CALL FOR A CONSULTATION
CALL FOR A CONSULTATION
Schedule a Consultation
LEGAL EXPERTISE YOU CAN RELY ON
When parents go through a divorce or separation involving children, one of the most important legal matters to address is parental responsibility and timesharing. In Florida, custody and visitation, which is whom the children live and spend time with, is called timesharing. These issues can be worked out through negotiations, mediation or can be addressed by the court. In some cases, experts such as Guardian Ad Litems, social investigators, child psychologists and therapists will need to get involved as well. Regardless of the situation, issues involving children can be emotional and delicate for all parties involved and Danielle Ostrovsky understands that first hand.
Parental responsibility refers to the legal rights and responsibilities that parents have with regards to their children. It gives parents the right to make major decisions regarding their child’s upbringing such as education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities.
The most common type of parental responsibility which Florida courts prefer, as long as it is in the best interest of the child, is Shared Parental Responsibility. Shared Parental Responsibility means that both parents jointly make major decisions for their minor child. Another type of parental responsibility is Sole Parental Responsibility. This is when one parent has the sole right to make major decisions for the minor child. This occurs in situations where the Court determines it is in the best interests of the minor child that one parent makes major decisions for a minor child and not the other parent. There is also a hybrid of the two, which is called Shared Parental Responsibility with Ultimate Decision Making Authority.
In addition to parental responsibility, when parents go through a divorce or separation involving children, timesharing also needs to be determined. Timesharing is a designation of the time that a minor child spends with each parent. This includes a regular weekday and weekend schedule as well as a holiday schedule. This designation is put into a legal document called a Parenting Plan. Not only does the Parenting Plan outline the specific timesharing arrangements, but it also includes other details such as how the parents will communicate, how the children will be transported to school and their extracurricular activities, and which parents address is used for school boundary designation purposes. If the parents cannot agree on a Parenting Plan and timesharing schedule, the court will step in to make these decisions for them that is in the best interest of the minor child.
When developing a Parenting Plan, the court takes into consideration various factors such as the child’s age, developmental needs, reasonable preference of the child, and whether the parents have the ability to communicate and cooperate.
At Ostrovsky Law, we understand that parental responsibility and timesharing can be a sensitive topic filled with many emotions. Danielle has years of experience in parental responsibility and timesharing issues. She can provide the guidance and representation you need to protect your rights and the best interests of your minor child. Danielle works closely with her clients to listen to their wants, goals and concerns and then helps develop a parenting plan and timesharing schedule tailored to their unique situation. Being a mom herself, Danielle understands the day-to-day involvement in raising a child and knows how important it is to include every little detail in a parenting plan in order to be able to effectively co-parent with your child’s other parent that is in the best interest of your minor child.
If you need help with a parental responsibility and timesharing issue, contact Ostrovsky Law today to schedule a consultation with Danielle Ostrovsky. She is here to help you through this challenging time and achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
Contact Ostrovsky Law for any family law matters, including divorce, custody, parental responsibility or paternity.
Parental Responsibility is the parents ability to make major decisions that affect the minor children such as where the children will go to school, medical care, and other aspects of the child’s life. Timesharing, which formerly was known as custody, is the time that the minor children spend with each parent. In a Florida divorce or paternity case, a Parenting Plan will be signed by the parties or entered by the Court, which will state the type of parental responsibility that the parents have, and a timesharing schedule for the parents and the minor children to follow.
Shared parental responsibility means that both parents have equal decision-making authority and must consult with each other when making major decisions. Florida defaults to shared parental responsibility in the vast majority of cases. Shared parental responsibility with ultimate decision making is when the parents first try to jointly agree on a major decision, such as where the children will go to school and if they cannot jointly agree, then the parent that has the ultimate decision gets to make the final decision on which school they will go to.
In general, it is rare for a parent to be completely denied timesharing unless there are serious concerns about the child’s safety or well-being. However, the court may impose restrictions on timesharing or require supervised visitation if it is deemed necessary to protect the child’s best interests.
