Parenting Plans

Yes. Under Florida Statute §61.13, a parenting plan is required in every case involving minor children, regardless of whether the parents are in full agreement. The court must approve the plan before it becomes legally enforceable. An informal arrangement between parents — even one both parties are comfortable with — has no legal standing until a judge signs off. This matters because without a court-approved plan, there is nothing to enforce if one parent later stops following the agreement.

Yes. Under Florida Statute §61.13, a parenting plan is required in every case involving minor children, regardless of whether the parents are in full agreement. The court must approve the plan before it becomes legally enforceable. An informal arrangement between parents — even one both parties are comfortable with — has no legal standing until a judge signs off. This matters because without a court-approved plan, there is nothing to enforce if one parent later stops following the agreement.

Florida law specifies that every parenting plan must address time-sharing (the schedule of when each parent has the child), parental responsibility (who makes decisions about health, education, and welfare), daily tasks and logistics, how parents will communicate with each other about the child, and the address that will be used for school registration. Plans must also cover holidays, summer breaks, and school breaks with specific start and end times — vague language like “alternating holidays” is increasingly rejected by South Florida courts. If shared parental responsibility is ordered, the plan must also state that either parent may consent to mental health treatment for the child unless the plan says otherwise, as required under §61.13(2)(b).

They are separate things and both need to be addressed. Time-sharing is the schedule — when the child physically lives with or visits each parent. Parental responsibility is decision-making authority over major life decisions: medical treatment, schooling, religious upbringing, and similar matters. Florida courts most commonly award shared parental responsibility, meaning both parents have an equal vote on major decisions. If the parents cannot agree, the dispute goes back to court. Sole parental responsibility — where one parent makes all decisions — is reserved for cases where shared responsibility would be harmful to the child.

Yes, but Florida sets a high bar. To modify a court-approved parenting plan, the requesting parent must demonstrate a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances since the plan was entered. Courts do not modify plans simply because one parent is unhappy or circumstances have shifted slightly. However, if the child’s welfare is at risk, Florida courts can move quickly, including through emergency hearings. One important exception: parents can agree in advance to future modifications tied to specific milestones — a child starting school, reaching a certain age, or a parent relocating — without having to prove a substantial change each time, as established in Perseo v. Donofrio, 379 So. 3d 1183 (Fla. 4th DCA 2024).

Very specific, and more so than most parents expect. South Florida courts want exact pickup and drop-off times, not just dates. “Christmas with mom in even years” is insufficient. The plan should specify December 24 at 6:00 p.m. through December 25 at 6:00 p.m., who provides transportation, and what happens if a holiday falls during the other parent’s regular time-sharing week. The same level of detail applies to Thanksgiving, spring break, winter break, summer vacation, and three-day weekends. Vague plans generate disputes. The more detailed the plan, the less likely either parent will be able to claim ambiguity later.