Parental Responsibility or Child Custody

In Florida, the term “parental responsibility” refers to each parent’s role in making the major decisions that affect the welfare of their child.  These major decisions may include any of the following:

  • Schooling
  • Healthcare
  • Religious upbringing
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Decisions that affect the well-being of the child

Parental responsibility is not the same as time-sharing, although the two concepts often go hand-in-hand. Time-sharing refers to the number and schedule of overnights that children spend with each parent.

Shared parental responsibility” means having a relationship in which both parents communicate and work together to make these major decisions jointly.  It allows both parents to preserve their full parental rights and responsibilities.  In Florida, shared parental responsibility is required unless the Court finds that it would be “detrimental to the child.”

On the contrary, “sole parental responsibility” grants one parent the exclusive right to make decisions regarding his or her child.  The Court is required to order sole parental responsibility if shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child.

There are a number of factors that affect a judge’s decision to order sole or shared parental responsibility or to modify an existing order establishing shared or sole parental responsibility. Every circumstance is unique. For more information on parental responsibility, please contact us to schedule a confidential consultation with the attorneys at our office in Naples, Florida.

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