Custody and Timesharing - Larkin Family Law

What is the difference between "Custody," "Visitation," And "Timesharing" In Florida?

Although some states use the terms “custody” and “visitation” to reference how parents share time and decision-making about their child(ren), the State of Florida does not use these terms in divorce and paternity cases. Instead of awarding one parent with physical custody, a Florida court awards both parents “timesharing” with their child(ren). The court will order a timesharing schedule to determine how the parents will share time based on the best interest of the child(ren). While one parent may be awarded more timesharing than the other parent (also known as majority timesharing), neither parent is designated the “custodial” parent nor the “primary” parent.

What Is Parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility is the decision-making authority by one or both parents for major decisions affecting the child(ren). Major decisions involving the child(ren) can include academic, non-emergency medical, and extra-curricular decisions. A Florida court will consider the best interest of the child(ren) and award one of the following options in a family law case:

Shared Parental Responsibility: This gives both parents joint decision making authority. Both parents must confer and attempt to agree on the major decisions. If they cannot agree, the Court will decide. This is most commonly awarded.
Sole Parental Responsibility: This gives one parent the sole authority to make major decisions for the child(ren). The Court must find it would be detrimental to the children to have shared parental responsibility to award this.
Shared Parental Responsibility with Ultimate Decision Making Authority: This is shared parental responsibility, but one parent gets a veto power if the parents cannot agree. This is rare and typically reserved for high-conflict cases where shared parental responsibility is problematic.

What Is A Parenting Plan?

It is a document memorializing parenting issues for the minor child(ren) in a paternity or divorce case. Under Florida law, the Parenting Plan will cover the following, at a minimum:

Describe how the parents will share and be responsible for the daily tasks associated with the upbringing of the child;
Include the timesharing schedule with the amount of time for each parent;
Designate the parent responsible for any and all forms of health care; school-related matters, including the address to be used for school-boundary determination and registration; other activities; and
Describe the methods and technologies the parents will use to communicate with the child.

You can find a copy of Florida Supreme Court Parenting Plan form here.

What happens with timesharing if we live in two different states?

If your family law case is in Florida, a Florida court will still be required to enter Parenting Plan based on the best interest of the child(ren). Instead of a typical Parenting Plan, the court may enter a Relocation/Long-Distance Parenting Plan. A Long-Distance Parenting Plan is used when two parents live more than 50 miles away from each other. This type of Parenting Plan is helpful because it addresses specific long-distance issues that are not included in a normal Parenting Plan, including airplane travel, coordination of travel arrangements, and payment of travel costs.

You can find a copy of the Florida Supreme Court Long-Distance Parenting Plan form here.

Parenting issues are often the most emotion and high-conflict to resolve in a family law case. Our experienced family law attorney can help you understand how these issues are decided under Florida law and develop a Parenting Plan and timesharing schedule in the best interests of your children. Contact us to discuss your timesharing case.