What are the Penalties for Violating a Florida Parenting Plan?

In Florida, couples who share children are only able to finalize their divorces when they have created a parenting plan (or the court has done so on their behalf). These plans contain all the details involved in sharing custody from a visitation schedule and information about how holidays will be shared to directions on how parents will split up decision-making authority for the child. Whether a court approves a plan drafted by the parents or puts one in place on its own, the result is a legally binding court order, which means that parents who violate the terms of such an agreement face significant penalties.

What’s Included in a Florida Parenting Plan 

Under Florida law, parenting plans must contain specific information, including:

• A time-sharing schedule detailing which days a child will spend with each parent;
• An explanation of how parents will divide responsibility for daily childcare-related tasks;
• A designation for which parent will have responsibility for making decisions about the child’s education, religion, and healthcare, or whether that responsibility will be shared;
• The types of methods and technologies that parents can use when communicating with their children.

What these plans look like in a specific case will depend on a family’s circumstances, but courts always try to implement plans that will allow children to have meaningful and continual contact with both parents. Ultimately, however, only terms that are deemed to be in a child’s best interests will be included in a parenting plan.

The Consequences of Violating the Terms of a Parenting Plan 

As we mentioned previously, parenting plans in Florida, once approved or put in place by a judge are considered to be legally binding court orders. This means that the terms within those plans are also binding for both parties, so if either parent violates one of those terms, the court can assess penalties, including:

• Modifying the terms of the parenting plan in the other parent’s favor;
• Ordering the non-compliant parent to attend a pre-approved parenting class;
• Ordering the non-compliant parent to pay the legal fees incurred by the co-parent in enforcing the order;
• Requiring the non-compliant parent to perform community service;
• Giving the wronged parent additional time with the child, especially if the co-parent’s non-compliance took the form of withholding visitation; and
• Holding a parent in contempt of court, which in turn can be accompanied by hefty fines and even jail time.

Because the consequences of violating a parenting plan are so severe (and potentially detrimental to the child) parents should do everything they can to avoid non-compliance, including seeking modification of the plan ahead of time.

Contact Our Largo Child Custody Law Office Today 

If your child’s co-parent is in violation of your parenting plan, or you wish to modify your current agreement so as to avoid such a violation, please call the experienced Largo child custody lawyers at Cairns Law for help. We are available for both evening and weekend appointments upon request.

Sources: 

m.flsenate.gov/statutes/61.13

flcourts.gov/content/download/686031/file_pdf/995a.pdf