In a Florida divorce or child custody case, the judge will define the children’s best interests when deciding how Parental Responsibility shall be exercised by the parents. Florida child custody laws does not give any preference to mothers or fathers when deciding child custody issues. Instead, the custody arrangement will depend on the specific facts and circumstances of each case.

Child custody refers to the care, control, and maintenance of a minor child. Child custody or Parental Responsibility laws in Florida guides courts in determining the authority each parent has regarding the child’s legal and physical well-being. Through these laws, the courts determine the extent of each parent’s decision making.

Decision making ability — This is the parent’s ability to make health care, end of life, education, religious upbringing and other important decisions for their children.

The courts determine who how often each parent can have time-sharing which often means a determination of where a child will live.

There are two types of custodial arrangements in the state of Florida. Child Parental Responsibility can be awarded to one parent (known as sole Parental Responsibility) or to both parents (known as Shared Parental Responsibility).

With Sole Parental Responsibility, one parent gets the entire legal and physical decision-making and residential responsibility for a child. In a joint custody situation, both parents share those responsibilities. In Florida, shared parental responsibility is designed to require both parents to approve all decisions related to the child. Often in this situation, one parent has the child in his or her care the bulk of the time and the other parent is granted visitation or time-sharing with the child. This arrangement is often ordered by a court so the child can continue with life with minimal disruption to his or her residence, school attendance or medical care.