Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Divorcing parents may face a dilemma when one parent is due to be deported after a marriage is dissolved. The court is faced with the question of whether or not to permit relocation of the child with the deported parent. In one recently decided case, we review an appellate court's consideration of a trial court's decision to grant a prospective relocation that turned on whether or not the mother's application for US citizenship was granted.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
What is a Florida family court to do when parents do not agree on private versus public school education for their children? As with most decisions involving minor children, the court must use the "best interest" standard to make a ruling. The best interest of the children is paramount to what is fair to either parent. We see how an appellate court handled this issue in the case Lane v. Lane, 3D17-2538 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
When a party appeals a Florida family law ruling, in most cases, findings of fact made by a trial judge will not be disturbed unless there is a clear error. This is because the appellate court has a policy of not wanting to substitute its judgment for that of a trial court judge who saw witnesses testify and was able to weigh the credibility of those witnesses. A recent appellate case illustrates an extreme case in which the appellate court did feel it had to overturn the trial court's ruling because it was not supported by competent, substantial evidence.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
A Florida child custody case is supposed to result in a parenting plan that is either agreed-to by the parties or ordered by the court when the parties are unable to agree. The parenting plan must be found to be in the best interest of the child, and since none of us can predict the future, the court looks at the present circumstances in determining this best interest. In the case Preudhomme v. Preudhomme, 1D17-1615 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018), the trial court's determination of a future event was reversed for this reason.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
This year, the Florida Legislature overhauled laws that applied to active duty servicemembers whose timesharing with their children would be affected by deployments. Previously, Florida law allowed an active duty military member to designate a family member to exercise timesharing in the member's place while deployed. Starting July 1, 2018, Florida law expanded the rules on who is allowed to have timesharing in place of the deployed parent.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce
In what could be viewed as a turning point in Florida law on fathers' child custody rights, the Florida Supreme Court recently issued a decision which grants standing to unmarried fathers to establish paternity despite the objection of the mother of the child and her husband. The case Simmonds v. Perkins, SC17–1963 (Fla. 2018) may give hope to fathers who show a vested interest in being a part of their children's lives.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Custody
Of note in recent Florida family law appellate decisions is grandparent visitation rights. While Florida recognizes a legal parent's constitutional right to privacy and therefore does not give standing to grandparents to petition for visitation rights, a Florida court must uphold and enforce a grandparent visitation order entered in another state. An interesting issue related to this came up in the case Downs v. Nottingham, 219 So.3d 244 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Long-distance Florida parenting plans come into play when one parent resides out-of-state or more than 50 miles from the children's primary residence. In the case Aranda v. Padilla, 216 So.3d 652 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), the appellate court considered a trial court's ruling on a father's request for holiday time-sharing, assistance with travel costs to effectuate time-sharing and shared parental responsibility in a long-distance parenting plan.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
It can take a year or more to get to trial in your Miami child custody case. This is why parties can and should seek temporary relief orders which, for example, provide an interim enforceable mandate regarding a parenting plan.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When the mental health of a parent is at issue in a Florida child custody case, is a parent required to produce his or her records regarding past treatment for mental health issues? The psychotherapist-patient privilege protects a party from having to disclose records and communications with a psychotherapist, but that privilege can be waived under certain circumstances. This is explored in the case Zarzaur v. Zarzaur, 213 So.3d 1115 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Part of a parenting plan in a Florida child custody case concerns parental responsibility - that is the right of each parent to make major decisions regarding their children such as choice of doctor, school, etc. A Florida family court can award shared or sole parental responsibility or a hybrid of the two known as shared parental responsibility with ultimate decision-making authority. As one appellate case shows, ultimate decision-making must be awarded with careful parameters.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Sometimes, we come across Florida parenting plans which grant a parent "liberal" visitation with the children, with the other parent having primary time-sharing. But what does "liberal" mean? Each parent may have a different definition of what this means, causing conflict and inconsistent time-sharing when a parenting plan lacks a specific schedule.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Grandparent visitation rights in Florida are generally restricted due to the constitutional right to privacy that parents have in raising their children. However, a 2017 case decided by the Florida Supreme Court opens the door to visitation for grandparents who obtain a child custody order in another state.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When a parent has not been present in a child's life for an extended period of time, this presents a challenge in awarding overnight time-sharing with that parent. Usually, a Florida child custody court will order a gradual increase in time-sharing to allow the child and parent to become acquainted or re-acquainted. However, child custody orders must not impede a parent's ability to establish regular and substantial contact with a child, as illustrated in the case Munoz v. Munoz, 210 So.3d 227 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Parenting plans entered in Florida child custody cases usually include a relocation provision which states a parent cannot relocate with a child without the written permission of the other parent or a court order. Absent an agreement to the contrary, this is the standard imposed by Florida law, and the case Horn v. Horn, 225 So.3d 292 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) is an example of an appellate court upholding this standard.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is an important set of laws adopted by most states which seeks to avoid conflicting orders from different state courts in child custody cases and promotes cooperation between state courts. The appellate case Haugabook v. Jeffcoat-Hultberg, 219 So.3d 65 (Fla. 2016) illustrates the importance of the UCCJEA.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When a parent seeks to relocate with a child more than 50 miles from his or her current residence and the other parent does not agree, the court must make the difficult decision of determining whether the relocation is in the best interest of the child. Such was the situation in the Miami Family Law case Naime v. Corzo , 208 So.3d 296 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When it comes to filing your child custody case, you will want to be sure the court in which you plan to file has jurisdiction to consider your case. Jurisdiction means the power or authority the court has to make rulings in your case.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
Parental kidnapping is an unfortunate reality when it comes to Florida child custody cases. In these cases, it can be difficult to retrieve a kidnapped child, especially if the child has been abducted to another country. But there are safeguards a parent can request in a custody order to deter kidnapping.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Child Custody
When a Florida child custody case is contested, the court may decide to rely on a guardian ad litem to get to the bottom of the he-said, she-said that is usually prevalent when parties disagree about the facts. A guardian ad litem is a party who investigates and makes recommendations to the court concerning the best interest of the children involved.
