Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

A final order in a Florida family law case usually remains in effect until one or both parties challenges the order and a new order is entered. The order can be challenged by appeal, a petition for modification or other procedural avenues available by law. In the case Duryea v. Bono, 2D19-225 (Fla. 2d DCA April 21, 2021), the court considered the appeal of a mother whose request for relocation was denied after it was already previously granted by court order.

The parties began their paternity litigation in 2013. This litigation ultimately resulted in a general magistrate granting the mother’s request for relocation. The report entered by the general magistrate on this issue was not challenged by either party and an order ratifying the report was entered by the judge. The general magistrate, upon granting the mother’s request, instructed both parties to submit their proposed parenting plans. Thereafter, the general magistrate approved the mother’s proposed plan and the father filed exceptions. While the judge granted the father’s exceptions as to the proposed plan, it ruled the relocation would not be overturned. Later a hearing took place on all remaining issues in the case, and at that hearing, the judge reconsidered the mother’s relocation request. The record reflects that the court and the father viewed the previous ruling on the mother’s relocation request to be a temporary order for relocation. The court therefore denied what it viewed as the mother’s request for permanent relocation. The mother appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding “There is no language in either the December 9, 2014, general magistrate report and recommendation or in the February 5, 2015, trial court order approving such indicating that the ruling allowing the Mother to relocate was temporary. Therefore, the order granting the Mother's request to relocate was a final order, and the trial court improperly considered the Mother's request anew in 2018. We accordingly reverse that part of the final judgment denying the Mother's request to relocate.” The appellate court held that the trial court’s reasoning that because all previous orders regarding timesharing were temporary the relocation order was also temporary, was incorrect.

If you are seeking to relocate in a Florida child custody case, know there are certain rules that must be followed. Schedule a consultation with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to the specific facts of your case.