What used to be called “custody” and “visitation” in Florida is now called time-sharing. The change in vocabulary was not just cosmetic — Florida abolished the idea of a “primary residential parent” and instead requires every divorce or paternity case involving minor children to have a detailed written parenting plan approved by the court. The parenting plan governs how the parents will share time, make decisions, and communicate about the children.
The 2023 Equal Time-Sharing Presumption
Effective July 1, 2023, Florida law now includes a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing (50/50) is in the best interest of minor children. A parent who wants a different arrangement has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the children's best interest.
In practice, judges still weigh the traditional best-interest factors carefully. The presumption changes the starting point but not the ultimate test: what arrangement is best for this child, in this family, given these facts.
What a Parenting Plan Must Contain
Every Florida parenting plan must address the following at minimum:
- A time-sharing schedulefor the regular school year, summer, holidays, spring break, and special occasions such as birthdays and Mother's/Father's Day.
- Allocation of parental responsibility— whether decisions about healthcare, education, religion, and discipline will be shared jointly or delegated to one parent.
- Address designation for the purpose of school boundary determinations.
- Communication rules— how parents will communicate with each other and with the children.
- Transportation— who does drop-offs and pickups, where, and at what times.
- Technology and access— the child's rights to phone, video, and text contact with each parent.
Best-Interest Factors
Florida Statutes §61.13 enumerates 20 factors judges weigh when deciding time-sharing. The most commonly decisive factors include:
- Each parent's demonstrated capacity to facilitate and encourage a close relationship between the child and the other parent
- The division of parenting responsibilities during the marriage
- The mental and physical health of each parent
- The stability and continuity of each proposed home environment
- Moral fitness of each parent
- The child's preference, if the child is of sufficient age and intelligence
- Each parent's demonstrated knowledge of the child's daily needs
- Evidence of domestic violence, abuse, abandonment, or neglect
- Evidence of substance abuse by either parent
- The geographic viability of the plan
Shared vs. Sole Parental Responsibility
Florida's strong default is shared parental responsibility— both parents making major decisions together. Sole parental responsibility (one parent decides) is ordered only when shared responsibility would be detrimental to the child. Even then, the disadvantaged parent typically still has time-sharing unless safety concerns require otherwise.
A middle path is also available: shared responsibility with ultimate decision-making authority delegated to one parent in specific areas (for example, education or medical care). Judges increasingly use this option to avoid deadlock while still keeping both parents involved.
Modifying a Parenting Plan
A parenting plan can be modified when there is a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstancesthat makes the existing plan unworkable or no longer in the children's best interest. Common triggers:
- One parent's relocation or intended relocation
- A parent's remarriage or entry of a new partner into the household
- Significant change in the children's needs
- A parent's changed work schedule
- Safety concerns such as substance abuse or domestic violence
Learn more about modifications.
Relocation
A parent cannot move more than 50 miles away for more than 60 consecutive days without the other parent's written consent or a court order. Florida's relocation statute (§61.13001) sets specific notice and procedure requirements. See Relocations.
Enforcing a Parenting Plan
When the other parent violates the time-sharing schedule, Florida law provides specific remedies: makeup time for the denied parent, travel-cost reimbursement, mandatory parenting classes, contempt, and in extreme cases modification of the plan itself. See Contempt & Enforcement.
Parenting Plans in Paternity Cases
Parenting plans are not just for divorce. Every paternity case involving a child whose parents are not married also requires an approved plan. See Paternity.
How I Can Help
I have spent more than a quarter century drafting and litigating parenting plans for Jacksonville families. I am a Florida Supreme Court–certified family court mediator and prefer to resolve time-sharing through mediation whenever possible — with the ability to litigate when it is not. Call 904-858-4334 or contact me online.