Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

As part of a Florida domestic violence injunction, time-sharing or child custody can be affected. When a domestic violence court enters a permanent injunction that results in the abuser receiving supervised visits with a child, can a Florida family court modify that visitation? This was an issue in the case Lonsdale v. Elbanna, 2D20-2978 (Fla. 2d DCA October 1, 2021).

A permanent injunction was entered against the father for five years. As part of the injunction, the father was ordered to have supervised visits with the parties’ child. Subsequently, the trial court entered an order temporarily modifying the father’s time-sharing, providing that he could have unsupervised time-sharing if he completed certain requirements. The mother appealed. The appellate court reversed. It held: “Because the modification order, on its face, failed to state that any substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances had occurred after the entry of the injunction order or that modifying the injunction order would be in the daughter's best interests, we must reverse the modification order.”

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