Florida law uses the terms parental responsibility and time-sharing rather than custody and visitation. Parental responsibility refers to the authority to make decisions about a child's education and healthcare, while time-sharing describes the physical schedule specifying where the child lives and when. Broward County judges expect parenting plans submitted in divorce proceedings to address both dimensions in specific, workable terms. A plan that simply states parents will share time equally without detailing the schedule or the holiday rotation is unlikely to be approved without revision.
When parents cannot agree on a parenting arrangement, the court appoints a guardian ad litem to represent the child's interests, or orders a social investigation to gather information about the family's circumstances. These proceedings take time and introduce an additional layer of scrutiny that both parents must be prepared for. Working with Brodzki Jacobs, a Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney who handles these cases regularly, means having guidance on what the court is looking for, how to present the parenting plan in a way that reflects the child's actual needs, and how to respond to allegations or evidence the other parent may raise during the process.
