Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody

When one parent makes timesharing difficult for the other parent in a Florida child custody case, this is a factor the court can consider in creating a parenting plan. There are many other factors a court must consider as well with the primary focus being the best interest of the child. This was an issue in the case Giacomaro v. Brossia, 4D2024-0824 (Fla. 4th DCA October 16, 2024).

The child in this paternity case was born in Michigan. The mother relocated from Michigan to Florida with the child when the child was an infant. By the time the father filed a paternity action to establish a parenting plan approximately four years after the child’s birth, the mother was on her way to obtaining a permanent injunction against the father for domestic violence. While the paternity case was pending a temporary order was entered establishing shared parental responsibility and a time-sharing schedule. Before trial, the parties filed various motions which alleged contempt of the time-sharing and child support provisions of the temporary orders in place. The trial court ultimately awarded the father primary timesharing in Michigan, citing the mother’s failure to encourage a close and continuing relationship between the father and the child. The appellate opinion notes “The mother’s hostility to the notion of co-parenting with the father led her to place significant roadblocks to the father’s ability to spend time with his daughter. The mother’s conduct apparently weighed heavily in the court’s ultimate decision that the child should relocate to Michigan.” The mother appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding “Here, the circuit court abused its discretion in awarding majority timesharing to the father because the court’s decision was based on speculation that the father’s living situation would improve.” The court went over specific examples of the trial court speculating about or ignoring evidence about issues such as the father’s three prior DUIs, his disheveled living arrangements, and his suspended driver’s license. The court concluded “Here, although the court did not explicitly state that the timesharing determination was a sanction for the mother’s recalcitrant conduct, we conclude that it was an abuse of discretion for the court to have placed so much weight on the mother’s conduct regarding the father’s exercise of timesharing, given the scarcity of testimony evaluating the child’s best interests regarding the change of majority timesharing.”

Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney to understand how the law may apply to the facts of your case.