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A parenting plan is one of the most important documents you will ever sign, because it shapes your everyday life with your children for years. A vague or rushed plan invites conflict; a clear, detailed one prevents it. This guide explains what Florida requires in a parenting plan, how the 2023 equal timesharing presumption works, and the practical choices that make a schedule hold up over time.
A parenting plan is a written document, approved by the court, that governs how divorced or separated parents will raise their children. Under Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 61.13), every case involving minor children must have one, and it must address parental responsibility, or decision-making, and timesharing, which is the schedule of when the child is with each parent.
The plan is not a formality. It becomes a binding court order, and both parents are legally required to follow it. That is precisely why the detail you put into it matters so much: the plan is what you will point to when a disagreement arises about a holiday, a pickup time, or a medical decision.
Two ideas sit at the center of every Florida parenting plan:
Whether your case is a divorce or a paternity matter, the parenting plan is the framework everything else is built on. Our Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer can help you shape one that fits your family.
At minimum, a Florida parenting plan must describe how parents share and are responsible for the daily tasks of childrearing, the timesharing schedule, decision-making authority over health care and school, and how the parents will communicate with the child. Florida law (Fla. Stat. § 61.13) requires these elements in every plan.
A complete, durable parenting plan typically covers:
The plans that cause the least conflict are the specific ones. “Reasonable timesharing” sounds flexible, but it forces parents to renegotiate constantly and invites disputes. Naming exact days, times, and places removes the ambiguity that arguments grow from.
Since July 1, 2023, Florida law starts from a rebuttable presumption that equal, roughly 50/50, timesharing is in the best interests of the child. Under the amendment to Fla. Stat. § 61.13, a parent who believes a different schedule is better must prove that by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning it is more likely than not.
This was a significant change. Before the amendment, Florida law expressed no preference for any particular schedule. Now equal timesharing is the starting point, though not a guaranteed outcome. A few practical takeaways:
There is also a relocation-related rule: if parents live more than 50 miles apart when the last timesharing order is entered and one parent later moves within 50 miles of the other, that move may count as a substantial change in circumstances supporting a modification.
Because this area of law shifted recently and can be applied differently case to case, it is worth discussing your specific situation with an attorney. Danielle M. Ostrovsky regularly guides parents through how the presumption applies to their family.
Florida courts decide timesharing by evaluating a long list of best interests factors set out in Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3), not by any single consideration. These factors are the lens through which a judge tests whether equal timesharing, or any proposed schedule, actually serves the child.
Among the factors a court weighs are:
No single factor decides a case. A judge looks at the full picture, which is why presenting a clear, honest, well-documented account of your involvement in your child’s life matters far more than criticizing the other parent.
A timesharing schedule holds up when it is specific, realistic, and built around the child’s actual life rather than the parents’ convenience. The strongest schedules anticipate the predictable friction points, exchanges, holidays, travel, and communication, and answer them in advance so parents are not forced to negotiate under stress.
Features of a schedule that lasts:
The difference between a plan that holds and one that fails is usually detail and realism. A schedule that looks fair on paper but ignores work hours, school pickup, or a long commute will break down in practice. Avoiding that is closely tied to steering clear of common missteps, several of which we discuss in the ways people make their divorce messier than it needs to be.
The most common mistake is being too vague, leaving terms like “reasonable” or “as agreed” to fill gaps that later become disputes. Other frequent errors include ignoring holidays, failing to plan for the child’s changing needs, and drafting a schedule that does not match the realities of work and school.
Mistakes that undermine a parenting plan:
Attempting to navigate all of this alone is itself a risk, which is one reason we caution against self-representation in our post on the reasons to avoid self-representation in Florida family cases. A plan drafted without experience often looks fine until the first real disagreement exposes its gaps.
Yes, but not casually. To modify a parenting plan in Florida, a parent generally must show a substantial and material change in circumstances since the last order (Florida removed the old “unanticipated” requirement in 2023), and that the change to the schedule is in the child’s best interests. Courts require this higher standard to protect children from constant disruption.
Situations that may support a modification include:
The key point is that a parenting plan is durable by design. It is not meant to be re-litigated every time a parent is unhappy, which is another reason to invest in getting it right the first time. When circumstances genuinely change, an attorney can help you determine whether the legal standard for modification is met.
Few things carry higher stakes than the schedule that decides when you see your children. You should not have to face those decisions guessing at the law or negotiating alone against the other side. Ostrovsky Law helps parents across Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton build parenting plans and timesharing schedules that protect their relationship with their children and stand up over time. If you are starting a case or worried about your current arrangement, do not wait for a small problem to become a courtroom fight. Call 954-641-2388 or contact us for a confidential consultation.
If your central concern is how much time you will have with your children, that is exactly the issue our practice is built around. With Florida’s equal timesharing presumption now the starting point, both the opportunity and the risk are real, and how you present your case matters. Ostrovsky Law will help you understand where you stand and build a strategy centered on your children’s best interests. Reach out about your timesharing and parental responsibility questions and get answers you can act on.
Is Florida a 50/50 custody state now? Not automatically, but the law starts there. Since July 1, 2023, Florida applies a rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing is in the child’s best interests. A parent seeking a different schedule must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that equal timesharing would not serve the child, and the court still weighs the statutory factors.
What is the difference between parental responsibility and timesharing? Parental responsibility is the authority to make major decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and religion, and Florida presumes it is shared. Timesharing is the physical schedule of when the child is with each parent. A parenting plan must address both, and they are decided separately.
Can my child choose which parent to live with in Florida? Not on their own. A child cannot simply decide. Florida courts may consider a child’s reasonable preference as one of many best interests factors, but only if the judge finds the child has sufficient maturity and understanding. The court weighs that preference alongside every other factor.
How detailed should a timesharing schedule be? As detailed as possible. Vague terms like “reasonable timesharing” create ongoing conflict. A strong schedule names exact days, exchange times and locations, a holiday and school-break plan, a summer schedule, and a method for handling changes. Specificity is what prevents disputes and keeps the plan enforceable.
What if the other parent violates the parenting plan? A parenting plan is a court order, so repeated violations can be addressed through the court, which may enforce the order or consider it in future decisions. Document the violations carefully rather than retaliating. An attorney can advise on enforcement options and whether the conduct supports further legal action.
Danielle M. Ostrovsky is the founding partner of Ostrovsky Law, a boutique firm practicing exclusively in marital and family law across Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade Counties. Admitted to The Florida Bar in 2014, she handles divorce, alimony, timesharing, paternity, equitable distribution, and high-net-worth asset division — pairing aggressive courtroom advocacy with an empathetic, client-first approach. She has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star every year since 2018.
