One of the primary areas of a divorce that has the potential to cause both stresses and conflict is how a couple’s children, if any, will be affected. Their world is also being permanently changed, not just in terms of where they will go and with whom they will stay and for how long, but also in a number of intangible, emotional ways.

While a dissolution of marriage is being worked out, courts in Florida will do everything they can to make decisions that will benefit the children. The courts also encourage parents to come to an amicable solution to care for and support their children; counseling and mediation will be used as necessary. And in order to help arrive at a peaceful resolution, Florida requires the implementation of a Parenting Plan. Once the Plan is worked out to meet the specific needs of the children, the court will approve it and this then becomes the custody agreement.

Parenting Plans are intended, among other things, to make expectations clear and to minimize or avoid conflicts. Even though no Plan is perfect in any of those respects, it can at least serve as a guide that can help make it easier to figure out how to share parental responsibilities.

When reviewing a Parenting Plan, courts will consider issues such as each parent’s capacity to maintain a close emotional relationship with the children, each parent’s ability to provide a stable residence and home environment for the children and any facts or circumstances that could impact the children’s’ well-being.

Specific elements that are required to be in the Parenting Plan include detailed statements spelling out how each parent will divide the tasks and responsibilities that are inherent to the child-rearing process, a time-sharing schedule that explains how much time each parent will spend with the children and how each parent will communicate with the children.

There are many other issues that need to be taken into consideration, and it should be noted that courts in Florida will step in if the parents can’t agree on a Parenting Plan or if the court believes that the Plan does not serve the children’s best interests.

In order to make sure that your parental rights are protected in a divorce, please contact one of our specialists in order to arrange for a low-cost initial consultation.