Child Custody and Time-Sharing in Florida

Florida law does not use the word custody the way many people expect. Instead, it focuses on two ideas. Parental responsibility covers who makes major decisions for a child, such as decisions about school and health care. Time-sharing covers the schedule for when the child is with each parent. Both are set out in a written parenting plan.

Florida courts decide these questions based on the best interests of the child. A local family law firm in Miami-Dade can explain how the courts here weigh the circumstances of a specific family.

As of 2026, Florida law includes a rebuttable presumption that equal, or 50/50, time-sharing is in the best interests of a child, which took effect on July 1, 2023 under Florida Statutes section 61.13. A parent can rebut that presumption by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interests, and the court still weighs the best-interest factors listed in section 61.13(3). The presumption is a starting point, not a guaranteed result, so it does not make Florida an automatic “50/50 state.”

Most custody matters center on building a parenting plan that works for the child. The plan describes the time-sharing schedule, how the parents share or divide major decisions, and how they will handle holidays and communication. Courts generally favor arrangements that let a child maintain a meaningful relationship with both parents when that is safe and appropriate.

Parenting plans can be agreed to by the parents or, when they cannot agree, decided by a judge. Plans can also be changed later if circumstances shift in a significant way. To understand the basics before you meet with a firm, see our guide to child custody basics in Florida.

A parenting plan or time-sharing schedule can be changed later, but a court generally requires a substantial and material change in circumstances, together with a showing that the change is in the child’s best interests. The 2023 reforms to Florida Statutes section 61.13 removed the older requirement that the change also be “unanticipated.”

The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your own case, speak with a licensed Florida attorney.