Pending Bill on Children's Issues

The Children's Issues Bill (CS/CS/CS/SB 904) was sent to Governor Crist on Wednesday, June 3, 2009. It is now awaiting the Governor's signature. Some of the highlights of this bill include:

* The bill recognizes and authorizes the parenting coordination process and provides long-overdue qualifications for those serving as parenting coordinators and standards and safeguards for the process itself.

* The bill corrects a mistaken interpretation of last year's parenting bill that modification actions no longer required a showing of a substantial, material and unanticipated change in circumstances.

* The bill provides needed clarification that there is no presumption for or against any particular time-sharing schedule.

* The bill clarifies and streamlines the process to be followed when a parent seeks to relocate his or her residence.

Responding to a Child Support Case

Many of the matters I handle involve child support establishment or modification. Child support is, in theory, a mathematical calculation that should be relatively easy to determine using the child support guidelines established in Florida Statutes, Chapter 61. The key word there is "should." I often represent parties who have been served with a Petition or Notice by the Florida Department of Revenue (child support enforcement) that a new case has been opened or an old case is being looked at to see if child support should increase. But I sometimes get the sense that people think since it is such a "cut and dry" thing there is no need to really prepare for the hearing. Nothing could be further from the truth. My experience with hearings involving D.O.R. has been that there are too many cases flooding an over burdened system. As a result the Respondent really has to be prepared. No one is going to make sure your rights are protected except you and your lawyer. I have seen many, many erroneous mathematical calculations made that can be difficult, if not impossible, to have undone once ordered. I have been told after the fact about many cases where facts which should have been taken into consideration were not either addressed in Court or not proven. Proof requires preparation including knowledge as to what is relevant to the issue at hand and experience with the rules of evidence. Don’t let time slip away or expect that something that is clearly unjust won’t happen; it’s much better to get it right the first time.

Parenting Plans

Effective October 1st new law goes into effect regarding what is commonly referred to as custody. I say commonly because the current legal terms do not provide for that designation but rather for primary and secondary residential care. The new language change will do away with the terms "primary" and "secondary" residential parent. Instead the Court will devise a parenting plan that will address, among other things, the details of the time-sharing arrangement. The idea is to make the legal designation less of a win-lose but rather start with the notion that both parents will work together and then just try to define who will do what when. I think the idea behind the change is noble but I wonder how parents generally will take to it. Even now custody should not be seen as a win-lose and yet sometimes I have people say just that to me. Pinellas County Circuit Judge John Lenderman has provided the local bar associations sample blank plans and I hope to post or link one on this blog in the near future. It is my understanding that even old cases seeking modification if heard after October 1st will be required to submit the parenting plan so it is something anyone involved in this arena needs to look at closely.