Florida Child Custody Law

Divorce Lawyers in Tampa

When a couple with children divorces, custody is often one of the most emotionally charged issues. Generally because both parents want to spend time with their children, assigning custody can be a difficult task and disputes often arise and require mediation.

There are many forms of child custody including, sole custody, joint custody (also known as shared parental responsibility), shared custody and rotating custody. A family law attorney can explain each form of custody, or shared parenting arrangement, and help you decide which form may work best for your family situation.

Child custody is further defined by physical and legal custody. Physical custody involves daily care for the child, while legal custody involves decision-making beyond the child’s daily needs for food, clothing, schooling and general hygiene and exercise. In Florida, the term “shared parental responsibility” is used to describe a co-parenting arrangement whereby both parents are involved in major decisions affecting their child’s, or children’s, lives. Under shared parental responsibility, both parents work together to choose the child’s school, dentist, physician, after-school activities, religious upbringing, legal decisions and the like. If parents cannot work together for the best interests of their child or children, Florida law allows for one parent to have sole custody.

At The Carey Law Group, P.A., our attorneys will help you understand your child custody options so that you can make informed decisions in selecting a form of custody that will work best for you and your children.

When child custody is in dispute, where appropriate, we engage a mediator to help parents resolve their differences in a non-adversarial manner, to arrange child support, and help with visitiation agreements.

If you need legal advice and guidance, regarding a child custody problem, call our Tampa divorce lawyers at (813) 874-0081 or contact us online to arrange an appointment.