We Listen and We Act
The Only Choice When Family Matters.
Compassionate and zealous advocacy for all your family law needs.
Long Standing Dedication to Family Law. Initially started in 1998 helping family law clients at Harvard Law School's Hale & Dorr Legal Services.
We Listen and We Act
The Only Choice When Family Matters.
Compassionate and zealous advocacy for all your family law needs.
Long Standing Dedication to Family Law. Initially started in 1998 helping family law clients at Harvard Law School's Hale & Dorr Legal Services.
Florida’s New Child Custody Law
On July 1, 2023, Florida law made a landmark change that creates a requirement for judges to create a presumption for equal timeshare with the mother and the father. This statutory change comes after years of the advocation of father’s rights and the changing of times where the stigma against fathers raising their children dissipated and replaced by acceptance that fathers should be intricately involved in the raising of their children.
Florida’s first statutory law included the tender years doctrine, the premise that mothers are better suited to care for young children. Then Florida changed to the best interest standard that evaluated the child’s physical and developmental needs and which parent best suited each of these needs to render a child custody determination. Now as of July 1, 2023, the new standard for child custody determination is a rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing of a minor child is in the best interest of the minor child.
Why Presumptions are Important in Child Custody Cases.
A presumption requires a judge to assume a fact is true, in this case that that the court should award 50 / 50 timeshare, previously referred to as visitation, with the child unless there is evidence to prove otherwise. So often in child custody cases, there is conflicting testimony from the child’s mother and father. Now post July 1, 2023, if the court can not decipher either who is telling the truth, the court must award each parent equal timeshare. To keep judges in line with this new law, there is a requirement that the court’s ruling must include specific findings of fact when creating a parenting plan that was not agreed to by the parties.
Key Evidence to Present in Child Custody Disputes
The Florida legislature requires that judges must consider all the factors set forth in this paragraph. (a) The ability of the parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent. The ability of the parent to honor the time-sharing schedule and to be reasonable when changes are required. (b) Whether the parent engages in the responsibilities of a parent or delegates those responsibilities to other people. (c) The ability of the parent to understand and care for the needs of the child and put the needs of the child above their own desires. (d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable environment. (e) The geographic viability of a timeshare schedule. (f) The moral fitness of the parents. (g) The mental and physical health of the parents. (h) The home, school, and community record of the child. (i) The child’s preference, if appropriate, based upon a variety of factors. (j) The knowledge and capacity of the parent to be informed of the circumstances of the minor child, including, but not limited to, the child’s friends, teachers, medical care providers, daily activities, and favorite things. (k) The ability of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child, such as discipline, and daily schedules for homework, meals, and bedtime. (l) The demonstrated capacity of each parent to communicate with and keep the other parent informed. (m) Evidence, if applicable, of any type of violence, abuse, or neglect. (n) Evidence that either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding violence, abuse, or neglect. (o) The parenting tasks customarily performed by each parent. (p) The extent that each parent is involved in the child’s school and extracurricular activities. (q) The ability of each parent to maintain a substance abuse environment. (r) The capacity and disposition of each parent to refrain from discussing litigation matters with the child and making disparaging comments about the other parent to the child. (s) Each parents’ ability to meet the child’s developmental needs. (t) Any other factor unique to the parties’ child custody case.
If your case is in Broward County or Palm Beach County, Florida, call Rebekah Brown Wiseman, Esq. at 954-563-1331 or go to calendly.com/browardfamilylaw/
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