Florida Child Custody & Timesharing In Pittsburgh and Allegheny County

The Florida legislators made dramatic changes with the enactment of a new custody statute on October 1, 2008. The new Florida custody statute removed the words “custody” and “visitation” from Florida law and replaced them with the words “access and contact.” The new Florida custody laws also created shared parental responsibility, requiring in most cases that all major decisions be made jointly by the parents of minor children. 

In addition to parental responsibility for decision-making, the Florida family court also establishes a parenting plan that sets forth each parent’s schedule with the minor children. Within the parenting plan, there is a time-sharing schedule that has replaced “visitation” and the later terminology of “access and contact.” Generally, there is not a primary residence designation, but instead, the parenting plan sets forth parental responsibility (decision-making rights), time-sharing arrangements, and child support under the Florida child support guidelines.

There are no presumptions in the Florida child custody statute about what amount of time either parent should spend with the children. Instead, the parenting plan allows for the creation of a schedule that works for the best interests of the minor children. A parenting plan created by the parents through cooperation or mediation generally results in a plan that is much more thorough in considering the individual needs of the particular minor children.