A parenting plan outlines timesharing parental responsibilities, and communication methods. If violated, the offending parent can face fines, jail time, or be required to make up time sharing.
In this article, I’ll answer the following questions about parenting plans in Florida…
If you’d prefer audio, with a podcast episode I covered on this topic, you can listen to it below here. This article is based on what was discussed in this Florida Divorce Podcast episode…
A parenting plan is a document that outlines the timesharing schedule, parental responsibilities, and communication methods for parents who are divorcing or separating in the state of Florida.
Parenting plans have to include how frequently parents communicate when they’re not having timesharing. It is a crucial component of any custody arrangement involving minor children, whether it stems from a divorce, paternity case, or any other legal proceeding that determines the rights and responsibilities of a legal father.
When there are minor children or a child involved in a divorce, the court or you will have to come up with a parenting plan based on the best interest of the child or children.
Parenting Plans in Paternity Cases
Or in a paternity case, which is essentially when two people that are unmarried have a child, the court still has to determine who the legal father is and adjudicate paternity. In a case like that, it’s the exact same thing as a divorce in terms of a parenting plan. The two are identical, and the parenting plan has to be implemented either through the court or through the parents.
Timesharing means how much time each parent is going to spend with the child.
In Florida, we no longer use the term “custody”; we use the term timesharing. The timesharing schedule is a detailed plan that specifies when the child will spend time with the father and mother. It includes a regular schedule as well as a holiday and vacation schedule.
Essentially, a court will divide the weeks and months and determine when each parent should have time sharing. Overnight time sharing is usually the most common.
The parenting plan will also set up the pickup and drop off location of your children. Sometimes it’s at a house, sometimes it’s at a midway point between the two parties, or a public place. In extreme situations, it may be at a police department, so it just depends on your unique set of facts.
Also, with the timesharing aspect or component of a parenting plan, the court’s going to look at holidays. Which holidays are both parents going to spend with the child or children?
Summer timesharing, Spring break, those times. So essentially, the timesharing component is basically a schedule, and it’s a road map for when the mother is going to have the children, and when the father is going to have the children.
The parental responsibility portion is the aspect of the parenting plan that determines who makes major decisions on behalf of the child.
When I talk about major decisions, I’m really talking about the health, education, and welfare of the child. Who makes the decisions regarding if a child gets surgery or if a child gets a major medical procedure? Who makes the decisions regarding if the child is going to attend public school versus private school?
If money isn’t a factor, or if there’s a chance that maybe the child gets into a great public school or maybe a charter school or something, who makes that major life decision on behalf of the child?
The vast majority of the time, the court will order that both parents have shared parental responsibility, which means both parents will have a 50/50 vote for these significant decisions.
Unfortunately, if there’s a dispute over a major decision, you have to go back to court. It has to be such an important decision, and the parties are at such gridlock that it’s worth it to spend thousands of dollars to go back to court to have a judge decide.
I have a case right now where that’s exactly what we’re doing. Both parents have shared parental responsibility, and they cannot come to an agreement regarding where the child attends school. And their parenting plan was a little vague. And because of that, they’re back in court.
So that’s why it’s very important that if you have shared parental responsibility, you forecast into the future, and you try your best to determine and ascertain what issues may arise based on the two personalities of the parents because you don’t want to end up in that situation.
What happens In Florida, if a court finds that it’s not in the best interest of the child or children to spend overnight with one parent because of some extreme reason?
Abuse, drugs, alcohol, something like that. Or maybe the other parent is very unstable, then a court will look at and determine what time during the day a parent can have with the child, but that’s in the most extreme cases.
The next type of parental responsibility is “ultimate decision making authority” or “shared parental responsibility with ultimate decision making”.
That’s when a court designates one parent to ultimately make the last decision. By law, both parents would have to confer and talk about the decision. You know, both parents have to consider the other parent’s position. But ultimately, if the parents can’t agree, the court designates one person to make that decision.
This is sort of rare for this to happen, and it only comes up if there is some sort of conflict in the case while pending.
Another situation this can be granted is if one parent is just not competent to make decisions, right if they have a terrible track record of making poor decisions or maybe they’ve been, you know, in and out of the child’s life and just cannot be dependent upon to adequately communicate and get back to the other parent for one reason or the other.
Those items are required to be in your timesharing plan or a Florida court will not implement your parenting plan.
The law in Florida says the parents can come up with whatever agreement they want. Ultimately, the judge has the final say because a judge is required by law to do what’s in the best interest of a child or children.
The laws in Florida gives the judge the power. It’s like they have veto power over your plan. If a judge reviews the parenting plan and says, ‘hey, you know what, this is not in the best interest of your child’…
If that happens, a court has the power to not to implement your parenting plan. That’s a sporadic case. I’ve rarely seen that happen. But it does happen. It has happened, so keep that in mind when coming up with your plan.
Lastly, effective communication between parents is essential for co-parenting. The parenting plan may include provisions for how parents will communicate about the child’s well-being and how any important decisions should be made.
By law, a parenting plan has to include how the parents will communicate with the child when they do not have time to share and also how frequently they want daily phone contact.
One parent may want a daily FaceTime or video chat with the child if they’re not going to be with the child; that needs to be specified in the plan.
Another thing that has to be in there is a line about health insurance how is the child going to be insured? That’s also very important.
Other options items that can be in a plan are sections on traveling outside of the country for vacations; in state travel. Usually, we put lines in about when the parents have to notify the other parent that they’re going out of the country or out of state with the child.
When they have to send their itinerary, make sure they leave a good phone number to reach them, an address of where they’re staying, flight information, and all of the extracurricular activities of a child are other common item that goes into these plans.
The parenting plan can lay out who gets to enroll the child in extracurricular activities. Do both parents have to agree that one parent can enroll the child if they want to?
If that one parent enrolls the child against the other child’s wishes, can it be on the other party’s, you know, time sharing that’s a big issue that comes up, you know, if one parent has, you know, every weekend or every Saturday, let’s say, or every, let’s say every Wednesday, you know they want to enroll them in karate every Wednesday night.
Sometimes, in the parenting plan, we include hey, you know what, if you want to do that and if you want to enroll them against the other parent’s wishes, then the other parent you know is not going to contribute to that extracurricular activity if they don’t want to.
Also, another aspect of a parenting plan is when children are younger but childcare, who watches the child?
Do both parents have to agree on who watches the child, or do the parents get to pick who typically watches the child? Friends and family members are common to both parties.
Most of the time, this isn’t an issue. In family law and divorce, people feel a certain way about the other parent picking whoever to watch their children. If this is important to you, it needs to be specified in your plan document.
It is crucial for both parents to adhere to the terms of the parenting plan. Violating a parenting plan can have serious legal consequences, including fines, penalties, potential jail time, and the requirement to make up timesharing.
When a parent violates a timesharing agreement, or parenting plan, the other parent has the right to take legal action to enforce the terms of the plan. The court may intervene to ensure that the parenting plan is followed and that the best interests of the child are protected.
A parent who violates a parenting plan may be subject to fines imposed by the court. These fines can accumulate for each instance of non-compliance.
In extreme cases of repeated and willful violations of a parenting plan, a parent may face the possibility of being held in contempt of court, which can result in jail time.
If a parent consistently violates the timesharing schedule outlined in the parenting plan, the court may require that the parent make up the missed time with the child.
When facing issues related to a parenting plan in Florida, it is advisable to consult a family law attorney who specializes in custody and timesharing matters as we do.
It is important to seek legal assistance if there are concerns about the enforcement or modification of a parenting plan. An attorney can provide guidance and representation in navigating the legal process.
A family law attorney can assist in enforcing the terms of a parenting plan and holding the non-compliant parent accountable. Additionally, if circumstances change and modifications to the parenting plan are necessary, an attorney can help in seeking a court-approved modification.
If you’d like to reach out to our office to help you with your parenting plan or related issues, you can schedule a free strategy session here to contact us.
Navigating the legal system can be complex, especially in matters involving children. A knowledgeable family law attorney can help parents understand their rights and obligations under the law and guide them through the legal process to resolve parenting plan disputes effectively.
In conclusion, a Florida parenting plan is a crucial document that governs the time-sharing, parental responsibilities, and communication methods for parents with minor children.
Both parents need to adhere to the terms of the parenting plan to avoid legal consequences such as fines, penalties, potential jail time, and the requirement to make up timesharing.
Seeking legal assistance from a family law attorney can provide valuable support in enforcing or modifying a parenting plan and understanding the legal process and rights in parenting plan disputes.
Feel free to call us or schedule a free strategy meeting if you need assistance with any matters related to your parenting plan.
