The care and upbringing of children following divorce is often an ongoing source of conflict for divorcing parents. Divorcing couples often tackle custody and visitation issues as soon as they separate. Custody must address both physical custody, or the rights and responsibilities regarding the day-to-day care and activities of their children and legal custody, or the legal rights and responsibilities associated with the child's upbringing. The courts are favoring joint, ongoing child rearing responsibilities (shared parental responsibilities), with the children residing where it is most practical and where they will best flourish.
Florida divorce laws encourage shared parental responsibility of children unless there is a compelling reason not to. "Shared parental responsibility" does not necessarily mean that each parent will have the children 50 percent of the time, but that both parents will share equally in making major decisions affecting their children. Generally, one parent is designated the primary residential parent, with the other parent being granted liberal and frequent visitation rights, which typically includes alternate weekends, alternate holidays, and sharing the children's summer vacation.
Courts generally honor any custody agreements divorcing parents reach regarding their children. When custody is contested, most courts will require parents to participate in a mandatory mediation session. Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution process where divorcing couples work with a specially trained neutral third party to try and resolve some or all of their disagreements. If mediation is unsuccessful, the court will determine custody. Though rules differ from state to state, most courts generally reach decisions about custody and visitation after considering what arrangement will serve the best interests of the child.
According to the law in Florida, the best interest of the child is the polestar factor when determining which parent is designated as the primary residential parent. The other parent typically pays child support according to a Florida child support guideline formula based upon the income of both spouses. When deciding issues regarding child custody, courts in Florida will consider many factors including:
- Best interests of the child
- Suitability of each parent as custodian
- Psychological, emotional, and developmental needs of the child
- Ability of the parents to communicate
- Prior and continuing care that the parents have given the child
- Wishes of the child
- Safety of the child
- Custodial agreements of the parents
- History of domestic abuse
The family law attorneys at Baird Law Group provide all of our clients with caring and supportive legal advocacy along with experienced legal representation. Our firm is a smaller law firm by choice: we know our clients by name and personally manage every aspect of their case, providing outstanding representation in a cost-effective manner.
We zealously represent the best interests of mothers, fathers, and other interested parties in custody controversies without putting children in the middle of the dispute. We are committed to providing the most effective level of service to each of our valued clients in a caring and compassionate manner. We handle child custody issues including:
- Child custody, legal custody, physical custody, temporary custody and visitation
- Child support, child support enforcement and child support modification
- Interstate jurisdictional issues - Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act (UCCJA)
- Marital settlement agreements
- Mediation and settlement agreements
- Separation agreements
- Domestic Violence Injunctions for Protection.
