemingly “neutral” choices, like, “Would you rather go to school near mom or near dad,” or “Mommy will stay near your friends, but dad may be farther away,” or “Who would you rather take you to school in the mornings” can have the effect of making a child have to choose between one parent or the other. That can cause anxiety and stress.

How to Approach Divorce

What to say to the children when divorce is looming largely depends on their ages and maturity.

A younger child may need to be told that mommy and daddy still love them—this may be a concern for a younger child. An older child may be aware of this but may have more practical concerns, like whether he will still be able to stay in his school, whether he will be caught between mom and dad fighting, or whether he will still be able to play sports.

Signs of Distress

Once the divorce is underway, the challenge becomes recognizing signs of maladaptation, stress, and trauma. That is not always easy to spot—especially in pre-teens and teenagers, who may not be so open about their feelings.

Look for changes (mostly negative ones) in the child’s life. For example, if grades tend to fall, or if there is less time spent with friends or on extracurricular activities that kids used to enjoy. Any signs of being uncooperative or withdrawing from activities or social engagements are signs that the child may be having a difficult time coping.

Younger children may have more confusing signs, such as appearing to be ill, crying more, or being hostile or belligerent. The child may be more emotionally fragile—he or she may cry more often or get angry quicker or frustrated more easily. The child may say that these changes are for a non-divorce related reason, but in reality, the stress, fear, and anxiety over the divorce are the real cause of these otherwise unexplained behavioral changes.

Hearing or knowing that parents are fighting in the divorce over children’s issues, like time-sharing, custody, or support, can lead to feelings of guilt. Children may feel like they are the cause of the divorce. Parents should make sure that children know that they haven’t done anything wrong to cause the divorce.

Long Term Challenges

Then there are the long-term challenges that children of divorce face, many of which won’t be obvious right away but which divorced parents need to be aware of as they raise their children post-divorce.

Research has shown that divorced children are more likely to engage in destructive and even criminal behaviors. They also may lose the ability to have healthy interpersonal relationships. They may be more susceptible to illnesses, and some say stress, trauma, and lack of sleep due to anxiety may be contributing factors to the increased rate of illness.

Mitigating the Negative Impacts

While there is no one-size-fits-all cure to avoid the negative impact of divorce on kids, there are things that parents can do to make life easier for their children. The obvious two are to avoid fighting (and the kids’ exposure to parental fighting or disparagement of the other parent), and to communicate with kids to answer their questions and concerns.

Beyond that, many suggest that parents maintain the routines in the children’s lives and keep the kids’ pre-divorce life intact as much as possible. Once a post-divorce schedule is established, try to maintain the routine—while a haphazard, “play it by ear” time-sharing schedule may seem easier for some parents, it is not good for kids, who do better knowing where they will be and when.

You, too, can set an example by protecting kids from your emotions—where possible, they should not see you cry, lash out in anger, or have other displays of drastic emotion.

Professional mental health counselors can be of assistance as well, and parents should seek out help when necessary. Parents should also tell teachers, schools, coaches, or others about the divorce so that they are more tolerant and understanding of the emotional changes that the child is experiencing.

Anthony J. Diaz is an experienced family law attorney focusing on Mediation and Collaborative Divorce. His offices are located at 2431 Aloma Ave Suite #124,
Winter Park, FL 32792 and 3720 Suntree Blvd., Suite 103G, Melbourne, FL. 32940.

You may contact Anthony Diaz by calling 407-212-7807 or by email An*****@************aw.com or visit www.AnthonyDiazLaw.com.

And if you found this article helpful, please leave us a review HERE.

Modifying Child Support and Custody Orders: What You Need to Know

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There is an inherent contradiction when making decisions about time sharing and child support.

On the one hand, there needs to be stability—settlements and judgments need to be relied upon, and the parties (the parents) need to know what their rights, duties, and obligations will be going forward.

Child Support

Stability also helps the child; a child who gets used to one schedule should not have to suddenly adapt to a new one or move just because parents change their minds.

This means that judgments or settlements for child support and custody need to be final and determined and should be difficult to ever modify.

But on the other hand, life is uncertain. When you make decisions on time sharing and support when the children are little, you never know what curve balls life will throw at you later on. That means that decisions about time sharing cannot be absolutely permanent, as they need to account for changed circumstances in the parent’s life.

Agreeing to Modifications

Before getting into the details of how time sharing or support are modified, remember that parents can always agree to a modification. If they do both agree, the agreement should be put in writing and then given to an attorney to file with the court so that there is a record of the new agreement or altered terms.

Unforeseen Changes

The law has stuck somewhat of a balance when it comes to modifying time sharing and support.

The first requirement when modifying time sharing of a child, or child support, is showing that there has been a change of circumstances that was unforeseen at the time of the entry of the original settlement agreement or divorce case.

So, for example, imagine that dad works on commission and sometimes makes more and sometimes makes less money at work. The fact that dad has two or three “down years” financially would not justify modifying child support. It was known all along that dad’s income varied, and the parties knew that income could go up or down erratically.

Note that in 2023, the requirement that a changed circumstance be unforeseen or unanticipated was removed from the text of the law. However, in reality, many family law judges will still look at the circumstances and deny parents seeking modification if the modification is based on factors that were known to the parents at the time the original judgment or settlement was entered into.

Substantial and Permanent

Any change in circumstance must also be substantial. This means two things: that the change is not a temporary change, but rather, is permanent, and that the change is actually material—that is, enough of a change to warrant a modification.

For example, if mom needs dad to watch the kids a bit more for two months so she can get job training, that may not be a permanent change—it is expected to conclude in two months, at which time the parties can resume their normal schedule.

There is no hard line time limit for how long changed circumstances need to exist to be considered truly permanent. That is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Many parents who fall on hard financial times seek to modify their child support, but unless it is proven that the decreased earnings are permanent, they will not justify a downward modification of support. This can avoid a situation where a parent temporarily under-employs him or herself, to make it look like he or she is earning less money in order to try to pay less child support.

Best Interest of the Child

Any modification must also be in the best interest of the child. The court will look at the same factors that were used to make the initial determination of time sharing.

Stability for the child is of paramount concern for the court, and it will not enter a modification if the court feels that the modification will upset the child’s life or take the child away from his or her friends, hobbies, school, or other elements of the child’s life.

There are times when a court can enter a modification in the absence of any of these factors, but that is usually when there is violence or some event that immediately threatens the child’s physical or emotional well-being.

Noncompliance with an Existing Judgment or Agreement

It is unfortunately common that a parent does not exercise the visitation or time-sharing that he or she is supposed to have. This can lead to the other (complaint) parent wanting to modify time sharing.

But the failure to abide by a time-sharing agreement or judgment, by itself, will not justify a modification. The party that is in compliance would have to bring a motion for contempt or another motion to compel compliance with the agreement or judgment against the other parent.

Relocation as Justification

If a parent was located more than 50 miles away when the original judgment or settlement was entered into, and that parent now moves closer to the child (within 50 miles), that will automatically warrant a changed circumstance, allowing a court to modify a time sharing arrangement, even in the absence of any other evidence.

Likewise, although not specifically written into the statute, most courts will also assume that a parent moving away further than 50 miles from the other parent would constitute a substantial, permanent, and material change in circumstances.

You Need a Court Order

Remember that to change a parenting plan or to change custody obligations, you need a court order. That means that you can’t just stop paying, deny visitation, or alter visitation schedules on your own.

If you feel there is an emergency, you can file an emergency motion to modify. However, outside of that, even if you were to win your petition to modify child support, the court would still force you to pay 100% of what your previous child support obligation was before the modification was entered.

That means that parties seeing a modification should comply with whatever orders or agreements are in place while waiting for the resolution of their modification case.

Need to change the terms of your visitation, custody time sharing, child support agreement, or judgment? Is the other parent threatening to alter your time-sharing or child support agreements or judgments?

Anthony J. Diaz is an experienced family law attorney focusing on Mediation and Collaborative Divorce. His offices are located at 2431 Aloma Ave Suite #124,
Winter Park, FL 32792 and 3720 Suntree Blvd., Suite 103G, Melbourne, FL. 32940.

You may contact Anthony Diaz by calling 407-212-7807 or by email an*****@************aw.com or visit anthonydiazlaw.com for more information.

If you find this article helpful, please leave us a review HERE.

How Does the Court Determine Child Custody?

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If you are getting divorced and there are children of the marriage, you may worry that you will lose custody of your children. Both parents, understandably, often want to keep and foster a meaningful relationship with the children after the divorce is finalized and may worry about how they will prove to a court that the children of the marriage should remain with them.

Compound this very real concern after seeing the custody battles that are shown on TV and in the movies, and it is no wonder that divorcing parents become so fearful over a protracted custody battle.

What is Custody Anyway?

The first thing to remember about child custody is what it actually means and the difference between custody and timesharing or visitation.

Unless you are completely unfit and have your parental rights terminated by a judge, you always have custody of your child, regardless of where the child is located. In other words, even on the nights when the child is with mom, dad still has “custody” of the child, in the sense that he can make the core, basic decisions about raising the child that any parent has.

As a general rule, unless a parent presents some danger or is completely unfit, both parents will have shared joint custody of the child regardless of how many nights the child spends with one parent or the other.

Time-sharing

‘Visitation’ is an old term that is not used as much anymore by the law or by courts. Today, courts use the term ‘time-sharing,’ representing how many nights the child will spend with one or another parent over the course of a week or month.

Parents can have equal time-sharing on a 50-50 basis, or one parent can have more nights per week or month than the other, in which case that parent would have the majority of parenting time.

Time-sharing is where most of the arguments in child custody cases arise; both parents often want as many nights with the children as possible and will often argue, alleging that it is in the children’s best interests to spend the majority of overnights with one parent or the other.

Factors to Determine Time-sharing

So, how does a judge determine how many nights in a given week a child will spend with one parent over another?

The test is simple; the court looks to the best interests of the child to see whether those interests are best served by the child having the majority of overnights with mom, dad, or shared equally between both.

Note that the court is not trying to find that one parent is “bad” or “harmful”; in many cases, both parents are able and fit, but the circumstances, lifestyle, or another component of one parent’s life just make it in the child’s best interest to spend more overnights with that parent.

For example, one parent may live closer to the child’s friends, may have a larger familial support system, may live in a home that has more room for the child, or may work a job that allows them to spend more time with the child. The other parent is not harmful or unfit at all—it is just that one parent’s life is set up in a way that is better for the child.

Defining the Best Interests of the Child

Still, the “best interests of the child” can admittedly be vague, so the law has set up some guidelines that judges use to see what is in the best interest of the child.

Cooperating and Keeping the Peace

One major factor is which parent is simply more cooperative—in plain terms, which parent is less argumentative, more likely to foster a meaningful relationship with the other parent, or more likely to meet the other parent’s requests for last-minute changes. In plain terms—can you get along with the other parent and cooperate with them?

This punishes parents who argue, fight, or harbor hostility toward the other parent—or worse, who may use the child as a pawn to get back at the other parent, or who may put the child in the middle of arguments between parents.

How Much Time Do You Have?

Courts will also look at your time. There is nothing inherently wrong with using babysitters or other caretakers. We all know that parents, especially single parents, may need to work long hours.

But the parent who seems like they will have the most time to dedicate to the child when the child is with that parent will have some advantage in a custody or time-sharing dispute.

Continuity

The continuity of the child’s lifestyle is an important factor, as well. Courts do not want to uproot a child from their school, family, friends, or extracurricular activities. A parent whose lifestyle is one that seems like it will facilitate that continuity will have an advantage in child custody cases.

Morals and Ethics

The moral fitness of parents will be looked at, as well. Certainly, a parent who does a little gambling, who may drink socially, or who has a casual intimate relationship should not have their fitness as a parent questioned.

But there are circumstances where one parent’s lifestyle brings their ability to parent into question. Worse is a parent that exposes the child to that behavior.

For example, a court probably would not punish a parent who smoked marijuana. But a parent who did it in front of the child, or who left marijuana paraphernalia where the child can find it, or who was under the influence of marijuana at the child’s sporting event may have their parental decision-making questioned in a custody case.

Involvement Level

A parent’s level of involvement in their child’s life is a big factor in determining custody.

In a typical child custody case, a parent may be questioned about how much that parent knows about the child’s life. The court will favor parents who are involved enough in the child’s life that they understand what the child likes and does not like, who their friends are, what their favorite school subject is, who their favorite athletes are, etc.

Any Other Factor

Judges actually have the power to look at almost any factor when determining what is in the best interests of a child. So long as you can explain why something is relevant to custody or parental time-sharing, if the judge agrees, they are allowed to take it into consideration.

We can help you understand how to get an advantage in your child custody case and answer your questions about your relationship with your child after your divorce.

Anthony J. Diaz is an experienced family law attorney focusing on Mediation and Collaborative Divorce. His offices are located at 2431 Aloma Ave Suite #124, Winter Park, FL. 32792 and 3720 Suntree Blvd., Suite 103G, Melbourne, FL. 32940.

You may contact Anthony Diaz by calling 407-212-7807 or by email an*****@************aw.com or visit anthonydiazlaw.com for more information.

And if you found this article helpful, please leave us a review HERE.

What is Child Custody and How Does it Work?

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In Florida, child custody refers to the legal right of a parent to take physical care of their children. This custody can be termed parental responsibility or time-sharing. Custody arrangements can be made through a court declaration or agreement, but often parents will work out an arrangement themselves. If the parents cannot agree on custody, then the courts will make a determination for them.

What Does Parental Responsibility Mean in Florida?

Child with Parent

Parental responsibility is a legal term that refers to the rights and duties of parents with respect to their children. In Florida, the term “parental responsibility” replaced legal custody in 2003. The change was made to more accurately reflect the role of parents in modern families.

Under Florida law, both parents are responsible for the care and support of their children, regardless of whether they are currently married, seeking a divorce, or living separately. This includes providing for their children’s physical, emotional, and financial needs. Parents are also responsible for making decisions about their children’s welfare, including decisions about education, religion, and medical care.

If parents cannot agree on how to meet their children’s needs, the court will make decisions based on what it believes is in the best interest of the child.

What Does Time-Sharing Mean in Florida?

In 1990, the Florida legislature amended the state’s divorce law to include what is now known as “time-sharing” in place of physical custody and visitation. The amendment was based on a recommendation by the Florida Supreme Court’s Task Force on Gender Bias. The task force found that the terms “custody” and “visitation” were gender-biased because they implied that children belonged to their mothers or fathers. The task force recommended that the term “time-sharing” be used to describe both parents’ right to spend time with their children.

As such “time-sharing” replaced the terms “physical custody” and “visitation.” Time-sharing means that both parents have a legal right to spend time with their child and that the child will live with each parent for a specific period of time. In most cases, the court will order a schedule that gives each parent approximately equal time with the child.

The Best Interests of the Child Standard in Florida

The Best Interests of the Child Standard in Florida is a law that helps to ensure that decisions made about children are done in their best interest. The law requires judges to consider a number of factors when making decisions about a child, including the child’s safety, well-being, and best interests. Judges are also required to consider the wishes of both parents, unless there is evidence that the parent’s wishes do not reflect the child’s best interest.

The Best Interests of the Child Standard is important because it ensures that children are taken into account when decisions are made about them.

How Can You Gain More “Parental Responsibility” Over Your Child?

There are many reasons why a Florida court might grant a parent the request for sole parental responsibility for their child. Some of the most common reasons include:

  • The other parent was never involved in the child’s life;
  • The other parent is abusive;
  • The other parent does not have a safe place for the child;
  • The other partner poses a flight risk with the child;
  • The other partner has psychological or mental problems;
  • The other parent has a substance abuse problem;
  • Any combination of any of the above.

If you would like to have more parental responsibility for your child, you can file a petition with the court requesting sole parental responsibility. The court will consider all of the facts of your case and will make a determination based on what is in the best interests of the child.

If you are granted sole parental responsibility, this means that you will be responsible for making all decisions regarding your child’s welfare. You will also be responsible for providing for your child’s mental and emotional needs.

Are There Exceptions to the “Time-Sharing” Rule in Florida?

Just as with parental responsibility in Florida, there are a few reasons why visitation may be modified in Florida. One such reason is if the other partner has a history of violence or domestic abuse. In order to protect the safety of the victim, the court may decide that it is not safe for the victim to have contact with the abuser.

Another reason why visitation may be modified is if there is a significant difference in parenting styles between the two parents and they cannot come to an agreement on important decisions regarding their child. In this case, if one parent feels that the other is not fit to take care of their child, they may petition the court to stop visitation.

Finally, if one parent moves out of state, they may lose their right to visitation unless special arrangements are made by the court. This is because moving too far away is often seen as non-beneficial for the child or is burdensome for the family.

Can You Create a Customized Parenting Plan in Florida?

Creating a parenting plan for yourself that best suits your needs and schedule can be done in Florida. While this may seem like a daunting task, with the help of an experienced family law attorney, it can be done.

After creating the plan, the next step is to file the parenting plan with the courts. The other parent will then be notified and they will have the opportunity to respond. The court will then vet the parenting plan to make sure it meets all of the requirements. If everything is in order, the parenting plan will be approved and put into effect.

We Can Help You Create a Plan That Works

While determining child custody is often seen as a complex process, if you understand your rights, know what to expect, and work with an experienced attorney, you will be able to get the most out of the process.

Anthony J. Diaz is an experienced family law attorney focusing on Mediation and Collaborative Divorce. His offices are located at 2431 Aloma Ave Suite #124, Winter Park, FL. 32792 and 3720 Suntree Blvd., Suite 103G, Melbourne, FL. 32940.

You may contact Anthony Diaz by calling 407-212-7807 or by email an*****@************aw.com or visit anthonydiazlaw.com for more information.

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