Florida custody laws: parental responsibility, time-sharing and how to file
Fact-checked · Checked against 14 sources · See the sources
- Florida law speaks of parental responsibility for decisions about a child and a time-sharing schedule for the time the child spends with each parent. Both go into a parenting plan.
- A Florida court orders shared parental responsibility unless it finds that sharing would be detrimental to the child, and evidence of domestic violence or child abuse counts as evidence of detriment.
- Florida presumes that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interest. A parent who wants a different schedule must prove otherwise by a preponderance of the evidence.
- The court weighs 20 best-interest factors and, unless the parents agree on a schedule, must make specific written findings on them.
- Every case involving time-sharing needs a parenting plan, even an uncontested one. If the parents do not file an agreed plan, the court sets one.
- What does Florida call custody?
- How does a Florida court decide custody?
- Is Florida a 50/50 custody state?
- How do you get sole parental responsibility in Florida?
- What goes in a Florida parenting plan?
- What happens when a parent does not follow the time-sharing schedule?
- What are Florida custody laws for unmarried parents?
- How do you file for custody in Florida?
- Where does a written record fit in a Florida case?
- Frequently asked questions
What does Florida call custody?
Florida’s parenting law splits custody into two parts: parental responsibility, which is who makes decisions for the child, and the time-sharing schedule, which is when the child is with each parent. Both are set out in a parenting plan.
The definitions are in Florida Statutes § 61.046. Shared parental responsibility is a court-ordered relationship in which both parents keep full parental rights and responsibilities and confer so that major decisions about the child are made jointly. Sole parental responsibility is a court-ordered relationship in which one parent makes decisions for the child. A time-sharing schedule is the timetable in the parenting plan that sets the time, including overnights and holidays, the child spends with each parent.
| Florida term | Everyday word | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Shared parental responsibility | Joint legal custody | Both parents keep full rights, and major decisions are made jointly |
| Sole parental responsibility | Sole or full legal custody | One parent makes decisions for the child |
| Time-sharing schedule | Physical custody, visitation | The timetable of when the child is with each parent, including overnights and holidays |
| Parenting plan | Custody agreement or order | The document that governs decisions and contains the time-sharing schedule |
| Relocation | Moving away | A move of a parent’s principal residence at least 50 miles away for at least 60 consecutive days |
Shared responsibility can still be divided. Under Florida Statutes § 61.13, a court that orders shared parental responsibility may give one parent ultimate responsibility over specific parts of the child’s welfare, such as education or health care, or split those areas between the parents.
How does a Florida court decide custody?
By the best interests of the child, which § 61.13(3) makes the primary consideration in creating or changing a parenting plan and time-sharing schedule. The statute then lists 20 factors, lettered (a) to (t), that the court evaluates. Among them:
- each parent’s capacity to encourage a close and continuing relationship between the child and the other parent, to honor the time-sharing schedule, and to be reasonable when changes are needed;
- each parent’s capacity to act on the needs of the child rather than the needs or desires of the parent;
- how long the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the value of keeping that continuity;
- the moral fitness and the mental and physical health of the parents;
- each parent’s knowledge of the child’s friends, teachers, medical care providers, daily activities and favorite things;
- each parent’s capacity to provide a consistent routine, such as discipline and daily schedules for homework, meals and bedtime;
- evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, abandonment or neglect;
- the parenting tasks each parent customarily performed before the case was filed and while it is pending;
- each parent’s involvement in the child’s school and extracurricular activities;
- each parent’s capacity to keep the child out of the litigation, including not discussing it with the child and not making disparaging comments;
- any other factor relevant to the parenting plan.
The child’s view is one factor, not a deciding vote. Factor (i) is “the reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference.” No age is written into the statute.
Our best interest of the child checklist turns factors like these into things a parent can write down week by week.
Is Florida a 50/50 custody state?
Florida starts from equal time. § 61.13(2)(c) says it is the state’s public policy that each child have frequent and continuing contact with both parents, and that “there is a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the best interests of the minor child.”
The presumption can be overcome. A parent who wants a different schedule must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interest. Unless the parents agree on a schedule and the court approves it, the court must evaluate all 20 factors and make specific written findings of fact when it creates or changes the schedule.
“Parents who are both in good health, have homes suitable for young children to spend time and overnights in, are not known to have a “wild” lifestyle, have already proven in the past their care for and interest in their minor children and appear to be willing to take on equal responsibility will be the ones a judge will grant 50/50 timesharing.”
Our guide to a 50/50 custody schedule and what to document covers how an equal schedule looks week to week.
How do you get sole parental responsibility in Florida?
By showing the court that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child. § 61.13(2)(c) says the court shall order parental responsibility shared by both parents unless it finds sharing would be detrimental. In deciding detriment, the court considers evidence of domestic violence, reasonable cause to believe the child or parent is in imminent danger of domestic or sexual violence, the same for child abuse, abandonment or neglect, and any other relevant factors.
Some convictions create a presumption. A conviction for a first-degree misdemeanor or higher involving domestic violence, or for certain listed sexual offenses, creates a rebuttable presumption of detriment, and the court then may order sole parental responsibility. Whether or not there is a conviction, the court shall consider evidence of domestic violence or child abuse as evidence of detriment to the child.
Sole responsibility and time-sharing are separate questions. The statute says “the court shall order sole parental responsibility for a minor child to one parent, with or without time-sharing with the other parent if it is in the best interests of the minor child.” Records stay open either way: access to records about the child, “including, but not limited to, medical, dental, and school records, may not be denied to either parent” unless a court order specifically revokes that right.
Our guide to sole custody and what courts weigh covers the question across states.
What goes in a Florida parenting plan?
Every case with time-sharing needs one. According to the instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.995(a), “a Parenting Plan is required in all cases involving time-sharing with minor child(ren), even when time-sharing is not in dispute.” The parents develop and agree to it and the court approves it, and if they do not file an agreed plan, the court shall establish one.
§ 61.13(2)(b) sets the minimum contents. A court-approved plan must:
- describe in adequate detail how the parents will share and be responsible for the daily tasks of raising the child;
- include the time-sharing schedule;
- say who is responsible for health care, for school matters, including the address used for school-boundary determination and registration, and for other activities;
- describe how the child will stay in touch with each parent, including the technology used;
- name the location for exchanges of the child, unless the parents agree otherwise in writing.
| Form | Name | When it is used |
|---|---|---|
| 12.995(a) | Parenting Plan | The general plan for cases involving time-sharing |
| 12.995(b) | Supervised/Safety-Focused Parenting Plan | When time-sharing needs supervision or a focus on safety |
| 12.995(c) | Relocation/Long-Distance Parenting Plan | When a parent is relocating or the parents live far apart |
Moving is its own topic. Florida Statutes § 61.13001 defines relocation as a change of a parent’s principal residence at least 50 miles away for at least 60 consecutive days, not counting a temporary absence for vacation, education or health care. Parents who agree to a relocation put it in writing, with a time-sharing schedule for the parent who stays and any transportation arrangements.
Our parenting plan template with free examples walks through the sections most plans share.
What happens when a parent does not follow the time-sharing schedule?
The court can award make-up time. Under § 61.13(4), when a parent refuses to honor the time-sharing schedule without proper cause, the court shall award the parent who was denied time make-up time-sharing, scheduled to suit the parent who lost the time and at the expense of the parent who did not comply.
The court may also order that parent to pay fees and costs, attend a parenting course, do community service, or face a change to the parenting plan. Support and time-sharing are kept apart: a parent owed child support may not refuse to honor the schedule, and a parent whose time was refused still pays support.
What are Florida custody laws for unmarried parents?
The same parenting plan and time-sharing rules apply once paternity is established. Until then, the mother has the custody rights. Florida Statutes § 744.301 says that if a father has not established paternity, “the mother of a child born out of wedlock is the natural guardian of the child and is entitled to primary residential care and custody of the child unless the court enters an order stating otherwise.” Once he has, both parents are the child’s natural guardians, with the rights and responsibilities of parents.
Paternity can be set in several ways. Florida Statutes § 742.10 lists a court adjudication, an affidavit or stipulation filed with the clerk, a voluntary acknowledgment signed before a notary or two witnesses, and an administrative proceeding by the Department of Revenue. An acknowledgment that no court has adjudicated creates a rebuttable presumption of paternity, and either signer may rescind it within 60 days.
A court case can settle paternity and parenting together. Under Florida Statutes § 742.011, a mother, a man who has reason to believe he is the father, or the child may bring a paternity case in circuit court, and after the child’s birth a parent may ask for parental responsibility, child support, a parenting plan and a time-sharing schedule under chapter 61.
Our guide to keeping a record as an unmarried parent covers what to write down while paternity and time-sharing are still unsettled.
How do you file for custody in Florida?
Married parents ask for a parenting plan as part of a petition for dissolution of marriage, and unmarried parents through a paternity case, in a Florida circuit court. Florida must usually be the child’s home state first. Under Florida Statutes § 61.514, a Florida court can make an initial custody decision when Florida is the child’s home state on the day the case starts, or was within the six months before and a parent still lives here. Florida Statutes § 61.503 defines home state as the state where the child lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the case began.
For a divorce, the Florida Supreme Court publishes an approved petition with instructions. The instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1) say you or your spouse must have lived in Florida for at least six months before filing. According to page 2 of the Form 12.901(b)(1) instructions, once served, your spouse has 20 days to answer, and the case then goes forward by default, as uncontested, or as contested. The same page says some circuits may require mediation to be completed before a final hearing can be set.
A parenting plan goes in with the petition. Page 3 of the Form 12.901(b)(1) instructions says a signed and notarized parenting plan should be attached if the parents have reached an agreement, and a proposed plan may be filed if they have not.
Some parents set a schedule through child support. The Florida Department of Revenue’s parenting time plans page says its Child Support Program includes a parenting time plan that both parents have agreed to and signed in administrative orders that establish paternity or set support. After that, only a court can change or enforce the plan. The department says its standard plan is not meant for families with domestic or family violence concerns.
Our guide to documenting your case when you represent yourself covers organizing a record without a lawyer.
Where does a written record fit in a Florida case?
Several of the Florida factors look backward, at what each parent has already done. Factor (o) asks about the parenting tasks each parent customarily performed before the case and during it. Factor (j) asks what each parent knows about the child’s friends, teachers and doctors. Factor (k) asks about routines for homework, meals and bedtime. Those are questions about months of ordinary days, and memory alone fades.
A dated, written record kept as things happen gives your attorney the detail to answer them: school pickups, doctor visits, homework nights and schedule changes. Our guide to the primary caretaker role in custody cases covers what the day-to-day parent usually shows, and our guide on how to document for a custody case covers what to log and how often.
Documented keeps a private, dated record of the ordinary days of care, sealed when you save each entry, so the detail is there when your attorney asks. Learn how it works →
What this guide does not cover
- Changing an existing order. Florida requires a substantial and material change of circumstances to modify a parenting plan, and this page covers first orders only.
- The relocation process. § 61.13001 sets out notice, objection and hearing steps for a contested move, which this page does not walk through.
- Child support amounts. Florida sets support under its own guidelines, which this page does not calculate.
- Protective orders and emergencies. If you or your child is in danger, call 911. Domestic violence changes the analysis above, and an emergency order needs an attorney or the court quickly.
Frequently asked questions
How can a father get full custody in Florida?
He asks the court for sole parental responsibility, a time-sharing schedule that gives him most of the child’s time, or both. The court orders shared parental responsibility unless sharing would be detrimental to the child, and it sets time-sharing by the child’s best interests, starting from a presumption of equal time. A father who was not married to the mother first needs paternity established before he has the rights of a parent.
At what age can a child choose which parent to live with in Florida?
No age lets a child choose. Among the best-interest factors in Florida Statutes § 61.13(3), the court weighs the reasonable preference of the child if it finds the child has sufficient intelligence, understanding and experience to express one. It is one factor among twenty.
Is Florida a 50/50 custody state?
Florida presumes that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interest. A parent who wants a different schedule must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interest, and unless the parents agree, the court must make written findings on the best-interest factors.
Does Florida favor mothers in custody cases?
The best-interest factors in Florida Statutes § 61.13(3) are written about each parent, and the starting point is equal time-sharing. The exception is a child born out of wedlock whose father has not established paternity: § 744.301 makes the mother the natural guardian, entitled to primary residential care and custody unless a court orders otherwise.
Can you file for custody in Florida without a lawyer?
Yes. The Florida Supreme Court approves family law forms with instructions, including the petition for dissolution of marriage with children and the Parenting Plan form 12.995(a). The parenting plan instructions say a plan is required in every case involving time-sharing, even when time-sharing is not in dispute.
How we researched this
We read 14 sources for this guide: eight sections of the Florida Statutes from the Florida Legislature’s statutes site, four pages of instructions for two Florida Supreme Court approved family law forms, one Florida Department of Revenue page, and one family law practice article. Every factual claim was checked against the passage it comes from before publishing, and a claim we could not trace to a source was cut. Attorney quotes are reproduced word for word from the firm’s own published page. How our guides are written.
References
Law firm pages are cited for the quoted passages only.
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 61.046, Definitions. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 61.13, Support of children; parenting and time-sharing; powers of court. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 61.13001, Parental relocation with a child. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 61.503, Definitions. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 61.514, Initial child custody jurisdiction. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 742.011, Proceedings for determination of paternity, rights, and responsibilities; jurisdiction. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 742.10, Establishment of paternity for children born out of wedlock. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Legislature. (2026). Florida Statutes § 744.301, Natural guardians. Retrieved from https://www.leg.state.fl.us/
- Florida Supreme Court. (2018). Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.995(a), Parenting Plan. Retrieved from https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/ PDF
- Florida Supreme Court. (2018). Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren), page 1. Retrieved from https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/ PDF
- Florida Supreme Court. (2018). Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren), page 2. Retrieved from https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/ PDF
- Florida Supreme Court. (2018). Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren), page 3. Retrieved from https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/ PDF
- Florida Department of Revenue. (n.d.). Parenting Time Plans. Retrieved from https://floridarevenue.com/
- Grant J. Gisondo, P.A.. (2018). Is 50/50 equal timesharing agreement always best in Florida?. Retrieved from https://gisondolaw.com/
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