Best Child Custody Lawyers in Pensacola, FL

A parenting plan is a settlement agreement outlining how the parents will cooperatively parent their children. The plan includes a timesharing schedule, holiday timesharing schedule, provisions for extra-curricular activities, education, child care, contact between the parents, contact between the children and parents, and travel provisions and limitations.

If both parents enjoy equal timesharing, then child support is still calculated using the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, which is dependent on income, percentage of timesharing (only overnights are used for purposes of establishing the percentages), health insurance, and costs of day care and uncovered medical expenses.

In Florida, the legal paternity of a child may be established through a paternity action initiated by the mother, putative father or the child; by the father's marriage to the mother; by a foreign judgment of paternity; or by the father's acknowledgment of paternity. A man's name on a birth certificate does not determine his legal rights as a parent.

When necessary, a guardian ad litem may be ordered to advocate on behalf of children in court. Or, the court may order a social investigation and parenting plan recommendation by a mental health professional.

When necessary, a judge can order supervised timesharing or even no timesharing at all. Severe and untreated mental health disorders, drug addition, alcohol addiction, domestic violence or neglect can serve as cause for supervised or elimination of visitation.