Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
What qualifies as a valid relocation agreement under Florida child custody laws? This was an issue in the case Neira v. Acosta, 3D25-1642 (Fla. 3d DCA April 8, 2026).
Years before the parties were involved in a divorce case, they executed a purported agreement that allowed the wife to move to Colombia with their minor child. The agreement did not have a timesharing schedule, but generally stated the husband would support the wife’s travel between Florida and Colombia with the child. When the wife filed for divorce, she requested in her petition that relocation be granted based on this agreement, and she requested a timesharing schedule that provided reasonable access to the child. The trial court upheld the agreement as a relocation agreement, holding the husband “never changed his mind”. The husband argued the plain language of the Florida relocation statute states that an agreement is valid if it:
Defines an access or time-sharing schedule for the nonrelocating parent and any other persons who are entitled to access or time-sharing; and
Describes, if necessary, any transportation arrangements related to access or time-sharing.
The trial court disagreed and upheld it as a relocation agreement. The husband appealed.
The appellate court reversed, holding “The Settlement Agreement does not qualify as a statutorily sufficient relocation agreement. It does not define a time-sharing schedule. Wife’s petition presupposes as much by ‘suggest[ing] that the parties determine a schedule whereby the Husband has reasonable timesharing,’ and promising that she would ‘ensure that the Husband has liberal contact’ at her sole discretion. Neither does the agreement make necessary transportation arrangements for a five-year-old child to travel between Miami and Colombia.”
Nothing in this article is legal advice. Schedule a meeting with a Miami family law attorney to discuss your case.