Divorce With Kids

Divorce with children brings extra emotional and legal pressure. Augusto Law helps parents create parenting plans, time-sharing schedules, and support arrangements that protect the child’s stability while preserving each parent’s meaningful role. Our approach is child-first, practical, and focused on reducing conflict wherever possible.

How does Florida decide child custody?

Florida uses the terms time-sharing and parental responsibility more often than the older language of custody and visitation. Parenting decisions are based on the best interests of the child, and Florida law includes a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interests unless the facts or law support something different. 

Plain English: the court is looking at what protects the child’s stability, safety, routine, and relationship with each parent.

What is a parenting plan in Florida?

A parenting plan is a written plan that explains how parents will share responsibilities and time with their child. It should address the child’s routine, time-sharing schedule, decision-making, school matters, health care, communication, and exchanges.

The more specific the plan, the less room there is for repeated conflict. Children do better when the adults know what to expect.

Does 50/50 time-sharing mean no child support in Florida?

No. Equal or substantial time-sharing does not automatically eliminate child support. Florida’s child support statute includes calculations and adjustments based on income, overnights, child care costs, health insurance, and other factors. 

Time-sharing is one factor. It is not the whole calculation.

Do divorcing parents in Florida have to take a parenting class?

Yes. In Florida, parties to a divorce with minor children or a paternity action involving parental responsibility must complete the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the court enters a final judgment, unless the court excuses a party for good cause. 

This is not meant to shame parents. It is meant to help families lower conflict and support children through change.

Can one parent move away with the child after divorce?

Relocation can be legally sensitive in Florida. A relocation generally means a move of at least 50 miles for at least 60 consecutive days. If the move affects time-sharing, Florida law usually requires a written agreement or a court process that addresses the new time-sharing arrangement. 

Before making plans, get clear on the legal process. A move made the wrong way can create serious problems in a parenting case.

How can we protect our kids during divorce?

The best way to protect children during divorce is to lower the conflict they are exposed to and give them a predictable routine. That means clear parenting schedules, respectful communication, age-appropriate conversations, and decisions that keep the child’s needs at the center.

Divorce changes a family. It does not have to destroy a child’s sense of safety.

How is child custody / time-sharing decided in Florida?

Florida courts decide time-sharing based on the “best interests of the child” standard under Chapter 61, weighing factors like each parent’s ability to provide a stable home, willingness to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent, and the child’s own preferences if age-appropriate. Courts prefer arrangements that give both parents frequent, continuing contact unless there’s evidence that isn’t in the child’s best interest. Parents create a formal Parenting Plan and time-sharing schedule as part of the divorce or paternity case.