Gary E. Williams Family Law Blog on Lawyers.com

FLORIDA Legislature makes Major Changes to Family Law Statutes

Tuesday, January 6, 2009 by Gary E. Williams

Florida State lawmakers made modifications in our statues that call for the concept of custody to be replaced with parenting plans and for time-sharing to replace visitation, forcing Clearwater Florida divorce attorneys to re-evaluate their approach towards family law cases.

The concept of child custody in Clearwater and throughout the state of Florida has been changed. Primary Residential Care and Secondary Residential Care have been replaced with Parenting Plans and Time-Sharing.

A Parenting plan is a required document that outlines the relationship between a mother and father concerning decision making with regards to minor children, and also includes a time-sharing schedule.

The Time-Sharing Schedule specifies the time; including overnights, weekends, and holidays, that children will spend with each parent. Also included is how often and the method of technologies that the parents will use to communicate with the children. Once a parenting plan is developed and agreed to by the parents, it must be approved by the Court. If the parents cannot agree, the plan will be established by the Court.

The change in concept also included a change in the language used in litigation associated with children.

The language change involved the words “custody”, “primary residence”, and “visitation”. These terms can no longer be used during legal proceedings involving children. Instead, “parenting” and “parenting plan” replace “custody”; and “time-sharing” replaces “visitation.”

I think the legislature made changes that more closely resemble what we’re trying to convey to our clients. Keeping both parents involved in all aspects of the child’s life is something we ask our clients to remember even though their relationship with the other parent has changed. Instead of trying to win custody battles, we can work together for the best parental sharing arrangement.

Even though the changes went into effect October 1, there are still questions from Clearwater Florida divorce lawyers and judges alike on how exactly they will be implemented. Hopefully we will have a set parenting plan and distribution guidelines to work from in the near future.

Law Firm for Family in Clearwater

4625 East Bay Drive
Clearwater, FL 33764

(727) 531-8737

(727) 593-5700

(727) 593-2151 - Fax

Posted at 14:38 PM

Topic: Family Law