Miami family law attorney blog
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Child Custody
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a parent loses timesharing as a result of modification of a final judgment in Florida, is the court required to specify steps the parent must take to regain timesharing? This issue arose in the case C.N. v. I.G.C., 5D19-473 (Fla. 5th DCA March 6, 2020) in which the mother appealed the trial court’s modification of her parenting plan to grant the father primary custody.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Under Florida law, a parenting plan may be modified based on a showing of a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time of entering the parenting plan. This applies when a parent wants to modify parental responsibility. In the case Socol v. Socol, 4D18-3565 (Fla. 4th DCA March 4, 2020), a petition for modification was filed in which the mother requested sole parental responsibility.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Modification of a Florida parenting plan requires a showing of a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time the original parenting plan was entered. In the case Kyle v. Carter, 1D19-2014 (Fla. 1st DCA February 19, 2020), the former husband sought a modification of a parenting plan which was granted by the trial court and appealed by the former wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Modification of a parenting plan, including parental responsibility, requires a showing of a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time of entry of the current parenting plan. In Ezra v. Ezra, 3D19-0704 (Fla. 3d DCA February 5, 2020), the court considered an appeal centered around a lower court’s modification of the parenting plan to grant the former wife sole parental responsibility regarding educational and medical decisions.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a parent continuously violates a child custody order and negatively affects the other parent’s access to a child, what remedies are available in Florida? The parent may be held in contempt for willful violation of a court’s orders as happened in the case Thompson v. Melange, 1D19-854 (Fla. 1st DCA January 21, 2020).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Is a child repeating a school grade enough to warrant modification of timesharing? This issue was considered in the case Light v. Kirkland, 1D19-2012 (Fla. 1st DCA January 21, 2020) in which the trial court considered the acrimonious relationship between the parents and tied this to the child’s poor performance in school.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A Florida parenting plan can be modified upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances that was not contemplated at the time the plan was entered. There must also be a showing that a modification of the plan would be in the best interest of the child. In Hutchinson v. Hutchinson, 1D19-946 (Fla. 1st DCA December 27, 2019), the former wife appealed an order modifying timesharing.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When both parents are unable to maintain custody of their child in Florida, it is possible to grant temporary custody to extended relatives such as grandparents, aunts and uncles. This can be accomplished by agreement or by a showing that the parents are unfit to look after the best interest of the child. In the case Kitchen v. Cerullo, 3D18-1603 (Fla. 3d DCA December 18, 2019), the father appealed an order which took away his recently granted custody rights and granted temporary custody to his child’s maternal grandmother.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When parties to a Florida divorce just cannot get along, does this justify awarding sole parental responsibility to one parent? This issue arose in the case Musgrave v. Musgrave, 2D18-2792 (Fla. 2d DCA November 27, 2019) in which the court noted animosity between the parties and awarded sole parental responsibility to the former wife.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When filing a paternity case in Florida, it is important to know which court has proper jurisdiction over the child custody part of your case. The issue of jurisdiction often arises in these types of matters when one parent moves to another state close to the time the case was filed. This happened in Martinez v. Lebron, 5D18-2966 (Fla. 5th DCA November 15, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Because supervised visits in Florida child custody cases usually severely restrict a parent’s access to a child, the law requires that certain provisions be included in an order which includes this type of visitation. The case T.D. v. K.F.., 2D18-4291 (Fla. 2d DCA November 8, 2019) goes over these provisions.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a default is entered against a party in a Florida divorce case, it means the case will proceed without input from the defaulted party. A default is usually entered when a party fails to timely respond to a petition. When the court strikes a party’s pleadings for failure to obey court orders, this can have an effect similar to a default. The consequence of a default is that the defaulting party admits the allegations in the petition by the other party, usually resulting in the other party getting everything they asked for in the divorce because it was unopposed by the defaulting party. There are limits to this default effect, however, as highlighted in the case Shewmaker v. Shewmaker, 2D18-4604 (Fla. 2d DCA November 1, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Ordering a mental health evaluation in a Florida child custody case requires more than a feeling or belief that a parent is “crazy”. The mental health of the parent must first be “in controversy” as defined by Florida case law. If the matter is in controversy, good cause must exist for the evaluation to take place. In the appellate case Reno v. Reno, 1D19-1281 (Fla. 1st DCA October 3, 2019), a former wife appealed a court’s order to have her psychologically evaluated because of the former husband’s allegations that she was falsely reporting him for abusing their child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A finding of parental alienation in a Florida child custody case sometimes requires that extreme measures be taken in order to rectify or save a relationship between a parent and a child. In the appellate case Foreman v. James, 3D19-1802 (Fla. 3d DCA October 2, 2019), a mother appealed the trial court’s decision to order expensive reunification therapy that involved her having no contact with her daughter for more than 90 days based on a finding that the child was being alienated from her father.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
In a case of special circumstances, a non-biological parent was granted parental rights of a child born during a marriage in the case Thomas v. Joseph, 1D19-0102 (Fla. 1st DCA September 18, 2019). The parties in this case were involved in post-judgment litigation in which the parental rights of the non-biological parent were cancelled by the trial court’s order.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
As often happens in life, people move from city to city, state to state and even country to country. When a Florida child custody case is open, these moves may complicate issues related to jurisdiction. In the recent appellate case Bock v. Vilma, 3D19-1691 (Fla. 3d DCA September 11, 2019), an issue arose as to jurisdiction when the mother relocated to Maryland following residence in Florida with the parties’ minor child during a child custody case that stemmed from a Louisiana child custody order.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
How do you know if a Florida court has jurisdiction over your child custody case? The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is a set of rules adopted by a majority of states which sets the standard for how a child custody case involving more than one state is to be handled. Sometimes, because parties move with their children before, during or after a child custody case is initiated, it may not be clear whether or not Florida has jurisdiction to rule on issues related to a parenting plan. This issue is highlighted in the case Awad v. Noufal, 2D18-3448 (Fla. 2d DCA September 13, 2019).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
In a case in which the court remarked on the time and money spent by both parties in litigating their Florida child custody issues, a major focus was on the time and money that would eventually be spent by the parties in effectuating their parenting plan since each parent lived in a different state. Marini v. Kellett, 5D17-1726 (Fla. 5th DCA August 16, 2019) examines how a court must take into consideration travel time and cost in considering the best interest of a child.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When one parent lives out-of-state and primary timesharing is awarded to the parent residing in Florida, the court creates a parenting plan that takes into account the state’s policy for each parent to have frequent and continuing contact with their children after separation. One consideration in a Florida long-distance parenting plan is the travel costs that will be incurred as a result of timesharing between two states. In the case Beck v. Lewis, 2D18-2319 (Fla. 2d DCA August 9, 2019), the father appealed a timesharing order that made the out-of-state mother the primary residential parent.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Most Florida family courts have what are known as standing orders. These orders typically lay out general duties of each party while a case is pending, and are mainly designed to preserve the status quo while a case is pending. In Dowell v. Knoras, 2D18-4220 (Fla. 2d DCA May 3, 2019), a paternity case, the mother appealed an order finding her in contempt of the court’s standing order prohibiting relocation of a parent and child while a case is pending.
