Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
If a parent is ordered to undergo substance abuse monitoring as part of time-sharing with his or her children in a Florida child custody case, who is responsible for the cost of such monitoring? A commonly used tool to monitor a parent’s alcohol consumption is Soberlink, which measures blood alcohol content (BAC). A parent might be required to have his or her BAC measured as a condition of beginning his or her time-sharing. This service costs money and the court has to determine who should pay for it. This was an issue in the case Gorla v. Vig, 3D24-0706 (Fla. 3rd DCA July 23, 2025).
The father appealed a final judgment which limited his time-sharing and required him to undergo controlled substance testing as a condition of his time-sharing. The appellate court affirmed the 85-page final judgment, deeming it well-reasoned and supported by competent, substantial evidence, except for the portion of the judgment which made the father solely responsible for costs associated with his substance abuse monitoring. The court held “Since the trial court conditioned the husband’s timesharing on compliance with these conditions, it was error to hold him solely responsible for the costs. [. . .] Perez v. Fay, 160 So. 3d 459, 466 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (‘[T]he expenses of visitation are part of the parties’ childrearing expenses that must be addressed as part of the parties’ child support obligations.’). We therefore reverse the costs ruling with instructions to the trial court to treat them as part and parcel of the child support obligations.”
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