Parenting Plans, Child Custody and Visitation Agreements
Any conversation about a divorce always turns to “Who got custody?" The struggle over custody is often the most difficult part of a divorce. As of October 1, 2008, the words "Custody" and "Visitation" have been written out of the law in Florida.
In any action involving children filed after October 1, 2008, the parents or the court will creating a parenting plan. At minimum, this plan must establish:
- Describe in detail how parents will be responsible for and share daily tasks associated with binging up the child.
- Specify the time sharing arrangements;
- Designate who will be responsible for health care, school related matters, and other activities.
- Designate the methods and technology that the parents will use to communicate.
The shift in language from time sharing seems to be an effort by the legislature to avoid inflammatory language and to encourage parents to work towards a resolution for their children.
In Florida, the new way to address the old issues of child custody and visitation is through the creation of a "parenting plan." Learn more about this new statute and what we can do to protect not just your financial interests, but your children's best interests at the same time. Call an attorney Sanders & Sanders or contact us online.
At Sanders & Sanders, we help people in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties to resolve the parenting issues most commonly known by the names child custody and visitation. Under Florida's new statute, which went into effect October 1, 2008, child custody and visitation-related parenting issues are divided into three categories:
- Parental Responsibility: Many decisions are involved with raising a child. What school should they go to? Should they attend church or receive any type of religious instruction? Which pediatrician should they see? Under Florida's new statute, parents are required to outline the decision-making process they will use going forward.
- Time Sharing: Terms such as visitation, joint custody and sole custody are now addressed under the category of time sharing. This includes resolving issues such as how much time the children will spend with either parent and at which home they will stay.
- Support: Your parenting plan should also address the issue of child support. You can agree to set an amount consistent with Florida's child support guidelines, deviate from those guidelines, and address issues such as college, health care, day care and extracurricular expenses as well.
In addition to these issues, you may want to include general information about the children (ages, dates of birth, etc.), contingencies for emergency situations, last-minute changes in schedules, vacations, school release days and any number of other foreseeable circumstances. It is also a good idea to include information about how the plan can be changed and about how future disagreements should be handled.
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Schedule an initial consultation with an experienced divorce lawyer today by calling our Winter Park, Florida, law offices directly or by contacting us online.
