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Florida Parenting Plan – Time Sharing Attorney

An Effective Parenting Plan for You

Shared parenting in Florida

When parents divorce, Florida law requires a time-sharing parenting plan be completed and approved by the court.

Otherwise known as a custody and visitation order, parenting plans address how parents will continue to raise and care for their children after divorce. These issues cover each parent’s obligations for their child’s education, health, safety and general welfare as set forth in Florida Statutes §61.13, and are used in conjunction with the marital settlement agreement.

Florida statutes officially refer to parental responsibility rather than custody, and time-sharing rather than visitation. The parenting plan is drafted in negotiations and/or mediation with the parents. Of course, optimal plans are developed when all parties can agree to terms.

Speak with an experienced time sharing lawyer now. Call us at 407-834-4847

Our divorce attorneys are skilled mediators and problem solvers who care for you and your situation. With personal attention we apply years of focused experience in our negotiation and mediation efforts. When agreement cannot be reached, time sharing schedules and parenting obligations are set by court order.

The purpose of the plan is to promote a shared parenting experience for the child. When a shared parenting experience is not in the child’s best interest, Florida court will order sole parental responsibility.

A focus of the parenting arrangement is a time sharing schedule: how often and for how long the child will reside or stay with each parent, and at what time of each week/month/year that residency will occur. The parent with whom the child has more time-sharing will generally receive child support; however numerous factors contribute to the child support determination.

 

What a parenting plan covers in Florida

  • Vacation, holiday and summer contact: We discuss with you what holidays mean the most to you, including your children’s birthdays, and how your summers are typically spent. The courts may consider such in the final plan.
  • Transportation and exchange: Either the parents or mutually agreed upon parties are to meet at the documented times to exchange the children for time-sharing. The guidelines have to comply with Florida’s transportation laws.
  • Communication: All types of communication—between the parents and child, between both parents, and between their children—can be specified to eliminate confusion and willful opposition. The plan can even be itemized enough to say who pays for the communication and devices, such as cell phones and computers.
  • Child care arrangements: The responsibility of each parent to ensure the child is taken to/picked up from day care or before/after school programs is established, and who pays for this care.
  • All matters of health care arrangements and obligations are specified.
  • Extracurricular attendance and involvement: Particularly in sole or supervised plans, there may be restrictions regarding if either or both parents can attend certain events in which the children are involved, such as school plays, athletic events, or group functions.
  • Child Safety Plan: Both parents’ signatures on the parenting plan affirm agreements on corporal punishment, firearm-free residences, and/or alcoholic consumption at and before the time the children are in the home.
  • Supervised timesharing: When appropriate, establish whether visitation is supervised and specify the degree of supervision.
  • Other provisions: Special circumstances may exist, such as when a child is disabled, requiring other provisions to be inserted into a basic parenting plan.

Orlando Parenting Plan Lawyers

Long-distance Plan

Special stipulations arise when children living with the local parent have to travel to share time with the away parent. A TK Law attorney will work with you to draft a long-distance plan that works to your children’s advantage. If possible, Florida courts aim not to disrupt children’s schedules – such as with their schools or extracurricular activities.

Some things considered in a long distance plan are the actual distance involved. For example, it may or may not be prudent during the school year for parents to meet with the children every other weekend if one parent lives more than 150 miles away.

Sole or Shared Responsibility

Factors in your divorce case will determine whether a parenting plan grants sole or shared responsibility. For example, the courts will consider past or present domestic violence as well as the capability of either parent to make safe or competent decisions on the children’s behalf. The plan also determines if visitation shall be supervised or unsupervised.

Plan Violations

Any changes to an existing plan for shared parenting must be approved through a court order. Contact TK Law as soon as possible if you believe a parent is violating – or intends to violate – a parenting plan.

Effective Family Representation

Representation from a divorce lawyer at TK Law can be of tremendous help as you seek a fair time-sharing and shared parenting arrangement. Working together, we can develop a parenting schedule that is truly fair, clearly defined, will avoid any misunderstandings, and is in the child’s best interest right now and in the future.

TK Law helps families develop, negotiate and draft each component of their plan. Contact our family lawyers today for effective, optimal planning that keeps your children’s best interest the priority, while installing creative and workable solutions to many parenting and visitation issues. We can be reached quickly and conveniently at 407-834-4847. You will always work with an experienced attorney; you will never be passed off to a case worker.

Find answers to frequent questions on our Divorce Video Help Channel.

Speak with an experienced parenting plan attorney today.

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Altamonte Springs Office
999 Douglas Avenue
Suite 3333
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
407.834.4847

Downtown Orlando Office
37 N. Orange Avenue
Suite 500b
Orlando, FL 32801
407.339.0269

Altamonte Springs Office
999 Douglas Avenue
Suite 3333
Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
407.834.4847
Downtown Orlando Office
37 N. Orange Avenue
Suite 500b
Orlando, FL 32801
407.339.0269
CALL (407) 834-4847