How the “Best Interests of the Child” Standard May Apply in Your Divorce

If you are planning to get divorced in Florida and you share minor children with your spouse, it is important for you to understand how the “best interests of the child” standard may apply in your divorce case. While the process for divorce does not necessarily involve issues pertaining to child custody when the spouses do not share minor children, child custody is decided in divorces where there are minor children from the marriage. When courts decide child custody in a divorce case — also known as parental responsibility and time-sharing under the Florida Statutes — the standard of the “best interests of the child” will be the guiding standard.

What do you need to know about the “best interests of the child,” and what you and your spouse need to do if you want to be able to determine matters of child custody yourselves? Our Tampa divorce lawyer can explain in more detail, and we can assist you today with all divorce matters involving child custody in Florida.

All Parenting and Time-Sharing Matters Governed by the “Best Interests” Standard 

Under the Florida Statutes, “the court shall determine all matters relating to parenting and time-sharing of each minor child of the parties in accordance with the best interests of the child.”

Florida law also clarifies that it is “the public policy of this state that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved,” and that “there is a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the best interest of the minor child.” Further, if one of the parents or another party wants to rebut this presumption, they must “prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the best interests of the child.”

What Are the Factors in the “Best Interests” Standard? 

According to the Florida Statutes, the “best interests of the child” are evaluated according to a wide range of statutory factors, including but not limited to the following:

• Capacity for each parent to facilitate and encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent;
• Extent to which parental responsibilities may be delegated to third parties;
• Demonstrated capacity of each parents to focus on the child’s needs rather than their own;
• Length of time the child has lived in a stable environment and the desire to maintain that continuity;
• Geographic viability of proposed time-sharing, taking into account school and travel time;
• Moral fitness of the parents;
• Mental and physical health of the parents; and
• Reasonable preference of the child if the child is old enough and mature enough to express a preference.

It is important for parents to understand these factors because they will be able to propose a parenting plan that includes parental responsibilities and time-sharing, and the court can approve their proposed plan if it is in the best interests of the child. Otherwise, the court can determine what is in the best interests of the child.

Contact a Tampa Divorce Lawyer Today 

Going through a divorce can be complicated and difficult under any circumstances, and cases typically become more complex when there are minor children from the marriage. Whether you and your spouse are able to reach a decision about shared parental responsibility and time-sharing, or you need help with child custody in a contested divorce, an experienced Tampa divorce attorney at The Law Office of Laura A. Olson, P.A. can speak with you today.

Source: 

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.13.html