Frequently asked questions regarding Florida Collaborative Divorce.
FAQs Florida Collaborative Divorce
Collaborative Family Law: Florida Favors Settlement Agreements
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…
Florida Parenting Plan Basics: Collaborative Family 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, 316 So. 3d 287 (Fla. 2021). A court’s authority…
Defenses to Child Abduction Claims: Hague Convention
What are the six defenses to child abduction claims under the Hague Convention? A parent who moves with a child from the child’s home country to another country, or retains the child in the other country, may face accusations that…
Collaborative Parenting Plans: A Child’s Prospective Best Interests
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…
Collaborative Family Law Agreements: A Child’s Future Best Interests
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…
Florida Parenting Plans & Events Reasonably Certain to Occur
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.…
Children’s Best Interests: Parenting Plans Entail Prediction
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…
Collaborative Parenting Plans: Extraordinary Burden for Modification
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…
Collaborative Parenting Plans: Judges Must Safeguard Children
When considering parents’ agreements, judges must safeguard children. 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.…
Anticipating Events Reasonably Certain to Occur: Collaborative Parenting Plans
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…
Enlist Court Review When Events Occur: Collaborative Parenting Plans
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…
Resolve Future Impasses: Collaborative Parenting Plans
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…
Contingencies Parents Build into their Parenting Plans in Florida Divorces
Can parents build contingencies in parenting plans for future events? For events you anticipate that are reasonably certain to occur, can you build automatic modifications into your parenting plan? CN v. IGC: Leaves Open Question of Whether Agreed On Contingencies…
Agreeing to a Different Burden for Modification: Florida Parenting Plans 
You may agree your judgment will provide for a different burden for modification than the substantial change in circumstances test. Read more about that extraordinary burden here. Authorizing Agreements to a Different Burden for Modification than the Onerous Substantial Change…
Parental Responsibility & Decision Making
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…
Shared Parental Responsibility and Sole Parental Responsibility
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…
Custody of Children by Extended Family Member Including Fictive Kin
What does custody of children by an extended family member look like in Florida? An “extended family member” may ask the court for “temporary” or “concurrent” custody of a child. Custody of a child is “temporary” if the award excludes…
Second Parent Adoption – Florida Reinstates Same Sex Adoption
In the Matter of the Adoption of D.P.P., 158 So. 3d 633 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014), the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed an order vacating a second parent adoption. Trial Court Undoes Same Sex Adoption The trial court terminated…