Florida Child Custody and Time-Sharing: 50/50, Plans, Relocation

Florida child custody and time-sharing operates on a rebuttable presumption that equal 50/50 time-sharing between both parents serves the child’s best interest, backed by a required parenting plan that spells out schedules, decision-making authority, and communication rules for both households.¹ The state retired the older terms “custody” and “visitation” some time ago. A parent who wants a schedule other than equal overnights has to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that equal time would not serve the child.

The 50/50 Presumption and How to Rebut It

Before July 2023, Florida law was neutral: no presumption for or against any particular schedule. House Bill 1301 changed that by writing a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing into Section 61.13.² A judge now begins with the working assumption that each parent gets roughly the same number of overnights, and the parent asking for something different carries the burden of showing why.

The presumption is not absolute. Credible evidence of domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues that affect parenting, or any other factor from the statutory checklist can convince the court to order an unequal schedule. The presumption also steps aside when both parents agree to a different arrangement and the court signs off on it.¹

The practical shift matters. Under the old framework, a parent could argue for majority time simply by pointing out that the child had been living primarily with them. That is no longer enough. If you want more than half the overnights, be ready to explain specifically why equal time would be detrimental, and back the explanation with evidence a judge can measure against the factors below.

Factors a Judge Weighs

When parents disagree, the court works through the best-interest checklist in Section 61.13(3). No single factor controls; the judge weighs them together against the family’s circumstances. Three clusters tend to do most of the work.

Cooperation and Parenting Behavior

The first factor on the list looks at whether each parent has shown the ability to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent, honor the existing schedule, and stay flexible.¹ Judges watch for gatekeeping: disparaging remarks in front of the child, interference with phone calls, manufactured scheduling conflicts. A parent who undercuts the child’s bond with the other parent tends to lose credibility quickly.

The court also examines how parental responsibilities will be divided after the case, each parent’s ability to put the child’s needs ahead of their own, and whether either parent routinely hands caregiving off to third parties.³

Stability and the Child’s Environment

How long the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory setting matters, especially when one proposed schedule would uproot the child from an established school, neighborhood, and friend group. The court looks at the child’s school and community record, the geographic workability of each proposed schedule, and travel time for a school-age child.¹

Each parent’s mental and physical health is evaluated to the extent it affects caregiving. Moral fitness is on the list, but Florida courts generally focus on conduct that directly touches the child rather than personal lifestyle choices. If the child is old enough and mature enough, the judge can consider the child’s stated preference, though that alone will not decide the case.¹

Safety

Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, abandonment, or neglect reshapes the analysis. If either parent has reasonable cause to believe the child faces imminent danger from the other, the court treats that as a factor warranting restricted or supervised time-sharing.¹ A documented history of violence or a credible threat of harm can defeat the equal time-sharing presumption outright.

The statute lists more: each parent’s knowledge of the child’s daily life, friends, and teachers; ability to maintain a consistent routine; willingness to communicate with the other parent and share information; any history of substance abuse; developmental needs specific to the child; the child’s relationship with siblings and half-siblings; and any workable arrangements the parents have already put in place.

What a Parenting Plan Must Contain

Every Florida custody case ends with a parenting plan, either agreed to by both parents or written by the court. The plan is the operating manual for raising the child across two households.

The time-sharing schedule accounts for every night of the year: the weekly routine, weekend rotation, and specific assignments for major holidays, school breaks, and summer. Holidays typically alternate yearly, so Thanksgiving, winter break, and similar occasions rotate between parents. The schedule must be detailed enough that either parent can look at any date and know where the child sleeps.

Transportation is a required element of Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.995(a), the standard parenting plan template.⁴ The plan names exchange locations, assigns pickup and drop-off duties, and establishes how the parents communicate with each other and how each parent communicates with the child when the child is with the other.

Healthcare and education have to be covered too. The plan identifies the child’s current school and primary physician, assigns decision-making authority on medical and school matters, and decides who pays for extracurricular activities. Where there is a history of substance abuse, neglect, or violence, the plan can add supervised exchanges, drug testing requirements, or travel restrictions.

Some parents also add a right of first refusal clause. Florida law does not require one, but it is common: if the parent who has the child needs a sitter beyond a defined period, that parent has to offer the time to the other parent first. It works best when the parents live close together; when they don’t, every short absence can become a negotiation.

Electronic communication is governed by its own statute. Under Section 61.13003, a court can order video calls, phone calls, or other electronic contact as part of the plan, and the law creates a rebuttable presumption that telephone contact between parent and child serves the child’s best interest. Electronic contact supplements in-person time; it does not replace it.⁵ The court can also split the cost of equipment or internet access based on each parent’s finances.

How the Case Moves Through Court

One parent files a petition and proposed parenting plan with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Filing fees in Florida family cases generally run around $300 to $400, depending on whether the petition is standalone or part of a divorce. Parents who cannot afford the fee can apply for civil indigent status; eligibility is based on household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and the clerk also reviews assets and debts.⁶ Providing false information on the application is a first-degree misdemeanor.

After filing, the other parent is formally served and has 20 days to file a written response.⁷ Missing the deadline does not automatically produce a default judgment, but it puts the non-responding parent at a serious disadvantage.

When parents disagree, the court may order mediation before setting a trial.⁸ A neutral mediator helps the parents negotiate; if they reach agreement, the mediator drafts a consent order for the judge to approve. If mediation fails, the case goes to a final hearing where the judge hears testimony, reviews evidence, and issues an order based on the best-interest factors.

Changing an Existing Order Later

A final time-sharing order is not permanent, but it is also not easy to change. The parent asking for a modification has to show a substantial and material change in circumstances and prove the proposed change serves the child’s best interest.³

The 2023 law dropped a longstanding piece of that test: the change no longer has to be “unanticipated” at the time of the original order.² Under the old rule, a change both parents saw coming (a probable job move, for instance) could not support a modification. Only substantiality and materiality matter now. The same law also added a specific rule: if the parents lived more than 50 miles apart when the last order was entered and one later moves within 50 miles of the other, that move alone can qualify as a substantial change.

Changes courts have treated as substantial include a serious new health condition, evolving developmental or educational needs, repeated violations of the existing schedule, or a significant change in a parent’s work hours that makes the current plan unworkable. Once the threshold is met, the court applies the same best-interest factors it used the first time.

Moving With the Child: Relocation Rules

Relocation is one of the biggest traps in Florida family law. A parent who moves the child’s primary residence more than 50 miles from where the child lived at the time of the last custody order, for 60 or more consecutive days, triggers Florida’s relocation statute and must have either the other parent’s written consent or the court’s permission before moving.⁹ Temporary absences for vacation, education, or healthcare do not count toward the 60 days.

If both parents agree, they can sign a written relocation agreement that reflects the consent, sets a new time-sharing schedule for the non-relocating parent, and lays out transportation. The agreement gets filed with the court and entered as a modified order.⁹

Without agreement, the relocating parent files a petition that includes the new address, the intended move date, specific reasons with supporting documentation (a written job offer, for example), and a proposed revised schedule. The other parent has 20 days to object in writing. If no timely objection is filed, a presumption arises that the relocation is in the child’s best interest, and the court can approve the move without a hearing.⁹

Skipping the process is expensive. A parent who moves the child without complying can be held in contempt, ordered to return the child, and penalized in any future modification case. Courts treat unauthorized relocation as strong evidence against the relocating parent’s judgment and willingness to cooperate.⁹

Emergency Orders and Out-of-State Situations

When a child faces immediate danger, Florida courts can act on an emergency basis without waiting for the normal litigation timeline. Under Section 61.517, a Florida court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when a child is present in the state and has been abandoned or faces mistreatment or abuse. The parent asking for an emergency order must present specific facts showing imminent danger, not general concerns. Police reports, medical records, photographs of injuries, and statements from counselors carry weight. The order remains in effect until a permanent order issues from a court with proper jurisdiction, or the emergency period ends.¹⁰

When parents live in different states, the first question is which state’s court can rule. Florida follows the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, and Section 61.514 lets a Florida court make an initial custody determination only if Florida is the child’s “home state,” meaning the child lived here with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before filing.¹¹ Florida also keeps jurisdiction if the child lived here within the six months before filing and one parent still lives in the state. Once a Florida court issues a custody order, it usually stays enforceable and modifiable only in Florida as long as a parent or the child continues to live here.

Deployed Military Parents

Federal law under 50 U.S.C. § 3938 bars any court from using a servicemember’s absence due to deployment, or the possibility of deployment, as the sole factor in deciding the child’s best interest.¹² Any temporary custody change based solely on deployment must expire no later than the period the deployment itself justifies.

Florida adds state-level protection through the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act. Under Section 61.733, a court cannot issue a permanent order granting custody to someone other than the deploying parent without that parent’s consent.¹³ Where both federal and state rules apply, the court uses whichever gives the deploying parent stronger protection.¹² For federal purposes, “deployment” means a move for more than 60 days but no more than 540 days under orders designated as unaccompanied or that do not authorize dependent travel. A parent facing deployment should arrange temporary time-sharing with a trusted family member in advance, and make sure the parenting plan spells out how the schedule operates during and after the deployment.

Who Claims the Child on Taxes

For federal tax purposes, the parent who has the child for the greater number of nights during the tax year is the custodial parent and has the default right to claim the child tax credit. For the 2025 tax year, the credit is worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child under 17, with up to $1,700 refundable as the additional child tax credit for lower-income filers. The full credit phases out above $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers.¹⁴

Parents can agree to let the noncustodial parent take the credit using IRS Form 8332, signed by the custodial parent to release the claim for a specific year or for all future years.¹⁵ The noncustodial parent attaches the signed form to their return. A custodial parent who signed a release can revoke it, but the revocation takes effect no earlier than the tax year after the other parent receives notice.

Many parenting plans handle this by alternating the credit in odd and even years or by assigning it permanently to one parent. Building it into the plan avoids an annual fight and gives both parents something concrete to point to at tax time. A family court order alone does not override the IRS rules, though. The IRS applies its own criteria for identifying the custodial parent, so the signed Form 8332 is essential any time the noncustodial parent claims the credit.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
2
Florida Senate. CS/HB 1301 – Parenting and Time-Sharing of Minor Children Bill Analysis
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
4
Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.995(a) – Parenting Plan
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 61.13003 – Court-Ordered Electronic Communication Between a Parent and a Child
6
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status
7
Third Judicial Circuit of Florida. Answer to Petition to Establish Parenting Plan
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.183 – Mediation of Certain Contested Issues
9
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.13001 – Parental Relocation With a Child
10
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.517 – Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction
11
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.514 – Initial Child Custody Jurisdiction
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3938 – Child Custody Protection
13
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 61.733 – Temporary Custody Order
14
Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
15
Internal Revenue Service. Form 8332 – Release/Revocation of Release of Claim to Exemption for Child by Custodial Parent