Few issues are more wrenching in a divorce than those concerning child custody and time share arrangements. Divorcing parents may want joint physical custody, or primary physical custody. This all depends on if an agreement can be made over summer schedules, school breaks, weekdays and weekends, pickups, and other logistical arrangements. To help avoid uncertainty and chaos in some instances, the Florida courts require the parents to create a parenting plan to resolve these issues.
In any divorce, it is to the benefit of all parties to work out their differences short of litigation. This minimizes legal fees and the emotional toll on everyone involved. Unfortunately, not all parents are cooperative enough to compromise. In such cases, the court will require the parents to work with a parenting coordinator (who does charge an hourly fee) to work out a plan or even appoint an expert to provide a recommendation to the court as to a parenting plan. If the parents are still unable to decide as to a parenting plan, ultimately the court will decide.
What is a Parenting Plan?
What if the Parents Cannot Draft a Parenting Plan?
Should you and your spouse submit a plan that the court disapproves or cannot agree on, then the court will draft one for you, using the standard of what is in the best interest of the child. Some of the factors the Florida courts will use to determine a plan for you, whether you feel it is reasonable or not, include:
If there are other factors that the court would consider material, the court will examine them as well. For the most part, the primary residence of the child will be that of the parent who has been the primary caretaker, although the court cannot assume the mother is the one. Over the last few years, there has been a drastic move towards providing parents with equal parenting time. Pay attention to the upcoming legislative session on any new law that may be passed that assume parents shall have a 50/50 schedule, unless same would be detrimental to the child.
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