Florida Divorce with Children
If you are looking for Florida divorce help and you and your spouse have a child or children, then review these popular questions and answers about Florida child custody, child support,child relocation, child visitation and more to gain helpful information.
You can also visit our Florida Divorce area that offers a variety of popular divorce questions and answers, resources and more on topics like separation, alimony, mediation, and modifications.
The LaGamba Law Firm offers a free initial consultation on Family Law issues such as divorce with or without children in the Winter Park/Orlando, Florida area. To request a consultation, please contact us at: (407) 644-2315.
Divorce with Children Questions and Answers
A: In Florida, the court will award sole or shared parental responsibility to either the mother, father or both with the best interests of the children as the standard for any decision.
All custody cases must have a proposed parenting plan or agreement to be presented to the court for approval before the final order is put in place.
If the parents do not come to an agreement, the court will devise a parenting plan granting shared parental responsibility, based on the presumption that shared parental responsibility is in the best interest of a minor child.
Within the parenting plan, all issues regarding the care of the child or children are addressed. Courts no longer call time with the child visitation. The legal technical term is now called time sharing.
Under rotating time sharing, the time with the child(ren) is divided more evenly or equitably (not always the same thing, so ask your attorney what may happen in your particular case). Time sharing is the right of both the child and the parents.
The child will spend significant amounts of time with each parent, often weeks at a time. A parenting course is required by Florida laws for all couples with children who obtain a divorce in Florida.
Q: What is shared parental responsibility?
A: The term “Shared parental responsibility” means that both parents make decisions regarding the children’s health, education, welfare, etc.
A: parenting plan is a document that outlines all of the rights parental responsibilities, time sharing schedule, and any other issue that parents need to help raise their children without constant legal intervention is addressed. It is meant to be a guide for parties to follow.
Within the parenting plan the parties have a time sharing schedule that is either agreed to and/ or court derived and then ordered as part of the final judgment. Substantial time sharing schedule means that the children spend a significant amount of time with one parent (multiple overnights in a row on a consistent basis). This does not necessarily mean that the time with the children is divided evenly between the parents.
Supervised time sharing schedule can be ordered if it is in the best interest of the child. In most
circumstances, it is in the child’s or children’s best interest to have time sharing with both parents.
Q: What is joint legal custody?
A: Joint legal custody, which is much more common than joint physical custody, means that both parents make decisions regarding the children’s health, education, welfare, etc. Joint physical custody means that the children spend a significant amount of time with each parent (multiple overnights in a row on a consistent basis). This does not necessarily mean that the time with the children is divided evenly between the parents.
Q: How is child custody determined?
A: When Florida court’s award time sharing, the Judge will consider all factors affecting the welfare and best interests of the child, including but not limited to::
- The parent who is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the non-custodial parent.
- The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parents and the child.
- The capacity and disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs.
- The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity.
- The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home.
- The moral fitness of the parents.
- The mental and physical health of the parents.
- The home, school, and community record of the child.
- The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference.
- The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuous parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent.
- Evidence that any party has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding a domestic violence proceeding.
- Evidence of domestic violence or child abuse.
- Any other fact not specifically expressed in these laws that the court considers to be relevant.
A: Florida courts no longer use the term “visitation.” When one parent is granted primary custody of the child or children, that parent is no longer termed the “custodial parent” but is now granted substantial time sharing. The older term “noncustodial parent” is granted time sharing. Through the time sharing schedule, the state and the judge are attempting to provide a system whereby each parent can maintain a healthy relationship with his or her child.
Either parent may be ordered to pay child support. The term “child support” covers all the economic necessities of life required by a child. These necessities include, but are not limited to, food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, and other day-to-day expenses. The calculation of child support is not limited to income available after all the bills of a parent are paid.
Instead, it is a complicated calculation of income based on certain factors, with a limited amount of deductions allowed. Parental income can be determined by real provable income, or if a parent that doesn’t work could be working, that parent’s income can be imputed.
It doesn’t matter if the parents are married, or if they are living together. The responsibility of child support is that of the parents as individuals or as a collective single unit. It doesn’t matter if the parents have not had any contact after the conception of the child. All parents are legally responsible for child support.
Q: How is child support determined?
A: In Florida, either parent may be ordered to pay an amount necessary for the support, maintenance, and education of the child. The State of Florida requires the filing of a child support guidelines worksheet as well as financial affidavits.
Basically the parties’ combined net income is considered along with the number of children. The statute then gives a figure for the total support needed for the children. From this it can be determined how much support the noncustodial parent will pay. The living expenses of the paying parent are not in general considered except in extreme circumstances. The amount paid for health insurance premiums for the child, as well as 75% of day care or child care costs incurred because of work or school can then be added to the minimum child support obligation.
The payment of child support is a legal requirement which cannot be waived by the parties. The Florida Child Support Guidelines are considered to be correct in all cases. However, the court may adjust the minimum child support award according to Florida law, or may adjust either or both parents’ share of the minimum child support award, based on special or extreme situations.
Q: What if my child’s financial needs change—is it possible to modify the child support agreement?
A: A child support award is an order of the court, and as such if circumstances change that meet the legal requirements, then a modification may be available.
Modifications can be complicated because of the legal requirements. Being prepared to explain to a judge your reasons for the modification is not usually enough. Typical valid reasons include: the child is now living with the other parent, one parent has more/less overnight visitation with the child, either parent has a substantial increase or decrease in annual income, child needs special care or healthcare, substantial increases or decreases in the child’s expenses, or a change in the child support guidelines.
Q: What if I or my ex-spouse want to move and relocate our child- how does that work?
A: Parental and child relocation issues can be complicated and require a major adjustment on the part of all parties involved.
If you are the parent who wants or plans to move more than 50 miles away after a divorce, you need to understand your rights and obligations under Florida’s new parental relocation laws. If your ex-spouse wants or is planning to leave the state with your child, we can explain your parental rights and options regarding the proposed move. There are very specific procedures that must be followed when a parent wants to move, and by not following the law, serious legal consequences could be obtained that would be to your detriment.
Please contact us at the LaGamba Law Firm to schedule a consultation. We’ll take the time to explain your rights, obligations and options under Florida’s parental relocation laws.
To Contact the LaGamba Law Firm about any of your Florida Family Law Legal needs, please call: 407-644-2315.