Florida favors settlement agreements of family law disputes. Parents may agree to take on obligations based on future events. That’s true even if a court otherwise couldn’t impose those obligations. This power parents have in collaborative divorce to make agreements…
Please see the statewide chart of enactment of the Uniform Collaborative Law Act (UCLA), with links to state laws. On August 16, 2021, New Hampshire became the 21st state (plus the District of Columbia) to adopt the Uniform Collaborative Law…
What is a Parenting Plan? In Florida, a ‘Parenting Plan’ governs the relationship between parents “relating to decisions that must be made regarding the minor child.” Section 61.046(14), Florida Statutes. See CN v. IGC, Case No. SC20-505 (Florida Supreme Court April 29, 2021). …
Collaborative Parenting Plans in Florida divorce or paternity cases may address your child’s future best interests in ways Florida family judges can’t. Judges are not prophets: A judge has no crystal ball to see how future events might affect your…
Judges Must Make Decisions About Children’s Best Interests Based On Present Facts, Not Future Best Interests. Judges must decide parenting issues based on your child’s best interests as of the final hearing, not on your child’s future best interests. A…
When Can a Judge Look Ahead? When ordering a parenting plan in a Florida divorce or paternity action, the judge generally must stick to the present. The judge must make determinations based on findings about your child’s present best interests.…
Parenting plans govern parents’ future conduct in relationship towards each other and towards their children. These relationships comprise regular and holiday timesharing schedules, decision making about major events in a child’s life, and communications. Parents and judges necessarily look ahead to…
In Florida, parents face an extraordinary burden for modification of a parenting plan. This burden is called the “substantial change in circumstances” test. The test for modification applies unless the initial final judgment provides otherwise. In Wade v. Hirschman, 903 So.2d…
When considering parents’ agreements, judges must safeguard kids. A court isn’t bound by parents’ agreements regarding child support, custody, or visitation. Feliciano v. Feliciano, 674 So.2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); see also Yitzhari v. Yitzhari, 906 So.2d 1250, 1257 n. 4 (Fla. 3d DCA…
Parents in Florida divorce and paternity cases may anticipate and plan for events reasonably certain to occur in their children’s lives. They may enter into parenting agreements that flexibly adjust provisions when predicted and planned for events take place. Case…
A court has an ongoing obligation to safeguard minor children’s best interests. Collaborating parents may agree to enlist court review to approve modifications when events they anticipated in their parenting plans occur. Parents’ attempts to trigger automatic modifications for uncertain…
Many parents agree to resolve privately future impasses if they can’t agree on decisions for their children. Parents who choose the collaborative process appreciate court fighting can be costly and drawn out. These concerns apply equally for initial proceedings and…
For events you anticipate, can you build into your parenting plan modifications? CN v. IGC: Leaves Open Question of Whether Agreed On Contingencies are “Modifications” In C.N. v I.G.C., Case No. SC20-505 (Fla. April 29, 2021), a mother invited the…
You may agree your judgment will provide for a lesser burden for modification than the substantial change in circumstances test. Read more about that extraordinary burden here. The Supreme Court of Florida noted a judgment could provide a different standard…
Parents in Florida divorce and paternity cases decide if they will share parental responsibility and decision making for their child. Therefore, they must agree to a “Parenting Plan” or have a judge decide on a plan. In collaborative practice, parents…
Parents who “share parental responsibility” retain full parental rights and responsibilities for their child. This means both parents confer with each other to make decisions for their child. See Section 61.046(17), Florida Statutes. In sharing responsibility for decisions, parents generally must…
Florida law treats consent to “mental health treatment” for a child differently from other major decisions. Specifically, when parents share responsibility, their parenting plans must provide each parent retains consent to the child’s mental health treatment. See Section 61.13(2)(b)3., Florida…
In 2016, Florida law changed to mandate, in parenting plans designating shared parental responsibility, that either parent retains consent to their child’s mental health treatment. See Section 61.13(2)(b)3., Florida Statutes, amended by Laws of Florida 2016-241. Analysis of the final…
How do courts in Florida handle shared parental responsibility over a child’s health care? Florida family judges must determine parenting matters according to the child’s best interests and the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Exception to Best…
Florida’s divorce and paternity statutes don’t define “mental health treatment.” When they’re sharing parental responsibility, each parent retains parental consent to mental health treatment. However, by clarifying and agreeing to the scope of “mental health treatment” for their child, parents…
Parents in the Collaborative Process may consider using definitions of “mental health treatment.” This article give example language using definitions. For more about definitions, read the discussion here. For our Parenting Plan, “Mental Health Treatment” means these techniques, as defined…
When Florida parents divorce and share parental responsibility, either may consent to mental health treatment for a child. Therefore, mental health treatment providers generally may accept informed consent by only one parent to mental health treatment. A Parent Has a…
Under Florida Law, mental health treatment providers, and their professions’ corresponding statutory informed consent requirements, include: Mental Health Provider Informed Consent References Psychiatrist licensed under Chapter 458 or 459, Florida Statutes Section 458.325(1), Florida Statutes provides, for electroconvulsive or psychosurgical…
One parent may disagrees with the other parent’s consenting to mental health treatment for their child. The objecting parent often faces costly, time consuming, and inadequate remedies. When parents disagree about mental health treatment, the objecting parent may ask the…
Effective July 1, 2020, Florida amended its law on Custody of Minor Children by Extended Family. See Laws of Florida, Chapter No. 2020-146. An “extended family member” may ask the court for “temporary” or “concurrent” custody of a child. That’s…