Attorney at Law
Under previous Florida law, there was no presumption of any particular child custody (time-sharing) schedule. This allowed family court judges considerably broad discretion in how to assign custody, in line with the prevailing best interests of the child standard.
However, recent statutory changes have created a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing. What does this mean for parents who are facing child custody matters? The Jacksonville family law attorneys of Tupper Law P.A. take a look.
The Equal Time-Sharing Presumption
Updates to Florida Statutes § 61.13 codified the presumption that the child’s best interests are served by allowing both parents to have equal (roughly 50/50) parenting time. When parents cannot agree on a schedule and the court must decide, it starts with this presumption.
The presumption is rebuttable. A parent wishing to challenge it must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that equal parenting time is not in the child’s best interests. In other words, the parent has to show that equal time would be harmful to the child.
In order to prove this, a parent may present such evidence as:
- Domestic violence: This includes assault, battery, kidnapping, stalking, and other criminal offenses that one member of a household commits against another. Household members include spouses, ex-spouses, and parents (whether married or not).
- Sexual violence: If a parent has reasonable cause to believe that they or the child is or has been a victim of sexual violence, they may be able to rebut the equal-time presumption. This is true regardless of whether a cause of action related to the violence has been filed in court.
- Abuse, abandonment, or neglect: These are additional statutory factors which are specifically defined in the law and which the court can also consider regardless of whether there’s a filed or pending action concerning them. Ask a Jacksonville family lawyer for details.
- Other relevant factors unique to the facts of the case
When There is a Presumption Against Equal Time
In contrast to the presumption of equal time, there are some factors which create a rebuttable presumption that equal parenting time would be harmful to the child. These include situations in which a parent:
- Has been convicted of a misdemeanor of the first degree or higher involving domestic violence
- Meets statutory criteria for termination of parental rights on the basis of incarceration
- Has been convicted of a sex crime, and at the time was 18 years of age or older while the victim was under 18 years of age (or the offending parent believed the victim to be under age 18)
Implications for Parental Rights and Court Decisions
The new equal-time presumption creates important implications for Jacksonville family court decisions and how they will affect parental rights. They include:
- Shifting the burden of proof: Under the old law, which had no equal-time presumption, Florida courts weighed all statutory factors without defaulting to a 50/50 schedule. Now, judges start with that 50/50 schedule and only depart from it if there are good reasons to do so.
- Managing parental expectations: Since parents know that courts consider equal time to be in the child’s best interests, they can more easily predict how custody negotiations will go. This will help them determine the evidence they will need if they wish to establish an unequal parenting time.
- May allow for modifications: A parent could be able to ask the court to modify an existing child custody plan to establish equal parenting time. However, courts will need to decide whether the new equal-time presumption will apply retroactively to those existing plans.
- Child support consequences: Child support is based largely on how much time each parent spends with the child. With equal time now being the presumptive norm, a parent’s child support obligation could change.
Navigating the Shifting Legal Landscape With You
These changes to Florida child custody laws demonstrate the importance of having pro-active counsel who is ready to serve your and your family’s legal needs. If you have a pending or existing Jacksonville child custody matter, it’s time to speak with a dedicated family lawyer.
Let the team at Tupper Law P.A. assist with all of your child custody issues. You can call us or complete our online contact form today to get started.