Child custody can be a challenging issue in divorce cases, especially in Florida. If parents make mistakes involving timesharing or violate court orders, it can have long-term effects on their custody rights. We’ll cover common child custody mistakes in Florida and how to avoid them.

Common Child Custody Mistakes in Florida

1. Becoming controlled by emotions instead of facts and reason.
2. Failing to make responsibility for the children a priority.
3. Becoming out-of-control enough to resort to harmful messages, texts, emails, and/or photographs to the ex.
4. Divorce or not, the court views parents as one unit. If parents don’t support each other and work against each other, child custody mistakes and serious consequences can happen.

Costly Mistakes in Time-Sharing Custody issues in Florida

Child custody remains an issue until the children turn 18 years of age. Negative parental behaviors can cause the court to reverse custody decisions. Courts can change their decisions. Parental behavior that can cause a court to act are:

1. Committing domestic violence.
2. Any form of alcohol and drug abuse.
3. Controlling the custody time-sharing schedule without consulting the ex.
4. Move the child to a different location without the court’s permission.

Additional costly time-sharing mistakes divorced couples can make include:

1. Deliberate or habitual violation of court orders is contempt of court and can negatively affect a parent’s behavior. Consulting an attorney can help parents understand court orders and avoid problems.
2. Parents undergoing a divorce probably aren’t on the best of terms. Despite their differences, parents should not discuss their conflicts in front of their children since they still comprise a parental unit. In addition, parents should not speak negatively about the other parents to the children, even if it is the truth. The other parent may have drug or alcohol problems that led to the breakup, but he or she is still the children’s parent. The court strongly frowns on parental alienation and any attempt to influence the children against the other parent (“Your deadbeat father is late again with the support payments.”), tempting though it may be. The court can award custody to the other parent in such an instance.
3. These days, not all communication is via words. Social media seems to have taken over our lives. Any discussion about divorce on social media is a bad idea – it is very much a private matter. Posting negative comments or photos of an ex on social media can be seen by children and is not considered in their best interest by the court.It may well modify the child custody agreement in the other parent’s favor. 

Fighting an Unfair Child Custody Ruling in the Florida Courts

Any parent who feels he or she is the victim of an unfair child custody ruling can petition the court for a modification of the time-sharing agreement. The petitioning parent is required to show evidence that certain events have changed since the original custody ruling. The court will listen to the child’s own preferences, but it won’t give them much importance, especially when it comes to young children. A trained family law attorney can spell out how a change in circumstances – such as new and different working hours, etc. – warrants a modification of the original time-sharing agreement. 

Conclusion

Anger and confusion are normal emotions during and after a divorce, and in the real world, time-sharing custody issues can occur. In such cases, a counselor can help put things back into perspective. But these mistakes can be costly and heart-wrenching if the court decides that a parent’s careless behavior deserves to have the child custody agreement revised in the ex’s favor. 

The legal process can get difficult, which is why we always recommend that you seek the assistance of counsel; or at least have a consultation. Schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys today to review the issues of your case, the legal options you may have, and certain rights that pertain to your unique situation.

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