Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When parents cannot agree on a school in which to enroll their child, how does the court decide what is in the best interest of the child? The school boundary determination or designation is usually included in a Florida parenting plan. This is a statement of which parent’s address will be used to register the child for school. But if this is missing, or the parents ultimately do not agree before a parenting plan is entered, the court considers the best interest of the child. This was an issue in the case Velez v. Lafontaine, 5D20-2350 (Fla. 5th DCA April 30, 2021).
After entry of an order establishing their parenting plan, the father filed a motion for contempt against the mother and to suspend her timesharing based on the mother’s failure to take the parties’ child to voluntary pre-kindergarten during her time-sharing days. The final judgment previously entered required the parties to enroll the child in a school half-way between the parties’ residences. Since this was not possible due to the child needing an individualized education plan, the child was enrolled in a school closer to the father’s residence. After a hearing, the court entered an order changing the child’s school and requiring the father to pay 63% of costs associated with aftercare for the child. The father appealed.
The appellate court held “the trial court was without authority to change the child’s school location and to impose the daycare costs on Father. Because the only motion before the trial court was Father’s motion for contempt and to suspend timesharing, the trial court violated Father’s due process rights by granting relief not requested by the pleadings or providing notice to the parties.” The court also noted “In the initial final judgment, the financial responsibility between the parties was 52/48, with Father paying the 52%; however, in the order changing the child’s school, the trial court split the financial responsibility of the daycare costs 63/37, with Father paying the 63%. No request was made to alter the prior judgment and no findings were made as to the basis of that allocation or why it differed from the earlier apportionment of uncovered medical expenses.”
If you need help holding the other parent accountable for his or her obligations in a final judgment or parenting plan, schedule a consultation with a Miami child custody lawyer to understand your potential rights and remedies.