Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A child’s participation in extracurricular activities is an important consideration in a Florida parenting plan. The cost and time commitment involved in many extracurricular activities can have an impact on a parent’s time-sharing and wallet. This is why it is important that a Florida child custody order contain the appropriate provisions to account for the child’s participation in such activities, and the parent’s obligations regarding the same. This was an issue in the case Malha v. Losciales, 3D19-1957 (Fla. 3d DCA August 19, 2020).
The parties entered a parenting plan regarding their three minor children which provided “All extracurricular activities, including organized activities such as sports teams, lessons or special training, for the minor children must be mutually agreed upon by the parents in accordance with shared parental responsibility. Neither party shall unreasonably withhold their consent. The children’s present extracurricular activities are agreed upon by both parents.” The plan further contemplated “the parent exercising time sharing with the minor children shall transport the minor children with the necessary equipment within the parent’s possession to and/or from all mutually agreed upon extracurricular activities,“ and authorized alternating weekend visitation, “[p]rovided the mother [was] not traveling with the children out of state or in state for tournaments, games or competitions.”
After the entry of this agreement, the children’s participation in their extracurricular activities increased, leading to them spending more time practicing and attending tournaments outside of their local community. The former husband filed a motion to compel compliance with shared parental responsibility, seeking to reduce the children’s participation in their extracurricular activities and to eliminate his obligation to transport them to their events during his time-sharing. The trial court ultimately entered an order allowing the former wife to re-enroll the children in their extracurricular activities and mandating that the former husband transport them to their activities during his time-sharing. The former husband appealed.
The appellate court disagreed with the former husband’s argument the the trial court impermissibly modified the parties’ final judgment. The court held “Here, the stipulated plan allows for shared decisions over extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, because the parties’ efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory arrangement proved futile, the dispute was properly submitted to the court. Further, as the agreement prohibited the unreasonable withholding of consent, the court was properly permitted to explore the facts and circumstances surrounding both continued participation and transportation.” The court further held, “By including a provision that the ‘present extracurricular activities are agreed upon by both parents,’ and allocating continuing enrollment expenses and other relevant allowances for league travel, the agreement clearly anticipated a continuation of such participation [. . .] Further, as the trial court did not ‘change the status quo [or] alter the rights and obligations of the parties,’ but merely rejected the unreasonable withholding of consent, we conclude the decision was grounded in enforcement of the existing terms of the judgment.”
Modifying a Florida parenting plan and enforcing it require different analyses. Schedule a consultation with a Miami child custody lawyer to understand how the law may be applied to your case.