Broward County Child Custody Mediation Attorney

When parents in Broward County disagree about where their children will live and who will make decisions about their upbringing, the path they choose to resolve those disagreements matters enormously, not just for the outcome, but for the relationship they will need to maintain as co-parents for years afterward. Broward County child custody mediation offers a structured, private process where parents work through a neutral mediator to build a parenting plan together, rather than handing that decision to a judge who has never met their children. The result is typically a more durable agreement, a less damaged co-parenting relationship, and a process that costs far less than contested litigation.

Florida does not use the words “custody” or “visitation” in its family statutes. What most people call custody is legally divided into two separate questions: parental responsibility, which covers who makes major decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and religious upbringing; and timesharing, which describes the actual schedule each parent spends with the child. Every case involving minor children requires a written parenting plan. How detailed and workable that plan is depends heavily on how it was created. Plans built through mediation tend to fit real family routines because the parents themselves designed them. Plans imposed after contested hearings tend to be generic and frequently return to court for modification.

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. is a Fort Lauderdale family law firm serving parents throughout Broward County who want to resolve timesharing and parental responsibility disputes through mediation, collaborative process, or carefully negotiated agreement. The firm handles these matters with a focus on outcomes that hold up over time and protect the children at the center of every case.

What Custody Mediation Actually Covers in a Broward County Case

Parents often enter mediation thinking it will only address the weekly schedule, but a complete parenting plan in Florida covers far more than overnights. The Broward County child custody mediation process can address every component of the parenting plan, which means the sessions become quite detailed. Parents who understand the full scope of what needs to be resolved tend to prepare better and reach more complete agreements.

• Primary Timesharing Schedule: The week-to-week or biweekly schedule that governs regular parenting time, including which parent has the children on school nights, the practical mechanics of exchanges, and how transportation responsibilities are divided.
• Holiday and School Break Schedules: Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, and summer vacation require their own framework, one that accounts for travel plans, extended family traditions, and how the children transition between households during longer breaks.
• Parental Responsibility Decisions: Whether parents will share decision-making authority jointly or whether one parent will have ultimate authority over specific domains such as medical care, educational choices, or extracurricular activities.
• Relocation Restrictions: Florida law restricts a parent’s ability to move a child more than 50 miles from their current residence without the other parent’s consent or a court order. Mediation can produce a clear agreement about how relocation requests will be handled if they arise later.
• Communication Protocols: How each parent will communicate with the child during the other parent’s timesharing, including expectations around phone calls, video calls, and response times during school hours.
• Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: A well-drafted parenting plan includes a clear process for resolving future disagreements, which helps parents avoid returning to court every time they hit a disagreement over a schedule adjustment or a school decision.
• Special Circumstances and Modifications: Changing work schedules, a parent’s military deployment, or a child’s shifting school or activity schedule may all require flexibility provisions built directly into the original plan.

Why Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. for Broward County Custody Mediation

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. is a family law firm that practices family law exclusively. That focus means every case the firm handles involves the same statutes, the same Broward County courts, and the same parenting plan requirements. The firm’s approach pairs practical legal advice with direct counseling on the emotional realities of divorce and custody disputes, because parents who stay grounded through the process make better decisions about their children’s futures. That philosophy is built into how the firm works, not offered as an afterthought.

The firm’s concentration on uncontested divorce, mediation, and conflict resolution is directly relevant to parents navigating timesharing disputes. Most families who come to this firm agree on more than they initially realize. The work is often identifying where agreement already exists and helping parents bridge the remaining gaps in a structured, low-conflict setting. For cases where mediation alone is not enough, the firm is prepared to move to a collaborative process or, when necessary, represent parents in court. The goal is always to resolve as much as possible before involving a judge, because parents who build their own parenting plan maintain control over decisions that will govern their children’s daily lives. The firm serves Broward County and surrounding communities including Boca Raton and southern Palm Beach County.

How the Mediation Process Works for Timesharing Disputes in Broward County

In a mediated custody case, both parents and their attorneys meet with a neutral mediator who facilitates discussion but does not decide anything. The mediator’s role is to keep the conversation productive, help identify where real disagreement exists versus where miscommunication is the obstacle, and guide both parents toward solutions they can both accept. Sessions are confidential, which means neither parent can introduce what was said in mediation if the case eventually proceeds to a hearing.

Broward County family cases that involve minor children are typically required to attempt mediation before the court will schedule a contested hearing, which means many parents will go through some form of mediation regardless of whether they initially wanted to. Going in prepared, with an attorney who has reviewed the relevant financial data, timesharing history, and the children’s current schedules, makes the difference between a productive session and one that stalls. An attorney who handles these sessions regularly in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit courts understands how parenting plans are evaluated and what gaps are most likely to generate future disputes if left unresolved.

After mediation produces a tentative agreement, the attorneys draft the formal parenting plan. Careful drafting matters here. A plan that is vague on holiday exchanges or silent on what happens when a parent’s work schedule changes will eventually become a source of conflict. The firm brings close attention to that drafting stage, because the goal is an agreement that functions in real life, not just one that gets the case closed.

Florida’s current law establishes equal timesharing as the starting presumption. A parent seeking a different arrangement must present evidence sufficient to rebut that presumption. In mediation, this changes the conversation: rather than each parent arguing for a position from scratch, both start from the same baseline and work outward. For many Broward County families, this gives the mediation process a shared reference point that makes reaching agreement more practical.

Practical Steps for Parents Beginning a Custody Mediation Process

If you are facing a timesharing dispute in Broward County and considering mediation, the first practical step is gathering information about your children’s current schedules and your own availability. A parenting plan that does not account for your actual work schedule, your children’s school calendar, or the logistics of school pickup in areas like Davie, Plantation, or Coral Springs will create problems before the ink is dry. Before any mediation session, document the current parenting arrangement as it has existed in practice, since that history often informs what a court would consider a reasonable baseline.

Broward County family law cases are handled in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court, located at the Broward County Courthouse at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale. If your case has already been filed, you may have court-ordered mediation on your calendar. Review any standing orders from the court carefully, because they often impose temporary parenting restrictions and communication requirements that remain in effect until a final parenting plan is approved. Violating a standing order, even unintentionally, can affect how a judge views your case.

Compile records that may be relevant: school attendance histories, medical records showing which parent has historically attended appointments, communications between the parents, and documentation of any significant events affecting the children. Parents who go into mediation with a clear picture of what has actually been working for their children, rather than what they hope to negotiate, tend to reach better agreements more efficiently. Avoid approaching mediation as a negotiation to win. A parenting plan is not a zero-sum transaction. The goal is a workable schedule that reflects your children’s real needs, not a document that maximizes one parent’s time at the expense of a functional co-parenting relationship.

Questions Parents Ask About Child Custody Mediation in Broward County

Is mediation required before a custody hearing in Broward County?

In most contested family cases involving minor children in Broward County, the court will require the parties to attempt mediation before scheduling a final hearing. There are limited exceptions, such as cases involving domestic violence where requiring mediation would be inappropriate. If you are unsure whether mediation is required in your case, your attorney can review the court’s standing orders and any scheduling orders already issued.

What happens if we cannot reach an agreement in mediation?

If mediation does not produce a complete agreement, the remaining unresolved issues go before the judge for a contested hearing. Any partial agreements reached during mediation can be documented and submitted, so you do not lose the progress made. The judge then hears evidence and arguments from both sides and determines timesharing and parental responsibility based on the best interests of the child standard outlined in Florida statutes.

Does the mediator decide who gets custody?

No. A mediator has no authority to impose any decision. The mediator facilitates the negotiation but cannot order either parent to accept any term. Only a judge can issue a binding order if parents cannot agree. If mediation is successful, the agreement the parents reach becomes the basis for a consent order signed by the judge.

Can I bring my attorney to mediation?

Yes. In Broward County custody mediations, both parents are typically represented by their attorneys throughout the session. Your attorney can advise you privately during breaks, help you evaluate any proposals that are made, and ensure that any agreement reached reflects terms that are enforceable and genuinely in your interest.

How long does custody mediation typically take?

A single mediation session in a Broward County custody case can last anywhere from a few hours to a full day, depending on the number of issues to resolve and how far apart the parents are at the start. Some cases require more than one session. Cases where the parents agree on the broad structure but need help refining details tend to resolve more quickly than cases where fundamental disagreements about living arrangements or parental responsibility remain unaddressed.

What if my co-parent is unwilling to compromise during mediation?

A parent who refuses to engage meaningfully in mediation is not creating leverage; the court takes note of which parent demonstrated a willingness to cooperate and reach agreement. Florida’s best interests analysis explicitly considers each parent’s willingness to facilitate a relationship between the child and the other parent. Unreasonable obstruction during the mediation process can factor into how a judge evaluates parental fitness at a subsequent hearing.

What does Florida’s equal timesharing presumption mean for my case?

Florida law now starts from the premise that equal timesharing is in a child’s best interests. A parent who wants a schedule that deviates from a 50/50 split needs to present evidence demonstrating why the deviation serves the child’s best interests. This does not mean every case results in equal time. Factors such as a parent’s work schedule, the child’s school and activity location, each parent’s historical involvement, and the child’s age and developmental needs all influence what schedule is actually appropriate. Mediation gives parents a space to work out a schedule that fits their specific circumstances without requiring a judge to decide based on limited hearing time.

Can a parenting plan reached through mediation be modified later?

Yes, but modification requires showing a substantial change in circumstances that was not anticipated when the original plan was entered. Common triggers include a parent’s relocation, a significant change in the child’s needs, or a major shift in either parent’s work schedule. A carefully drafted parenting plan that includes built-in flexibility provisions for routine schedule adjustments can reduce how often parents need to return to court for formal modifications.

What if there is a history of domestic violence or safety concerns?

Florida courts do not require mediation in cases where domestic violence makes the process inappropriate or unsafe. If there is a history of abuse, coercive control, or a protective order in place, the standard mediation model may not apply. These situations require careful evaluation of what dispute resolution approach, if any, is appropriate, and the court retains authority to address safety concerns in the parenting plan itself, including supervised timesharing or exchange location requirements.

Is what we discuss in mediation confidential?

Yes. Florida law protects mediation communications as confidential. Neither parent can introduce statements made during mediation sessions as evidence in court if the case proceeds to a hearing. This confidentiality is one of the features that makes mediation a useful environment for honest negotiation. Parents can explore options and voice concerns in mediation without worrying that their words will be used against them later.

How does mediation handle the situation where parents live in different parts of Broward County?

Geographic distance within the county affects practical details like school pickup, activity schedules, and exchange logistics. These details are resolved during the parenting plan drafting process, which follows any mediation agreement. Parents in areas like Hallandale Beach, Deerfield Beach, or Pembroke Pines may need specific provisions about exchange locations, transportation responsibilities, and travel time that parents in the same neighborhood do not. A child custody attorney in Broward County who handles these cases regularly can anticipate these issues and ensure the parenting plan addresses them before they become disputes.

Serving Parents Across Broward County and the Surrounding Region

Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. represents parents in custody mediation proceedings throughout Broward County and the broader South Florida region. The firm works with families from Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs, Plantation, Davie, and Weston. Parents in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Lauderhill, Sunrise, Tamarac, and Coconut Creek also turn to the firm for guidance through timesharing disputes and parenting plan negotiations. The firm extends its representation to families in Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach, Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, and the communities along the western reaches of Broward County including Southwest Ranches and Parkland. Beyond Broward County, the firm serves parents in Boca Raton and southern Palm Beach County, and in St. Augustine and St. Johns County. Wherever a family is located within these communities, the process and the courts that govern it remain the same, and the firm’s familiarity with those courts means clients move through the process without unnecessary delays.

Broward County Child Custody Mediation Attorney Ready to Help Your Family

Parenting plans shaped through cooperation tend to outlast those imposed by courts, and children benefit when their parents can work through disagreements without putting every decision in front of a judge. Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. helps Broward County parents move through this process with a focus on agreements that actually work in practice, are clearly written, and hold up over time. Whether you need a child custody mediation attorney in Broward County to help you prepare for a first session or to guide you through a more complicated timesharing dispute, the firm is available to talk through your situation.

The first 15 minutes of your consultation are free. Call Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. to speak with a Broward County child custody attorney about your case and get a clear picture of your options before your next court date or mediation session.