In my experience as a family law attorney in Miami, parents who want to get a divorce are most worried about one thing: the well-being of their children. Your Florida parenting plan is your chance to work with your ex-spouse to create a strategy for future care and responsibility that works for both of you and, more importantly, your children. Watch the video below to learn more about parenting plans.
A parenting plan is a document that details how parents plan to divide childcare responsibilities and time-sharing rights after divorce. Below, I briefly explain a few different terms that are important to understand before creating your parenting plan.
Parental Responsibility (Legal Custody)
In your Florida parenting plan, parental responsibility is a term that defines who has the authority to make decisions for your child’s care. Three options exist, and depending on the circumstances, the court may order one or the other:
- Shared parental responsibility
- Shared parental responsibility with designation of the ultimate decision maker
- Sole parental responsibility
As the name implies, shared parental responsibility is when both parents share decision making power for the children. Decisions about education, non-emergency health care, religion, and other important issues fall to both parents in this form of parental responsibility. Depending on your situation, it can be beneficial to divide the areas of responsibility between you and your ex-spouse. For instance, one parent could make decisions pertaining to health care while the other has the power to decide where the child attends school. You can also share equal power over all decisions. It really depends on how each set of co-parents wants to divide the duties.
Sole parental responsibility, on the other hand, grants one parent the power to make important decisions for the children. In such cases, the parent who makes the decisions does not have to consult with the other parent. While many times a judge will grant shared parental responsibility to co-parents, if it is not in the best interest of the child and detrimental to the child—for example, if one parent struggles with addiction—then sole parental responsibility becomes a more viable option.
Time-Sharing (Physical Custody)
Your Florida parental plan also stipulates when the children will be spending time with each parent. The time-sharing portion of the plan is a detailed schedule of when each parent is responsible for the children, including information regarding breaks from school and holidays.
Time-sharing and parental responsibility can be sensitive issues, but parents can settle their differences for their children’s sakes and present a document to the courts that puts the children’s interests first. Most mothers and fathers want their kids to be able to move past the divorce after it is complete, so compromising is not usually an issue.
Get Help with Your Florida Parenting Plan
Divorce, even when it is amicable, can be stressful, especially when kids are involved. If you want to ensure that your rights and the wellbeing of your children are protected in your Florida parenting plan, I can help. As an experienced family law attorney, I’ve helped many families resolve their differences through mediation to put the best interests of their children first. Get in touch with me today to learn more.
About the Author: Helena Y. Farber is an attorney in Aventura, Florida, whose practice is concentrated in the areas of divorce and family law. She can be reached at (305) 520-9205 or via email at hyf@farberlawpa.com.
Disclaimer: The attorney makes this Blog available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog. The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.