Articles Posted in Child Custody

As a Jacksonville, Florida custody attorney, I have seen a big shift in the ideology of the courts in providing for joint custody of children in Florida. However, couples experiencing divorce in Florida are usually unaware of the difference between shared parental responsibility (aka “joint custody”) and 50/50 timesharing. In Florida, shared parental responsibility means that both parents will retain all rights as parents and will be included in having input in any major decision involving the child’s life. Timesharing in Florida is exactly that. How much time the parents get with the child. Equal timesharing in Florida has it’s advantages for the child in some ways. The courts will always look to the child’s best interests and every case is different. Some advantages are that the child will get to spend equal time with both parents and have the opportunity to create a loving bond with both parents. Some problems that arise in 50/50 timesharing lie in scheduling conflicts as well as the child never really having one single place to call “home”. These are some conflicts to overcome when seeking “joint custody” in Florida.

I’ve been practicing as a Jacksonville, Florida custody attorney for almost ten years, and in most of my custody cases, I can’t understand how at one point, the parties loved each other so much that they created a human being only now to glare at one another with absolute hate. Child custody in Florida does not have to be an all out war. For one thing, the parties must realize that at some point, they may be grandparents together, the former husband may be walking the daughter down the aisle or the parties may be present at the same time for birthdays and other special events. Child custody in Jacksonville, Florida is never easy and a child custody attorney in Florida is absolutely necessary, but through good counsel and good negotiations, steps can be made to allow for a future without war.

In a recent article titled, ” Reason No. 172 Not to Practice Family Law” author Burt Likko describes how family law court can be a very unpleasant place to find oneself. Likko goes one to describe how transcripts and scenes from family law hearings can be “utterly miserable.”

Although, I agree family law court can be a place filled with a great deal of heated emotions between people who were once in love, I believe there can be resolutions that both parties are happy with. I believe a Ponte Vedra Family Law Attorney can be an essential ingredient toward insuring a satisfying outcome.