Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

Can a parent be held in contempt of a Florida child custody order if there are conflicting orders concerning the exchange of the child? In order to be held in a contempt, the terms of the order at issue must be clear and concise in stating what a party can or cannot do. An unclear or contradicting order may be insufficient to hold a party in contempt. This was an issue in the case Varner v. Varner, 5D23-107 (Fla. 5th DCA February 17, 2023).

In their divorce case, a parenting plan was entered which required the parties to meet in Palm Coast for time-sharing exchanges. The father filed a motion for contempt against the mother seeking make-up time-sharing and alleging she was violating the parenting plan. The trial court found that (1) because the mother was going to Columbia County without bringing the child with her so the father could exercise time-sharing and (2) because the mother did not personally transport the child to time-sharing exchanges, she was in contempt. The court noted the existence of a no contact order between the mother and father stemming from a pending domestic violence case against the mother. The father was awarded 17 overnight make-up time-sharing periods. The mother appealed.

The appellate court held “The parenting plan provides that timesharing exchanges ‘shall occur at Palm Coast, Florida unless both parties agree in advance to a different meeting place.’ The parenting plan makes no mention of Columbia County. Because Mother’s failure to make the child available for timesharing whenever she traveled to Columbia County was not a violation of a prior court order, the court erred by holding Mother in contempt on that basis.”

As to the allegation that the mother did not personally appear for time-sharing exchanges, the court held “To the extent that such was required by the parenting plan, Mother did not appear—given the court’s finding about the no-contact order—to have the present ability to personally deliver the child to Father for timesharing. Therefore, before finding Mother in contempt on that basis, the court should have made findings about the effect of the no-contact order, the existence of which the court expressly acknowledged in its order of contempt.”

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