Child Custody & Timesharing Lawyers
Florida law now starts every contested time-sharing case from the presumption that equal time with both parents is in the child's best interest. Our family law attorneys help mothers and fathers across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida navigate parenting plans, time-sharing schedules, modifications, and relocations under the updated statutory framework.
Legal issues involving the time you spend with your children must be approached with thoughtfulness and care. Florida law was overhauled in 2023, and courts now begin every contested time-sharing case from the presumption that equal time-sharing is in the child's best interest. To depart from that, a parent has to prove a different arrangement better serves the child. Whether you are starting a parenting plan, modifying an existing one, or facing a relocation request, the right counsel can help you build the factual record the court needs.
At Aaron Delgado & Associates, our family law attorneys advocate for parents and children with the same care they bring to their own families. We provide realistic assessments of how a case is likely to play out, explain the time-sharing and parental-responsibility framework in plain language, and where possible help clients reach agreements with the other parent. Negotiated parenting plans usually result in better, more stable outcomes than orders imposed by a judge.
We have offices in Daytona Beach, Port Orange, and DeLand, and represent clients throughout Volusia and Flagler County. Call us at (386) 255-1400 to discuss your case, or browse our other family law services to see how we can help.
How we help with custody and time-sharing
Initial parenting plans
Setting up the first time-sharing schedule and decision-making framework.
Modifications
Adjusting an existing parenting plan as work, school, or family circumstances change.
Relocations
Moving 50+ miles with a minor child, or responding when the other parent wants to.
High-conflict & DV cases
Domestic violence, contested custody, and cases where safety is the central issue.
What Florida courts consider
When a parenting plan is contested, Florida courts weigh the 20 statutory factors in Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3) to determine what serves the child's best interest. The most frequently dispositive include:
- Each parent's capacity to facilitate the child's relationship with the other parent
- Anticipated division of parental responsibilities, including any third-party involvement
- Length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment
- Moral fitness, mental health, and physical health of each parent
- The home, school, and community record of the child
- The child's reasonable preference, when the court determines sufficient age and maturity
- Evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual violence
- Each parent's demonstrated capacity to communicate about the child without putting the child in the middle
Florida time-sharing law is still evolving
The 2023 reform reshaped how Florida courts approach time-sharing, and judges across the state are still working through what an "equal time-sharing" presumption means in practice. Decisions on relocation, modification, and high-conflict cases continue to develop. A family law attorney who tracks how local judges are applying the new framework can help you build a parenting plan that holds up in court.
Frequently asked
Questions about this practice area
- Does Florida favor mothers over fathers in custody cases?
- No. Florida law forbids the court from giving any preference to either parent based on gender. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(c), the court now starts every contested time-sharing case from the statutory presumption that equal time-sharing with both parents is in the best interest of the child. That presumption was added by HB 1301 in 2023 and shifts the burden to the parent asking for something other than 50/50. The court can still order an unequal schedule when the best-interest factors in § 61.13(3) support it (safety concerns, distance, work schedules, the child's needs), but the starting point is equal.
- Does Florida still use the word "custody"?
- Not in the statute. Florida replaced "custody" with two separate concepts in 2008. "Parental responsibility" under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(c) is the decision-making authority for major issues (school, non-emergency healthcare, religion); courts default to shared parental responsibility unless it would be detrimental to the child. "Time-sharing" is the actual schedule of overnights and exchanges, governed by a parenting plan. The two are decided separately, and a parent can have shared parental responsibility but unequal time-sharing or vice-versa.
- Can I move out of Florida with my child after a divorce?
- Not without either the other parent's written consent or a court order. Florida's relocation statute (Fla. Stat. § 61.13001) defines relocation as a move of 50 miles or more from the principal residence at the time of the last order, for at least 60 consecutive days. Moving without complying with the statute can result in the court ordering the child returned, sanctions, and a contempt finding. The same rules apply whether the move is across the country or across the state line into Georgia. Plan the move with counsel before you sign a lease.
- Can a Florida parenting plan be changed later?
- Yes, but only on a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances since the order, and only if the modification is in the child's best interest. That standard, articulated in case law on top of Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3), is intentionally high; courts will not modify a parenting plan just because the other parent is difficult or because the schedule is inconvenient. The most common qualifying changes are relocation, a substantial change in either parent's work schedule, a documented change in the child's needs, or safety concerns that did not exist at the time of the original order.
Florida time-sharing changed in 2023. Make sure your plan reflects current law.
From initial parenting plans to modifications, relocations, and high-conflict cases, our family law attorneys represent parents across Volusia, Flagler, and Central Florida.
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