child-rearing. There is no presumption for or against routines, the Mother had a natural head start. Then
the father or mother of the child or for or against there are other natural factors like the Mother nursing,
any specific time-sharing schedule when creating or etc. that played a role in the historical imbalance. As
modifying the parenting plan of the child.” these societal norms have changed, so must the law.
2. “The court shall order that the parental
The reality is that Florida is stepping forward with
responsibility for a minor child be shared by both the changing times, and as you can see, the current
parents unless the court finds that shared parental language of our statutes gives at least a hint of equal
responsibility would be detrimental to the child.” rights to time-sharing.
Fla. Statutes §61.13(c)1,2.
This does not mean that the other misconception that
As you can see, the law promotes equality and I often hear is true either. Namely, that the law now
specifically prohibits a presumption in favor of the means the Father gets automatic 50/50 time-sharing.
mother for time-sharing purposes. The appellate courts have specifically ruled that the
The historic imbalance (and hence the perception) is a
by-product of historical paradigms which are changing.
Once upon a time it was commonplace for the Father
to be away working, and the Mother spending the
overwhelming majority of time with the children. So
when it came time for a Judge to consider the best
interest factors (such as routine, and knowledge of
language of the statute does not compel a Judge
to implement an equal time-sharing plan. So on the
one side, while the legislature has shaded towards
language that logically means 50-50 plans, the Judiciary
has reserved the power to the Courts to determine a
parenting plan that is in the best interests of the child,
and divide the time-sharing however the judge sees fit.
the children’s records) the Mother held a distinct Because the best-interests-of-the-child statutory factors
advantage. are amongst the most numerous of the domestic
Another reason for the historical imbalance is Florida’s
legitimacy laws (which I will discuss in another article).
These laws identify only the Mother as the legal
guardian of a child if the parents were not married
relations analysis factors, the best course of action to
achieve the type of parenting plan you desire is to hire
an experienced attorney, who is familiar with all 20
factors the court will have to consider.
when the child was conceived or born. This natural This article is written by Marc Dwyer, a Senior Partner at
advantage gives the Mother legal control of the child’s Chiumento Dwyer Hertel Grant, PL
welfare until the biological Father acquires a court
order establishing his paternity. So again, when it came
time for the courts to consider the children’s normal
“
THE JUDICIARY HAS RESERVED THE POWER TO THE COURTS
TO DETERMINE A PARENTING PLAN THAT IS IN THE BEST
INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, AND DIVIDE THE TIME-SHARING
HOWEVER THE JUDGE SEES FIT.”
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