Miami family law attorney blog
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Long-Distance Parenting Plan
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
How are travel costs taken into account when parents do not live in the same state, or even the same country, in a Florida child custody case? Travel costs to effectuate time-sharing are part of child support considerations and the court must apportion the same appropriately. Exorbitant travel costs were an issue in the case Hiatt v. Mathieu, 4D22-1198 (Fla. 4th DCA August 24, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A Florida parenting plan can include many provisions, but there are some limits on what is allowable. One provision that is usually prohibited is a prospective change in time-sharing. For example, a parenting plan that says a time-sharing schedule will automatically change once a child turns a certain age may not be enforceable. This was an issue in the case Harrell v. Cook, 1D20-1379 (Fla. 1st DCA January 12, 2022).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (known as the UCCJEA), a Florida court follows certain guidelines to ensure that its orders do not conflict with actions taken by a court in another state in the same case. When parents allege two different states should take jurisdiction of a child custody case, a Florida court usually must analyze the allegations presented by both sides as to the residency of the child leading up to the filing of a petition for child custody. This was an issue in the case Miller v. Mitchell, 3D21-1621 (Fla. 3d DCA October 6, 2021).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
In order to modify a Florida parenting plan, there must be a showing of a material, substantial and unanticipated change in circumstances which was not contemplated at the time of entry of the original plan. A court has less discretion in modifying a parenting plan than it does in initially creating one. In the case Miller v. Miller, 5D19-558 (Fla. 5th DCA August 21, 2020), the former husband appealed a final judgment modifying a child custody order and child support.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida child custody
What is a substantial change in circumstances that will warrant the modification of a Florida parenting plan? While there is no one correct answer, one recent case sheds light on what may be considered a substantial change in circumstances: Izquierdo v. Del Valle, 4D19-1055 (Fla. 4th DCA April 22, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When parents live in different states this can give rise to a long-distance Florida parenting plan. The best interest of the child is the paramount concern in creating a parenting plan. In Edkin v. Edkin, 5D19-2590 (Fla. 5th DCA March 20, 2020) at issue was a long-distance parenting plan that provided for a rotating timesharing schedule between two states.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When filing a paternity case in Florida, it is important to know which court has proper jurisdiction over the child custody part of your case. The issue of jurisdiction often arises in these types of matters when one parent moves to another state close to the time the case was filed. This happened in Martinez v. Lebron, 5D18-2966 (Fla. 5th DCA November 15, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
In a case in which the court remarked on the time and money spent by both parties in litigating their Florida child custody issues, a major focus was on the time and money that would eventually be spent by the parties in effectuating their parenting plan since each parent lived in a different state. Marini v. Kellett, 5D17-1726 (Fla. 5th DCA August 16, 2019) examines how a court must take into consideration travel time and cost in considering the best interest of a child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When one parent lives out-of-state and primary timesharing is awarded to the parent residing in Florida, the court creates a parenting plan that takes into account the state’s policy for each parent to have frequent and continuing contact with their children after separation. One consideration in a Florida long-distance parenting plan is the travel costs that will be incurred as a result of timesharing between two states. In the case Beck v. Lewis, 2D18-2319 (Fla. 2d DCA August 9, 2019), the father appealed a timesharing order that made the out-of-state mother the primary residential parent.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When two parents live in different states, a Florida parenting plan must take into account how the parties will handle travel in order to effectuate timesharing. Additionally, the parenting plan will specify how parties are able to travel within the United States and to foreign countries. In a recent appellate case R.B. v. B.T., 2D17-2587 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018), the father appealed an order that restricted his timesharing to only two locations, effectively denying him the right to travel outside of the country or to non-specified states with the parties’ child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Long-distance Florida parenting plans come into play when one parent resides out-of-state or more than 50 miles from the children's primary residence. In the case Aranda v. Padilla, 216 So.3d 652 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), the appellate court considered a trial court's ruling on a father's request for holiday time-sharing, assistance with travel costs to effectuate time-sharing and shared parental responsibility in a long-distance parenting plan.
