Florida Legal and Physical Child Custody and Support

Rather than simply awarding legal or physical custody to one or both parties, the law requires the court to approve a parenting plan which at a minimum must provide details as to how the parents will be responsible for the daily tasks of raising the child; a time-sharing schedule showing when the child will spend time with each parent; an assignment of which parent will be responsible for the child’s health, educational, and other activities; and the means by which the parents will communicate with the child.Normally, a court will award “shared parental responsibility,” in accordance with the presumption that it is in the best interests of the child to be raised by both parents. The “best interests of the child” is the guiding principle of all decisions regarding child custody and support. In the situation in which there is shared parental responsibility, the court may assign to one parent the ultimate responsibility over certain aspects of the child’s welfare or, alternatively, it may divide those responsibilities between the parties based on the best interests of the child. While there is a legal preference for shared responsibility, if the facts show that it would be damaging to the child to be raised by both parents, sole parental responsibility will be awarded to one parent. In particular, if one parent has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, a rebuttable presumption is created that shared parental responsibility would not be in the child’s best interests.

The amount of support a parent would be required to pay is dependent on the parenting plan. Florida uses the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet to determine support based on the parents’ respective incomes, percentage of time-sharing the child has with each parent, cost of the child’s health insurance, day care costs, and uncovered medical expenses. Only overnight stays are considered in determining percentage time-sharing. Generally, the more overnight stays that a child has with one parent, the less that parent would be expected to pay in child support. A child support order cannot be modified unless there has been a substantial change in circumstances.

Therefore, although Florida has abandoned use of the traditional terms “legal” and “physical” custody, the substance of those terms lives on in the parenting plan which must contain a time-sharing schedule and a plan as to who will make decisions regarding the child’s upbringing. The support order will be hinge on the details of the time-sharing schedule as well.

The Law Offices of James S. Cunha, P.A. has years of experience and possesses the legal knowledge necessary to zealously represent the interests of its clients who are facing these difficult decisions of child custody and support. We serve clients in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Wellington, Jupiter, Boca Raton, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and Martin County. Contact us today at  561-429-3924 to schedule a consultation.