Florida
child custody laws require specific provisions and allocations to be included in each
final order for child custody. These provisions pertain to the child’s
upbringing, the child’s rights, parental responsibility, and timesharing
allocations. However, many people are confused about the difference between
timesharing and parental responsibility.
According to Florida
family law, these are two separate concepts. Parental responsibility entails the
parents’ involvement in significant decisions in the child’s
life, such as education, healthcare, child care, etc.
The following are three types of parental responsibility:
- Sole parental responsibility. When only one parent has the right to make decisions for the child.
- Shared parental responsibility. When the parents must make decisions for the child together.
- Shared parental responsibility with ultimate responsibility. Assign authority to specific aspects of the child’s life based on
one parent’s discretion or grants one parent the ultimate choice
for those certain areas that parent has been assigned.
While parental responsibility involves the delegation of the child’s
major life decisions, timesharing is the amount of time the child spends
with each parent. Timesharing is established upon submission of a parenting
plan to the court which has been either agreed upon by both parties or
for a judge to make a decision.
Timesharing is determined by a variety of statutory factors, including
best interests of the child. Once timesharing is ordered, the parents
are obligated to follow the schedule determined in the parenting plan,
unless they agree to modifications or plan to petition the court for modifications.
If you are interested in experienced legal assistance for a child custody
matter in Ocala or the surrounding area,
schedule a consultation with Anne E. Raduns, PA today.