Child Support and Timesharing

Child Support

The process of getting divorced can cause a great deal of pain, stress, and frustration within the home. This stress and anxiety has a significant impact on adults and a profound impact on your children. Disputes over where the children are going to spend their time adds to that stress for both parents and their children.

If the parties cannot agree on a Parenting Plan and Time-Sharing Schedule, then the Court will decide where the children spend time with each parent. No one likes the idea of a Judge telling them when they can and when they cannot see their children. When parents are forced to divide their child’s time between two spaces, living arrangements can become strained and aggravated.

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Child Custody is now Parenting Plans and Time Sharing

In an effort to reduce parental conflict, both now and in the future, the state of Florida has done away with the concepts of “custody” and “primary residential care.” Both of the terms connoted that one parent was superior to the other.

The focus these days is on Shared Parental Responsibility and it is now the policy of Florida that both parents should have an ongoing and regular relationship with their children post-divorce.

In making decisions about the children, the Court will always consider the best interests of the children and the Court has a great many factors it must consider in determining what is in the best interests of the children. Most important of these factors is which parent will do the most to insure that the other parent has a good relationship with the children. Other factors involve the historical primary care giver, the stability of the parties, their economic circumstances and how they are going to be able to handle their child rearing responsibilities post-divorce.

During your case we will develop our proposed Parenting Plan, which is the document that describes how the parties are going to co-parent the children after their divorce is over. The primary component to the Parenting Plan is the Time-Sharing schedule, which determines when the children will be with each parent. The Time-Sharing schedule addresses the school year schedule, the summer schedule and the holidays’ schedule. Obviously, this schedule is vitally important to both parents. We work with our clients to develop a strategy to convince the Court that our client should have the time-sharing schedule that they seek while still remaining focused on the best interests of the children.

The Parenting Plan also addresses which school the child will attend, how decisions will be made about the child’s education, health, religious training, and other important aspects of the children’s lives. Extra-curricular activities and the cost of medical insurance and uninsured medical expenses are addressed as well. Virtually every aspect of the children’s lives, including who gets to claim the children as a tax deduction is determined by the Parenting Plan.

Child Support and Time Sharing FAQ's

What is timesharing?

Timesharing is a new term for custody and is the time each parent has with his/her child(ren).

If I have equal timesharing with the other parent, do either of us have to pay child support?

The amount of child support depends on a number of factors, including the number of overnights each parent has with the child(ren), which parent pays health insurance for the child(ren), which parent pays for day care for the child(ren), whether a parent is receiving child support from another relationship, whether a parent is paying or receiving alimony in the current case or from a different case, and each parent’s net income.

Can I waive child support?

As a general rule, a parent cannot waive child support as it is the right of the child to be financially supported by his/her parents.

Is there a presumption of 50/50 timesharing in Florida?

Timesharing is determined based on factors presented in Florida Statute 61.13. It is important to know that the public policy of the State of Florida is for the child(ren) to maintain continuing and frequent contact with both parents.

If I am paying child support through the Department of Revenue, do I automatically obtain timesharing?

If the parents were never married, timesharing can only occur if the parties agree or if there is no agreement, a paternity action is filed in family court requesting a court order deeming the father to have legal rights over the child, which includes timesharing.

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Child Support and Timesharing

Child Support

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Child Custody is now Parenting Plans and Time Sharing

Child Support and Time Sharing FAQ's

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