Parent Education and Stabilization Course (aka Child First in Divorce)

The State of Florida requires all parties who have children who are divorcing (or if the parties were never married, but wish to establish custody, visitation, and/or child support, or a parenting plan) to attend a state approved Parent Education and Stabilization Course a/k/a Child First in Divorce. This class usually takes place on a Saturday and lasts about 4 hours. The class teaches parents how to adjust to the changes in their family and how to co-parent in a non-adversarial and nurturing way toward the children. This class is required by all judges in the State of Florida. If the class is not completed within 45 days of the service of the Petition, the judge may suspend or deny visitation of the parent who has not completed the class until the class is completed. The class is available online for those parents who do not reside within the State of Florida. The online class must be approved by the State of Florida and is only acceptable if the parent no longer resides in the State of Florida.

In Nassau County, this class is offered by McPherson Training Concepts in Yulee and Clear View Concepts in Fernandina Beach. Clear View Concepts is a new provider who has recently received certification and judicial approval. Both providers charge approximately $45 per person to take the course. Additional courses are available from each provider and may be taken as an option on an individual basis or ordered by the judge hearing the parenting plan case.

Other providers are located in Jacksonville, if those locations are more convenient for you. Click here for a state-wide list of providers, locations, fees, dates, and times.

How military divorces are different from civilian divorces

Military divorce proceedings present many challenges that are generally not present in a civilian divorce.  These aspects include:

 

• locating the military member,
• service of process upon the military member,
• service of process abroad,
• the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act which may stay the proceedings against a military member;
• which jurisdiction to file the proceeding;
• determining the military member’s legal domicile,
• creating appropriate custody and visitation schedules (now included as part of a comprehensive parenting plan and termed time-sharing and parental responsibility),
• calculating child and family support,
• obtaining child support without a Court order,
• garnishment of wages through the military pay system; and
• pension and property division including the Uniform Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act, calculating the military member’s vested time in the military and the spouse’s vested time for benefits, reenlistment bonuses, accrued leave time, military medical benefits, military commissary and exchange shopping privileges, and military ID cards. 
• A new benefit, worth up to $85,000, will become an issue on the near horizon.  Military members can transfer some of the G.I. bill benefit to their spouse and/or children.  What if a spouse takes advantage of this benefit, receives an education at the service member’s expense, then files for divorce? 

To discover how these aspects of military divorce affect your unique situation, please contact my office at (904) 321-0987.

Florida Parenting Plan, Part 2: Time Sharing (Effective 10/1/08)

Florida law requires Parenting Plans for all divorcing couples with children starting October 1, 2008. Florida law has a strong public policy to keep both parents in frequent and continuing contact with their children after divorce. In Florida law, parenting issues are divided into three categories: parental responsibility, time sharing and support. This article examines the time sharing section of a parenting plan.

 

The time sharing section of your parenting plan spells out when the children will be with each parent. Many Florida courts currently have “model schedules” for visitation. You can also check the websites of the larger urban areas near you for their models. For example, Miami, Tampa and West Palm Beach all have model schedules, but Orange County and Broward County do not.

 

You will want to read the model schedule for your area for two reasons. First, you will see what a partial parenting plan looks and sounds like. Second, you may decide that the model schedule in your area is appropriate for your family. If so, the timesharing part of your parenting plan is done when you attach a copy of the model to your plan and make reference to it.

 

If the model schedule for your area is not appropriate for your family, you may decide that the model plan can be re-worked for your family. You may also want to do an online search and look at some time sharing schedules from other areas of the country. Just be sure to include all the plan sections that Florida requires.

 

As for time sharing with your children, think about how these items should work for your family:

 

Transitions – Pick up and Drop Off – Which of you is driving? If you use school as the transition point, what happens when school is not in session?

 

Holidays and Special Occasions – Will these days be treated differently than the usual time sharing and have a separate schedule? Are school holidays that are not public holidays included in this part? How will both parents receive notice of special school events?

 

Transfer of Belongings – Will toys, clothes, backpacks and other property of the children transfer between homes (if so, how and when) or will both parents have these items? What happens if a needed item is not transferred?

 

Right of First Refusal – If the other parent cannot personally attend to the children in that parent’s designated time sharing period (due to illness, travel, etc), does the other parent have the right of first refusal? How long a period must it be before the right of first refusal applies – overnight, four hours, 24 hours?

 

Notice of Whereabouts – When does information have to be provided to the other parent if the children will not be at the usual location? When and how will the other parent be notified? This could include leaving the county, being out-of-county overnight, leaving the state, etc.

 

When developing your parenting plan, it is often helpful to see the proposed schedule on a calendar. There are many different software programs for dividing parenting time. One of the least expensive programs provides excellent color-coded calendars that let you see what various schedules looks like. So, for example, if the parents designate birthdays as a special occasion days in the parenting plan and everyone’s birthday is in May or June, you can see how that looks when combined with Memorial Day, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. And, depending on your rotation schedule, holidays may not need to be designated separately when you see your regular schedule on the calendar.

 

So start with a model schedule to see if it meets your family’s needs. If it does not, can it be re-worked to meet them? Is there another model schedule (or re-work of one) that meets the needs of your family? If not, you will need to write down the details of how and when each parent will spend time with the children for your Florida parenting plan.

Source:  Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.

Florida Parenting Plan, Part 1: Parental Responsibility (Effective 10/1/08)

Florida divorce law requires Parenting Plans for all divorcing couples with children starting October 1, 2008. Florida law has had a strong public policy about children and divorce for several decades. As Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes states:

It is the public policy of this state to assure that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys of childrearing.

Florida law divides parenting issues into three categories: parental responsibility, time sharing and support. This articles examines the decision-making section of a parenting plan.

First, the law requires divorced parents share parental responsibility for their child after divorce, unless shared responsibility is detrimental to the child. The goal is to keep both parents involved in the life of the child.

Shared parental responsibility means that both parents discuss and decide major decisions affecting the child. These are the decisions that have long-term consequences in your child’s life. Some examples involve the choice of:

• school
• child care facility
• camps
• doctors
• psychotherapy
• surgery
• other long-term medical treatment
• sports and other out-of-school activities
• trips and passports

 

For an older child it means making decisions about issues like part-time employment, driving, buying a car, dropping out of school, and college education. As your child gets older, consider having a joint discussion on these issues with your child. Of course, the child should never be responsible for any final decision.    

Some additional decision-making areas to consider in your parenting plan include: 

• Transportation – How do the gets get between homes? Where is the exchange point? What are the details of transportation between the two homes? Who is driving? What time? If you use the school as the exchange point, what happens when school is not in session?      
• Relocation – Under what circumstances will the custodial parent be able to move away with the child? (If you do not decide this now, you will have to follow the procedures of Fla. Statute 61.13001.)   
• Education – Who will attend school conferences and how will parents receive notice? How will each parent receive other school information? How will extra school or tutoring fees be divided? Will private school tuition be paid and for how long? Although not required, do you both agree to cover college costs for your child? If so, what is included in “college costs?”   
• Religious Affiliation and Training – Is there agreement to raise the children in a specific faith? How will the costs associated with religious affiliation and education be paid? What is the transportation plan? Are you both agreeing that the child will attend certain religious events or education, regardless of whose parenting time is used? Will these decisions be delegated to the parent who feels this area is more important? If so, will that affect the cost sharing in any way?
• Emergencies – What is the time frame for notifying the other parent? What authority does the parent who has the child have to consent to treatment?
• Make-up Time – If one of you is unable to exercise time sharing with the children, under what circumstances will there be make-up time?
• Recreational Activities & Vacations – How will the costs associated with activities be paid? What is the transportation plan? Are you both agreeing that the child will attend certain activities, regardless of whose parenting time is used? Will these decisions be delegated to the parent who feels this area is more important? If so, will that affect the cost sharing in any way? When will vacation plan be made? Will the children have passports? Which of you will hold the passports? How and when will the other parent get the passports if needed for vacation?

Parents may want to divide up the areas, each taking responsibility for certain ones. Some parents prefer to meet and discuss all issues together and reach a joint decision. Others may allow one parent to make the decisions and inform the other parent.

There are no set rules for shared decision making, but the new law requires a description of how the parents will share the daily tasks of child upbringing and time sharing with each parent. It must also describe who is responsible for health care, school matters and activities and what communication methods the parents will use to contact the children.

Parents’ post-divorce decision making process is often the same type of process they had during the marriage. When developing a parenting plan, consider how the decisions have been made in the past and what changes may be needed to that process now that the parents will live apart. Starting October 1, 2008, you must describe the decision making process your family will use in your Florida parenting plan. 

Source:  Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.

Florida’s Best Interest of the Child Standard (Effective 10/1/08)

Florida’s “best interest” of children factors will change on October 1, 2008. Notice the clear emphasis on demonstrating parenting behaviors and a history of meeting the child’s needs. Keeping children away from the divorce case is another area that is now clearly spelled out in the law. Here are the new factors:

 

(a) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close & continuing parent-child relationship, to honor the timesharing schedule, and to be reasonable when changes are required.

 

(b) The anticipated division of parental responsibilities after the litigation, including the extent to which parental responsibilities will be delegated to third parties.

 

(c) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to determine, consider & act upon the needs of the child as opposed to the needs or desires of the parent.

 

(d) The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity.

 

(e) The geographic viability of the parenting plan, with special attention paid to the needs of school-age children and the amount of time to be spent traveling to effectuate the parenting plan. This factor does not create a presumption for or against relocation of either parent with a child The permanence, as a family unit, of the existing or proposed custodial home.

 

(f) The moral fitness of the parents.

 

(g) The mental and physical health of the parents.

 

(h) The home, school, and community record of the child.

 

(i) The reasonable preference of the child, if the child is of sufficient age

 

(j) The demonstrated knowledge, capacity, & disposition of each parent to be informed of the circumstances of the minor child, including, but not limited to, the child’s friends, teachers, medical care providers, daily activities, and favorite things.

 

(k) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to provide a consistent routine for the child, such as discipline, and daily schedules for homework, meals, and bedtime.

 

(l) The demonstrated capacity of each parent to communicate with and keep the other parent informed of issues and activities regarding the minor child, and the willingness of each parent to adopt a unified front on all major issues when dealing with the child.

 

(m) Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect, regardless of whether a prior or pending action relating to those issues has been brought.

 

(n) Evidence that either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding any prior or pending action regarding domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect.

 

(o) The particular parenting tasks customarily performed by each parent and the division of parental responsibilities before the institution of litigation and during the pending litigation, including the extent to which parenting responsibilities were undertaken by third parties.

 

(p) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to participate and be involved in the child’s school and extracurricular activities.

 

(q) The demonstrated capacity & disposition of each parent to maintain an environment for the child which is free from substance abuse.

 

(r) The capacity & disposition of each parent to protect the child from the ongoing litigation as demonstrated by not discussing the litigation with the child, not sharing documents or electronic media related to the litigation with the child, and refraining from disparaging comments about the other parent to the child.

 

(s) The developmental stages & needs of the child and the demonstrated capacity and disposition of each parent to meet the child’s developmental needs.

 

(t) Any other factor that is relevant to the determination of a specific issue

 

These are the factors a judge will use when determining all child-related issues starting October 1, 2008. Remember, when the law changes there will no longer be a “primary residential parent” and parenting plans will be required.

 

Much more than a visitation schedule, parenting plans must be comprehensive and cover not only time sharing, but decision-making and child support.

 

Source:  Pamela S. Wynn, Esq.