New DeSantis-signed law presumes 50/50 timesharing of a child is ‘best interest’
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law regarding child custody that creates a rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing is in the best interest of the child.
Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, R-Fort Myers, and Sen. Shevrin D. Jones, D-Miami Gardens, carried the legislation.
The House passed the bill 105-7 and the Senate passed the bill 34-3.
During an April 11 committee meeting, Persons-Mulicka said the bill, HB 1301, creates a presumption that equal time sharing 50/50 is in the best interest of a minor child, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.
“This means that when the parents walk into court, they do so from a place of fairness and on equal footing. It does not mean that they walk out of court on equal footing,” Persons-Mulicka said.
The bill’s sponsor said it also permits the court to consider a modification to the time sharing schedule when a parent relocates within 50 miles of the child.
Current law does not provide a presumption in favor of a specific timesharing schedule.
In establishing timesharing, the court must consider the best interests of the child and evaluate all factors affecting the welfare and interests of the child and the circumstances of the family, according to the bill’s analysis.
With respect to a parent’s relocation, there is no current presumption in favor of, or against a request to relocate with a child when the relocation will materially affect the current timesharing and contact with the other parent entitled to timesharing.
The legislation removes the requirement for modifying a parenting plan that the alleged substantial and material change in circumstances which warrants modification must also be unanticipated.
To overcome the presumption, a party must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal timesharing is not in the best interests of the child.
The bill also clarifies that a parent’s relocation to be closer to his or her child, under certain circumstances, is a substantial and material change in circumstances for the purpose of modifying the time-sharing schedule and parenting plan.
