When you negotiate a divorce settlement in Florida, you have to include a child custody agreement that outlines your roles, responsibilities and the time-sharing schedule. Judges usually accept the child custody agreement proposal, but in some situations, they adjust it to ensure it’s fair and in the best interests of the child. If you’re going through a divorce trial, then Florida has each parent submit a proposed plan. The judge creates an agreement based on the evidence and suggestions provided.
What you need to include
Your child custody agreement must include how you and the other parent will communicate, how you will resolve conflicts, how you will handle changes to the time-sharing schedule and parenting plan and how your child can communicate with the other parent while they’re staying with one parent. The agreement should outline how you will handle discipline, religious participation, education, extracurricular activities and medical care in the plan as well. Also, clearly state how exchanges and transportation will work.
A specific time-sharing schedule
Be specific with your time-sharing schedule. Examples of child custody schedules are two weeks, alternating weeks, 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5. On a two weeks schedule, your child would spend two weeks with one parent before staying two weeks with the other parent. This is only ideal for older kids because young children struggle when they are away from one parent for too long. A 2-2-3 schedule would work better for young children. They would spend two days with parent A, two days with parent B, three days with parent A, two days with parent B, etc.
The key to creating a good child custody agreement is being as specific and detailed as possible. This is to help prevent conflicts and ensure your children have the stability they need for healthy emotional development.