In each Florida family law case (such as divorce or paternity) that involves the custody of a child, Florida law requires that a parenting plan be established. One of the most important elements of a parenting plan is the child custody schedule, now known as a “time-sharing” schedule.
Family Law Tip: You should never let a judge decide your child’s time-sharing schedule. A judge does not know your family dynamics and bases such decisions on very limited information, and usually the judge is seeing parents, especially divorcing parents, at the worst time in their lives. Instead, you and your co-parent should use a private form of dispute resolution, such as collaborative family law.
As I tell clients who come to my Tampa office, there are many different types of time-sharing schedules. Below are some samples provided by the 12th Judicial Circuit (which includes Sarasota and Manatee Counties). The parent who is listed in a box is the one whom the child will be staying with overnight:
For the above example of Alternating Weekend + 1 Midweek, let’s assume that the father is designated Parent A and the mother is designated as Parent B. The child would spend his overnights with the father every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and with the mother every Wednesday. In the first week, the child would spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday overnight with the father, and in the second week, the child would spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday overnight with the mother.
In the next example, above, titled Alternating Weekends, the child would spend overnights with the father every Monday through Thursday, and would alternate between the homes on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Below are some additional sample time-sharing schedules, including schedules that show different ways that 50/50 time-sharing could work:
Each of these schedules has advantages and disadvantages, and you should make sure to speak with a family law attorney to learn the differences. Whichever time-sharing schedule you and your co-parent should choose, you should ensure that you are choosing it because it is in the best interests of your child.
If you have questions regarding Florida child custody and would like to speak with a Tampa Bay family law attorney, schedule a consultation with The Law Firm of Adam B. Cordover, P.A., at (813) 443-0615 or via our contact form.
Adam B. Cordover is the current President of Next Generation Divorce, Florida’s largest network of collaboratively-trained attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals, serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties.
About Adam B. Cordover, Attorney-at-Law
Family Diplomacy is dedicated to helping clients restructure their families privately and respectfully. We practice exclusively in out-of-court dispute resolution, with a focus on collaborative divorce and family law, mediation, direct negotiations, and unbundled legal services.
We maintain this out-of-court practice because we strongly believe that family disputes should be resolved in a private conference room, not in a hostile and public courtroom environment. This unique perspective on family law stems back to Adam B. Cordover’s experience studying International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Adam had the rare opportunity to work closely with ambassadors and diplomats from war-torn regions around the world. He traveled around the globe, learning from diplomatic leaders as they applied dispute resolution techniques to tackle seemingly impossible conflicts. It dawned on him: If these techniques can work in the complex world of International Relations, why not Domestic Relations and Family Law?
This realization lead Adam to create an exclusively out-of-court practice and to bring a more peacemaking approach to family law. In his previous role as a litigation attorney, Adam witnessed parties experience the negative emotional and financial effects that long, drawn out divorce battles can have on families. As a result, Adam has become a strong proponent of the Collaborative Process, where a structure is put in place so that life’s hardest moments do not have to be any more difficult than necessary.
A thought leader in the international collaborative law community, Adam successfully spearheaded an effort of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit to draft an administrative order safeguarding the principles of collaborative family law (just the fourth such administrative order in Florida). Adam has been featured in or interviewed about collaborative practice by the Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Business Journal, Florida Bar News, NBC, Fox 13, Bay News 9, ABC Action News, The World of Collaborative Practice Magazine, and Spirit FM 90.5. Adam regularly speaks at professional and civic organizations locally and internationally regarding the collaborative process.
Adam B. Cordover is president of Next Generation Divorce, a 501(c)(3) and Florida’s largest interdisciplinary collaborative practice group with member attorneys, mental health professionals, and financial professionals throughout Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Sarasota, and Manatee Counties. Adam is also on the Executive Board and co-chair of the Research Committee of the Collaborative Family Law Council of Florida. Further, Adam is a graduate of the inaugural class of the Leadership Academy of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.
You can learn more about us and our services at www.FamilyDiplomacy.com.
Attorney Adam B. Cordover is admitted to the Florida Bar and the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. His office is located at 412 East Madison Street, Suite 824, Tampa, Florida 33602.
For the above example of Alternating Weekend + 1 Midweek, let’s assume that the father is designated Parent A and the mother is designated as Parent B. The child would spend his overnights with the father every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and with the mother every Wednesday. In the first week, the child would spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday overnight with the father, and in the second week, the child would spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday overnight with the mother.
Each of these schedules has advantages and disadvantages, and you should make sure to speak with a family law attorney to learn the differences. Whichever time-sharing schedule you and your co-parent should choose, you should ensure that you are choosing it because it is in the best interests of your child.
ABC Family Law Blog 