Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Most Florida family courts have what are known as standing orders. These orders typically lay out general duties of each party while a case is pending, and are mainly designed to preserve the status quo while a case is pending. In Dowell v. Knoras, 2D18-4220 (Fla. 2d DCA May 3, 2019), a paternity case, the mother appealed an order finding her in contempt of the court’s standing order prohibiting relocation of a parent and child while a case is pending.
The parties were not married but lived together with their minor child for a period of time. After they separated, they followed a timesharing schedule that was agreed upon but was not established through any court order or proceeding. Subsequently, the mother let the father know she planned to move more than 50 miles from her residence with the parties’ child in order to grow her business. The father then filed a petition for paternity.
Before the mother was served with the petition and the accompanying standing order from the court, she had already moved with the minor child to her new residence in a different county. The father then filed a motion for contempt alleging that the mother moved in violation of the order. The father’s motion was granted, and the mother appealed arguing there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that she violated the standing order because the evidence indicated she moved before she was served with the petition and order.
The appellate court agreed with the mother and reversed, holding “Although the undisputed evidence presented below was that [the mother] was served in Naples on June 30, the evidence also established that she had already moved to Tampa by June 29. At the contempt hearing, [the mother] testified that she had closed on a home in Tampa on June 29; that the electricity and water had been turned on at the Tampa residence on June 27; that all of her belongings and those of her current boyfriend and the minor child had already been moved to Tampa by the time she was served in Naples; and that she was only in Naples on June 30 to clean out the apartment she had rented there and to return the keys to the landlord. Furthermore, [the father], as the movant, presented no evidence to show that [the mother] moved to Tampa after she was served with the standing order. As such, the only evidence presented below established that [the mother] had moved to Tampa at the latest by June 29 and that at that time, she had not yet been served with the standing order and was not subject to the requirement that she seek court approval before moving with her child. As such, the trial court's finding that [the mother] was in contempt of court for willfully violating the standing order is not supported by competent substantial record evidence, and we must therefore reverse.”
Filing a petition for paternity in Florida is an important first step in asserting parental rights. If you are involved in a Florida paternity case, contact a Miami child custody lawyer to assist you and to have the lawyer explain how Florida child custody laws will be applied to your case.