Vero Beach Family Law Attorney

A Vero Beach Family Law Attorney is able to assist you with a variety of issues, including divorce, child timesharing, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and child support or alimony.

Family law encompasses many different concerns and stages of life for residents of Vero Beach and the nearby Treasure coast area. At Apfelbaum Law, our experienced Florida family law attorneys help clients with a variety of issues, including divorce, child timesharing, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and child support or alimony. People may also have questions about establishing or disestablishing paternity, or enforcing or modifying an existing child timesharing or support agreement.

Creating Parenting Plans

In the state of Florida, a parenting plan is required for divorcing couples with minor children. If you and the other party are able to work out an agreement on things like timesharing and responsibilities, you may submit your own parenting plan. Your Florida family lawyer will help make sure your plan covers all the necessary areas, like where the child will live and how decisions will be made for his or her future. If you and the other party are not able to come to an agreement, the judge will make a parenting plan when deciding timesharing.

3 Kinds of Parenting Plans

The state of Florida has approved three generic kinds of parenting plans:

• A plan to determine timesharing and responsibilities when the two parents live relatively close to each other. This usually includes where the child will live, for how much time—for example, Junior may live with one parent during the week, and visit the other parent on weekends.
• A supervision and safety-focused plan for situations where the child’s safety is a concern in visitation and time sharing. This may be useful if your child’s other parent has been prone to violence in the past, or lives with someone you fear your child may not be safe around. In such a situation, you might ask for court-supervised visits to ensure your child’s safety.
• A plan to determine timesharing when one parent is relocating or the parents live relatively far from each other. Because the lack of proximity would likely make visits every weekend difficult, you may find other ways of sharing time with the child. For example, you might make a plan for the child to live with one parent during the school year, and visit the other during summer break and the winter holiday break.

What Parenting Plans Include

A parenting plan should include the following elements:

• A detailed statement explaining how each parent will divide responsibilities and tasks of child-rearing. For example, one parent takes a child to soccer games on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the other takes her to ballet class on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Arrangements for the time-sharing schedule, explaining how much time each parent spends with the child, and in what manner they will spend time with the child.
• A determination of which parent has responsibility for making health care and school-related decisions for the child. This includes an explanation of where the child will live, which will determine the school district he or she is in. The plan should also list other expected activities, like sports, music, scouting, or other extracurricular activities, and which parent will make decisions about these activities.
  The means by which each parent will communicate with the child. This usually involves determining if communication will be by phone or a digital medium, such email or Skype.
• When making a parenting plan, it is helpful to consult a Florida family lawyer, who may be able to point out topics you have forgotten to consider in your plan. He or she will also help you stay on track if discussions with the other party become heated. Emotions often run high during divorce and timesharing proceedings, and it is important to have someone on your side who can think objectively about the situation.

If you have questions or concerns about divorce, family law, or other Florida legal services, please contact Apfelbaum Law for a consultation. We can be reached at 772-236-4009, or contactus@alawfl.com.