In a time-sharing arrangement, both parents spend a certain amount of time with their shared children. Typically, the Florida family courts prefer scenarios in which both parents have liberal amounts of time-sharing.
However, one parent is technically the primary or custodial parent. Determining who is the custodial parent can affect everything from income tax obligations to what schools the children can attend. Both parents may hope to spend as much time with their children as possible.
In scenarios where they can’t seem to agree on how to divide their parenting time, the courts can help. Family law judges can allocate parental rights and responsibilities in a manner that they believe upholds the best interests of the children. Can children tell a judge where they want to live when their parents divorce?
Children’s preferences provide guidance
Parents have authority over children in part because young people struggle to consider the long-term implications of their choices. Parents sometimes have to make decisions that their children disapprove of, such as requiring that they receive immunizations or forcing them to continue going to school.
Even the most mature teenager is unlikely to consistently consider the long-term implications of their decisions. Parents have the authority to make decisions about children’s daily lives and upbringing to ensure that those choices reflect what is best for the children. That authority persists in a shared custody arrangement, although the parents may have to reach mutual agreements.
When judges have to decide how to allocate time-sharing rights and establish the primary residence for the children, they look at many different factors. Typically, their goal is always to act in the best interests of the children.
They may consider a child’s preferences if they are mature enough to express themselves and provide a well-reasoned explanation for their wishes. Children as young as 12 can sometimes influence the allocation of time-sharing in a contested Florida custody case.
That being said, children do not have the final say in custody matters. Judges may decide to deviate from the child’s preferences if they believe that doing so is in a child’s best interests. They are also likely to extend plenty of time-sharing to the other parent regardless of which residence is the primary residence for the children in the family.
Even parents going through a difficult time in their relationships with their children can secure liberal amounts of time-sharing. Learning more about the factors that govern major child custody decisions can help parents advocate for themselves and their kids during a divorce.