Broward County Child Custody Parenting Plans: New Florida Law and Shared Parental Responsibility

Florida child custody laws underwent significant changes on October 1, 2008. The old Florida child custody system presumed shared parental responsibility, with one parent being named the primary custodial parent of the minor children.. The Broward County family law judge could evaluate a multitude of factors to determine which parent would have primary custody, focusing on the best interests of the child: attachment between parent and child, possible visitation arrangements, the stability of the home environment, and the moral fitness of each parent, to name a few. The child's preferences were taken into consideration if the child was older and relatively mature, but the child's needs and best interests have always been the primary consideration.

The new Florida child custody law requires that divorced, separated, or never-married parents develop a parenting plan for raising their children and does away with the concepts of custody, visitation and primary/secondary custodial parents. The parenting plans are extensive and are intended to outline a timesharing schedule and cover issues such as providing for health care, education, and how the parents communicate with the children, among other issues. The family court evaluates numerous factors during the formation of a parenting plan or when considering a parenting plan developed by the parents themselves . These include some of the old factors and some additional factors, but ultimately, the emphasis is on the ability of the parents to co-parent their children..

The shift to parenting plans in Florida child custody law reflects a growing movement throughout the United States to reduce conflict among parents raising children in separate homes. The plans have been regarded as a positive shift in family law, promoting communication and cooperation between parents. Although the prior law in Florida preferred the participation of both parents, the new legislation more clearly emphasizes shared parental responsibility. Parents will share responsibility and are expected to collaborate in order to achieve the priorities they have set for their children, except in rare instances in which one parent's involvement in the life of the children would be extremely detrimental to their well-being. A Broward family lawyer can help you with your parenting plan.

A parenting plan requires that the parents list their priorities. For instance, having the children remain in the same elementary school or church they have always attended could be priority both parents agree on, as they seek to prevent disruption in their children's lives. Parents will need to reevaluate the plan periodically, particularly in light of certain circumstances. Restructuring the agreement will be necessary when parents remarry or move and as the children get older. For instance, parents may want to agree to consistent rules about dating as a child enters high school.

Florida Family Law: Domestic Violence: The Other Side of the Issue

Accusations of domestic violence in the Fort Lauderdale area lead to increasingly harsh consequences. Domestic violence can include battery, sexual violence, stalking, false imprisonment, and other acts committed by someone in your household, your current or former spouse, or a person you have been romantically involved with in the past. Although most domestic violence cases in the Fort Lauderdale area probably involve current or former romantic partners, a child can batter his parent or vice versa. Florida and other states have passed ever tougher legislation to combat the problem in an effort to protect the victims of this often silent crime. Public awareness of domestic violence has grown substantially in Broward County and elsewhere. Florida police and family courts have implemented special procedures to govern this sensitive issue.

Domestic violence is an issue that continues to challenge law enforcement and judges in Broward County and throughout the State of Florida. Being accused of domestic violence has far-reaching ramifications. If your spouse notifies the police, you could be arrested and taken to jail if they believe that you were the primary aggressor in the dispute. Florida's mandatory arrest policy requires that one person involved goes to jail. You may have to post bail, attend numerous court dates, and be forced to miss work. You could go to trial, even if your spouse recants the story given to police, and could face a jail sentence or a hefty fine if you are convicted. The judge may enter a no-contact order that prevents you from going near your spouse, your children, and your home.

In addition to the criminal consequences, a domestic violence arrest or accusation has serious civil ramifications including the issuance of an injunction for the protection against domestic violence (commonly known as an injunction or a restraining order). The entry of an injunction will prevent you from returning to your home, contacting your family, and will require you to forfeit any firearms you may possess. The violation of a domestic violence injunction has potential criminal repercussions. If you have been accused of domestic violence recently or in the past, you should always be represented by an experienced Fort Lauderdale family lawyer.

Broward Family Lawyer: Timesharing & Addictive Parents

Florida law provides that timesharing between divorced parents is arranged to suit the best interests of the children and is outlined in a parenting plan. Ideally, each parent should be able to spend as much time parenting his or her children as is possible. However, when one parent suffers from an addiction problem, establishing a parenting plan becomes more complicated. Many parents in Broward County struggle with addiction. Ongoing drug and alcohol abuse can threaten a parent's livelihood and their ability to support children financially and emotionally. A parent's problem with addiction may even have been a reason why the marriage did not survive.

Addiction to drugs or alcohol can have both a physical and a mental component. The parent's dependence on a substance may override all of her other needs, including holding down a job and maintaining personal relationships. Sadly, someone with a substance abuse problem may not be able to properly care for her children due to extreme mood swings, child neglect, or other effects of the drugs or alcohol. In some cases, psychological addictions beyond traditional substance abuse - such as gambling and computer usage - can affect the parent-child relationship. Even if the children do not live with the addictive parent, the addiction can severely affect the parent's ability to pay child support and to properly care for the children when they are in that parent's care. At the very least, addiction issues impact the parent-child relationship.

If your former spouse has a problem with addiction, you should be concerned about your children's safety. He could drive drunk with them in the car, use drugs in their presence, overdose, or just improperly supervise them. For this reason, it is important to document instances of the abuse and, as much as is possible, retain corroborating evidence of the problem and how it affects your former spouse's day-to-day functioning and the lives of the children.

You may prefer that the addictive parent not be around your children at all. However, you should remember that family courts place a high priority on maintaining familial relationships, particularly the parent-child bond. A Fort Lauderdale area divorce lawyer can navigate through this process. The addicted parent could get limited, supervised timesharing or no timesharing at all.

Coordinating timesharing is an issue that requires cooperation between parents. Establishing a parenting plan that both parents can agree to and follow is ideal. An addictive parent makes that process more difficult, because they may not always be rational, they may have difficulty following the plan, and there is concern about what they are doing in the presence of the children.