Updated Florida Time-Sharing Changes For 2024
Last year, the child custody laws in Florida underwent a major overhaul. These changes, which affect everything from time-sharing to parenting plan modification will have a significant impact on family law cases going forward, so it’s a good idea for those who are involved in such a case to familiarize themselves with the recent changes.
Time-Sharing Changes
Last summer, Governor DeSantis officially signed a number of major changes to the state’s time-sharing statutes into law. One change, for instance, created a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is always in a child’s best interests, which means that unless one parent can prove that such an arrangement wouldn’t be best for a child, a court will go ahead and presume that it is. This often has important implications for the type of time-sharing arrangement that gets put into place.
Besides the implementation of the rebuttable presumption for equal time-sharing, the new laws also require judges to consider additional factors when coming up with a parenting plan and time-sharing schedule, including:
- How to minimize disruption and loss for the child;
- How to ensure the child’s stability and security;
- How to best shield the child from conflict;
- How to maximize the child’s relationships with both parents; and
- How to anticipate and plan for changes in the parents’ and child’s circumstances.
These changes are intended to create a fairer and more equitable system for parents and children during the divorce process, while also giving renewed attention to the promotion of the child’s stability and security.
Changes to Parenting Plan Modification Requirements
Another important change made by the recent update to Florida’s custody laws was the removal of a preexisting requirement that parents who wish to modify their parenting plan in some way, prove that the change is necessary due to an unanticipated change in circumstances. Under the new law, parents can now seek a modification purely based on the best interests of the child. This is a far less burdensome standard than the one used in the past, meaning that it will be easier for parents to adapt to their changing circumstances, including the natural maturing and aging of their children when tailoring their parenting plans to fit their family’s needs. Furthermore, the new law also allows judges to consider modifying parenting plans when a parent relocates to within 50 miles of their child.
Set Up a Consultation with Our Child Custody Legal Team Today
Experienced family law attorneys understand the importance of remaining up-to-date on all of the recent changes to time-sharing and modification rules that were enacted in Florida last summer. To learn more about these changes, including how they could affect your own case, don’t hesitate to call dedicated Fort Lauderdale child custody lawyer Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. We can walk you through these changes and do our best to help you resolve your current family law matter. Call us at 954-945-7591 to get started or reach out to us via online message.
Sources:
flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2023/1301/Analyses/h1301z1.CJS.PDF
flvoicenews.com/new-desantis-signed-law-presumes-50-50-timesharing-of-a-child-is-best-interest/
