Negotiating a Parenting Plan

Parents seeking divorce have a large task in front of them, as they consider, negotiate, and settle on the terms that will govern child custody. Divorce is particularly hard for children, and trying to find the right balance that addresses the desires of both parents to have an active role in the child’s life against the child’s need for predictability, stability, and consistency is hard. In Florida, these agreements are called parenting plans, which cover how the parents will divide parenting time and decision-making authority. Click here to learn more.

Options When a Parent Exposes a Child to Drugs

Drug and alcohol abuse are issues that can drastically affect a child’s quality of life, but is a situation a child may not be able to recognize or appreciate for its instability and danger. If child custody is shared, this habit is a true concern that needs to be addressed. Obviously, the issue in these circumstances is the addicted parent’s ability to safely and appropriately care for the child. Click here to read more.

When do Courts Award Sole Custody?

The default for divorced parents in Florida, and most other states, is that parenting time, formerly referred to broadly as custody, will be shared. While the ideal is that the child spends roughly equal amounts of time with each parent, typically one parent will have primary responsibility for childcare, with the other parent taking the child on weekends and one or two evenings during the week. Moving to the other end of the spectrum, sole custody is not only discouraged but very hard to achieve outside of the most extreme cases.  Click here to learn more. 

When Would a Court Give Custody to a Non-Parent?

Raising a child without some help and contributions from family and friends is virtually impossible.  Childrearing is a full-time, constant endeavor that requires help from the outside for a parent to fulfill her or her responsibilities.  However, when it comes to who as final authority over a child, one or both parents are overwhelmingly the only individuals considered for this role.  Click here to read more.

Child Custody Decision Guidelines in Florida

Parents contemplating divorce often have a much more difficult time deciding whether to end the marriage. Divorce greatly affects children, and is known to leave a negative stamp on a child’s development. Certainly, couples in unhealthy relationships should part because staying together is also damaging to a child, but divorces involving children are naturally more complicated. Figuring out how to divide childcare and decision-making responsibilities frequently leads to conflict as each parent fights to ensure they maintain a strong presence in their child’s life. Parents ideally negotiate their own child custody arrangement, often with the assistance of a divorce attorney, but in high-conflict divorces, the court is typically tasked with making this decision. Giving this much power to the judge may seem frightening. A group of women in Palm Beach County founded an organization in 2003, Families Against Court Travesties (FACTS), dedicated to scrutinizing the family court system after encountering judges who seemed to favor one party in high-conflict child custody cases. Understanding the guidelines judges must follow in child custody decisions will help divorcing parents move through the process with less stress and anxiety.

Parenting Plans

Florida law requires all divorce cases involving minor children to include a parenting plan, which governs how the parents will split responsibilities for the children going forward. Many divorcing couples formulate their own parenting plans since they can cater to the unique needs of their families, but the court must still approve the terms. All parenting plans must do all of the following:

• describe with sufficient detail how the parents plan to share the daily tasks of raising a child;
• specify how much time the child will spend with each parent;
• indicate who will be responsible for decisions related to health care, education, and other activities; and
• describe how the parents plan to communicate with the child.

If the judge must create the parenting plan, the court starts from the premise that both parents will share responsibility, and will only deviate from this standard if following it would be detrimental to the child. Evidence of domestic violence or convictions for other violent offenses are examples of issues that would be detrimental to the child, and cause a judge to consider awarding all parenting responsibilities to one party. The court will give considerable weight to the wishes of the parties, but the one principle that drives all child custody decisions is the best interests of the child.

Best Interests of the Child

In order to ascertain what is in the best interests of the child, the court takes into account a number of factors. These factors help the court to evaluate the needs and circumstances of a particular child and family. Some of these factors are:

• the ability of each parent to support a close relationship between the child and the other parent;
• how often a parent would delegate parental responsibilities to a third party;
• the ability of each parent to put the needs of the child first;
• the geographic viability of the parenting plan, especially for school-age children;
• the mental and physical health of the parents;
• the ability of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child;
• the ability of the parents to communicate with each other on child-related issues and adopt a united front on important issues; and
• the ability of each parent to meet the child’s needs.

Consult a Florida Family Law Attorney

If you are getting divorced or have questions about child custody issues, it is best to speak with an experienced family law attorney to ensure you receive accurate information on such an important matter. The Tampa Bay law firm, All Family Group, P.A., will conduct a thorough analysis to determine what the best arrangement is for you and your family.  Contact the Tampa divorce attorneys and family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

by Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

The Importance of Establishing Paternity in Child Custody and Support Cases

It seems almost self-evident that children thrive more in homes that have mothers and fathers in place to support and guide them. Ideally, all children would have the chance to live with both parents in a loving environment, but reality is often much harsher. Couples cannot always stay together, and marriage does not automatically guarantee happily ever after. For children born to unwed parents, the situation is complicated by the fact that unmarried men are not assumed to be the father of a child born to their partners. This gap in legal recognition can create problems when it comes to child custody and support issues. All legal parents have rights and obligations over their child, but without this designation, there is no way to exercise or enforce these legal measures. Florida law has several options available to prove a child’s paternity, some of which are voluntary and others that can occur on an order from a court. If the mother wishes to seek child support, or the father wants to secure visitation, paternity must first be established. Consequently, this issue is of critical importance to the wellbeing of the child.

Acknowledgement of Paternity

The simplest and easiest way to establish paternity requires the parents to file an acknowledgement of paternity with the Florida Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics. This form must be signed by both parties in front of two witnesses or a notary public. Filing this form creates a legal presumption that the man signing it is the child’s father, and is assuming all the rights and responsibilities of a legal parent. Either party has 60 days from the time the form was signed to rescind this acknowledgement. After this time, it can only be challenged in court on the basis of fraud, duress, or mistake, which is very difficult to prove.

DNA Testing

If the alleged father is challenging paternity or refuses to take responsibility for the child, it may be necessary to obtain a DNA test to confirm paternity. If the mother is just seeking child support, and the alleged father has no interest in participating in the child’s life, the Department of Revenue will assist with genetic testing without the cost of going to court. If, however, the father wants an active role in the child’s life, the paternity dispute would need to be settled in court. The judge would order the mother, alleged father, and child to submit biological samples to a qualified laboratory for analysis. Results that state the statistical probability the man is the father by 95 percent or higher creates a presumption of paternity that can only be challenged with additional testing. Once paternity is established, the mother can petition the court for a child support order, and the father would have right to ask the court for custody and visitation rights.

Putative Father Registry

Finally, if man believes a woman is pregnant with his child, but they are unmarried, and he is worried she will give the child up for adoption without his knowledge, Florida has a registry he can access to preserve his rights. The Florida Putative Father Registry allows the unmarried man to add his name to registry, which means he is claiming paternity, so that he preserves his right to receive notice of any impending adoption. With this information, the man can oppose adoption and seek custody of the child if he so desires. Importantly, he can claim paternity at any time before the child’s birth, but this right terminates once a petition to terminate parental rights is filed.

Get Help

Whether you need to establish paternity for child support purposes or to claim parental rights, work with a family law attorney on this issue to ensure your legal rights are fully protected. The All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa is highly experienced in these matters, and can advise you on your options.  Contact the Tampa divorce attorneys and family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Timing of Marriage and Baby Doesn’t Affect Divorce Rate

In the past, research showed that cohabitating couples who had a baby prior to getting married consistently faced a higher divorce rate than those who married first and had a baby later. In fact, a study by the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) claims that there was no increased risk of divorce for those who chose to marry first, as opposed to those who chose to have a baby first and then get married.

The study analyzed data from couples who had their first child between 1985 and 1995 and those who did so between 1997 and 2010. Researchers found that unmarried couples in the first group were 60% more likely to divorce than those couples who married before having their first child. Only 10 years later, however, this difference disappeared. Couples from the second group who remained unmarried before the birth of their first child were no more likely to divorce than those who were married first.

Why is This the Case?

Researchers attribute this drastic change in statistics to a number of different factors. On the whole, American society, as well as that of other industrialized countries, is more accepting of unmarried couples who live together. These days, there is little societal pressure to immediately marry if a pregnancy occurs. Children born of out wedlock are commonplace in most areas of the country, and the stigmas that were attached to unmarried couples sharing a household and children born outside of marriage no longer really exist. Rather, couples who share a child take their time in deciding whether and when they will marry.

In fact, the only group who had a significantly higher chance of splitting up after their first child was comprised of those couples who never married. Thirty percent of those cohabitating couples who never married split up within five years. However, this statistic may have been skewed by the fact that cohabitating couples tend to have less income and education that those who marry, which may contribute to an eventual split.

Whether parents are married or not, however, a separation is likely to increase the need for court orders regarding custody, visitation, and child support. These options are equally available to children born during marriages and those who are not. While some separations occur amicably, and parents are able to compromise and reach an agreement on these important issues, others are much more complex, and may require extensive litigation.

It is in these situations that an experienced Tampa family law attorney can be most helpful to you. When you are going through the emotional struggle that often accompanies a bitter break-up, the last thing you need is to try and navigate the minefield of child custody and visitation on your own. This is where we can be of assistance to you. Contact the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Military Deployment & Child Custody

Child custody issues are complicated. These issues are further complicated when a military parent has primary custody of a child and the military parent is suddenly called to active duty and deployed. Deployment and child custody can pose special challenges for service members. Oftentimes, military parents fear losing child custody if the military parent leaves the child with a stepparent or a relative during deployment and the other parent files for custody of the child. Many states have passed laws that seek to address the unique challenges of military parents who miss visitation or give up custody of their children when mobilized, or placed on temporary duty or deployment.

Service Family Care Plan

A family care plan is critical when the service member has primary custody of a child. A family care plan is a document that explains who will care for the service member’s child when the service member is away for training or deployed overseas. The plan must include critical details about custody including who will have short-term custody of the child when the service member has little or no notice before deployment. Having a family care plan will ease the transition of responsibility when a military parent is away.

It is possible that a parenting plan will need to be modified if a military parent expects to be deployed for a year or longer. Depending upon the length of the expected deployment, courts may allow the service member’s spouse or a family member to be responsible for the child while the service member is deployed. This will allow the child to continue going to the same school and live in the same home. In Florida, the law allows military parents to designate a family member, stepparent or relative to engage in time sharing on the parent’s behalf. This flexibility would allow a military parent to designate grandparents or another family member to time share in their absence and maintain primary custody of the child.

Protection Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act

The SCRA protects military service members when they are deployed on active duty. The SCRA provides an automatic stay of 90 days for court and administrative proceedings while the service member is deployed. This type of protection helps a service member if they are deployed and find they are facing a child custody challenge. Additionally, the US Department of Defense USA 4 Military Families initiative engages in advocacy with the goal of ensuring that military parents do not lose custody of their child simply because of their military service. Until laws exist to ensure military parents do not lose custody while deployed are enacted, military parents should seek the advice of legal counsel to ensure they understand the impact their deployment will have on their child custody.

The Tampa family lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. are familiar with all aspects of military divorce and child custody. Our office is knowledgeable in the area of military divorce and can help you throughout the process. Contact the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+

Parental Responsibility Evaluations

Parental responsibility and timesharing constitute one of the most emotional issues facing spouses as they divorce. Florida has made strides to equalize parental responsibility and timesharing of children in a divorce. Lawmakers have changed stigmatizing language used to describe “non-custodial” or “secondary residential” parents in an effort to focus custody disputes on shared parental responsibility. Still, it is common for parents in a divorce to want to increase their involvement with their children’s lives and decrease the role of the other parent. This tension is often the source of disagreement in designing parental responsibility and timesharing plans.

When parents cannot agree on an arrangement, then the court must step in and make a determination about parental responsibility and timesharing. Using the best interest of the child as the main goal, the court may request a parental responsibility evaluation.

What is a Parental Responsibility Evaluation?

A parental responsibility evaluation, or PRE, is an evaluation conducted by a court appointed third party, usually a psychologist. The psychologist will act as an evaluator and neutral third party to help the court resolve a custody dispute. The psychologist will make conclusions and recommendations regarding custody and timesharing. The psychologist will likely interview the child, or children, and anyone else either parent believes would be beneficial to interview.

How Much Does a PRE Cost and Who Pays for It?

The costs of a PRE vary. The court will decide which parent bears the cost of the evaluation. Typically, the court will order that parents share the cost of the evaluation.

How Do I Prepare My Child for a PRE?

Most likely, a psychologist will interview your child, or children, as part of the evaluation. Your child may be nervous about the interview. You can help your child prepare for their interview and feel less anxious by explaining what will happen in the evaluation. You may want to tell your child that they will meet with someone who wants to know about their feelings and thoughts. You do not need to coach your child for the evaluation; instead, encourage your child to be truthful and honest with the evaluator. Help your child understands that they will not be in trouble for their answers.

How Do I Prepare for a PRE?

Understandably, you may also feel nervous about meeting with a psychologist. You may find the following suggestions will help decrease your anxiety and stress:

• Make sure that you get plenty of sleep the night before the evaluation;
• Schedule your day so that you have plenty of time to arrive at the psychologist’s office;
• Make sure you are dressed comfortably and neatly;
• Organize documents you need to bring a few days before the evaluation; and
• Write down any questions you maybe have so that you will remember to ask them.

Knowing the process of a parenting responsibility evaluation will also help ease the stress of the evaluation. Get the guidance you need by contacting the Tampa family and divorce lawyers at All Family Law Group, P.A. in Tampa Bay at 813-816-2232 for a consultation at no charge or email us.

By Lynette Silon-Laguna Google+