Parenting Plans Replace Visitation and Custody Agreements

Last year, Florida’s child custody laws changed significantly. As part of these changes, state courts will no longer award primary residential custody of the child to either parent or visitation time to the noncustodial parent. Instead, state law now requires parents to develop a parenting plan that will spell out when the child will spend time with each parent, where the child will live and how the parents will make important decisions regarding the child’s care and upbringing.

The new parenting plan law reflects a desire on the part of the state legislature to move away from a child custody system that favored the mother over the father and towards a more progressive system that recognizes the importance of both parents playing an active role in the child’s life.

The new law puts soon to be divorced parents in a situation where they need to maintain better communication with each other than while they were married. For example, they need to discuss time-sharing since there is no longer a custodial parent designation. How much time will the child spend with each parent? The parents must also agree on who is going to have the decision-making authority on the serious issues of the child’s life. Schools to attend? Extra-curricular activities? Religion? Language? This list goes on and on. While we applaud the state legislature for their emphasis on the importance of both parents in the child’s life, we think it would make more sense to place such emphasis on communication prior to marriage in an attempt to keep more families together. At Get Smart Legal we can help you with this difficult process of drafting a parenting plan that will be conducive to all the parties involved.