Florida distinguishes between parental responsibility — the authority to make major decisions about a child's life — and time-sharing, which governs the physical schedule of when the child is with each parent. Shared parental responsibility, where both parents have input on major decisions, is the default in Florida and requires both parents to confer and agree on significant matters affecting the child. Sole parental responsibility, where one parent has exclusive decision-making authority, is reserved for situations where shared responsibility would be detrimental to the child.
A child custody lawyer in Plantation helps clients understand which arrangement is realistic given the facts of their case and how to present their position effectively to the court. Brodzki Jacobs advises on both the parental responsibility and time-sharing components of a parenting plan, recognizing that the two are related but distinct considerations that may call for different arguments.