Time-Sharing and Parenting Plans in Florida, Explained
Short answer: Florida no longer uses the terms custody and visitation. Instead, parents follow a parenting plan that sets a time-sharing schedule and explains how decisions about school, health care and other major issues are made. Courts presume equal time-sharing is in the child's best interests, but either parent can rebut that presumption with evidence.
If you are separating with children in Florida, two terms will shape everything: parental responsibility, which is about decision-making, and time-sharing, which is about the schedule. Both are written into a parenting plan that becomes a court order.
What a parenting plan includes
- A time-sharing schedule for school weeks, weekends, holidays and summer
- How major decisions are made about education, health care and religion
- Which parent's address is used for school designation
- How and when parents communicate, and how children contact the other parent
- Transportation and exchange locations
- Rules for travel and for resolving future disagreements
Shared parental responsibility
Florida law presumes that both parents should share major decision-making. That means agreeing on things like which school a child attends or whether to pursue a medical treatment. A court can award sole parental responsibility, or give one parent final say over a specific area, when shared decision-making would be harmful to the child.
The equal time-sharing presumption
Since 2023, Florida law presumes that equal time-sharing is in a child's best interests. The presumption can be rebutted if a parent proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that a different schedule better serves the child. Read more in Florida's equal time-sharing presumption.
How judges decide
Every time-sharing decision turns on the child's best interests. Florida law lists many factors, including:
- Each parent's demonstrated ability to support a close relationship with the other parent
- Each parent's ability to put the child's needs ahead of their own
- The stability of each home and the child's school and community ties
- Each parent's involvement in the child's life, schooling and activities
- Evidence of domestic violence, abuse or neglect
- The child's developmental needs and, depending on age and maturity, the child's preference
What judges watch: Judges notice a parent who undermines the other parent's relationship with the children. Speaking respectfully about the other parent and honoring the schedule are among the most important things you can do.
Common schedules
Equal schedules
- Week on, week off
- 2-2-3 rotation
- 2-2-5-5 rotation
Other schedules
- Alternating weekends plus a weekday
- Long-distance plans with summers and holidays
- Step-up plans for very young children
When to talk to a lawyer
A parenting plan governs years of your child's life, so it should be written carefully. Heather Harris Law represents Brevard County parents in time-sharing and parenting plan cases, including agreed plans, contested hearings and modifications.
Frequently asked questions
Does Florida still use the word custody?
Not in its statutes. Florida uses parental responsibility for decision-making and time-sharing for the schedule, both written into a parenting plan.
Does the mother automatically get the children?
No. Florida law does not favor either parent based on gender. Courts presume equal time-sharing and decide based on the child's best interests.
At what age can a child choose which parent to live with?
Florida has no set age. A judge may consider a child's reasonable preference if the child is mature enough, but it is only one factor.
Heather Harris Law, 650 South Courtenay Parkway, Suite 101, Merritt Island, FL 32952. Call (321) 452-7055. Heather Harris spent thirteen years as an Assistant State Attorney before opening her practice and is licensed in Florida and Alabama. This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.