FLORIDA PARENTING PLANS
Parenting Plans Built Around What Matters Most, Your Children
Clear Guidance. Practical Solutions. Your Children's Best Interests at the Center.
When parents separate or divorce, creating a workable plan for raising their children can be one of the most important decisions they make.
Caroline Olson helps parents address these difficult decisions with a practical, solution-oriented approach focused on protecting their children while creating greater clarity for the future.
Protecting What Is Most Precious To You Since 1999.
Speak with an experienced South Florida family law attorney about your parenting plan concerns.
PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR YOUR FAMILY
A Parenting Plan Creates Structure When Your Family Is Changing
Clear expectations can help reduce uncertainty for parents and provide greater consistency for children.
Parenting after separation involves countless decisions. Where will your children be on school nights? How will weekends and holidays work? Who handles school matters, healthcare decisions and extracurricular activities? How will schedule changes be handled?
A thoughtful parenting plan puts these expectations in writing. Caroline takes the time to understand your children, your schedules, your concerns and your goals, then works toward an arrangement designed to function in everyday life.
Clarity for Everyday Parenting
Regular weeks, holidays, school breaks, activities, exchanges and important decisions can all be addressed in a thoughtful plan.
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
What Is a Parenting Plan in Florida?
It is the roadmap that defines how parents will share responsibilities and time with their children.
Daily Parenting Responsibilities
Describe how parents will share the day-to-day tasks involved in raising their children.
Time-Sharing Schedule
Identify when the children will spend time with each parent, including a regular schedule.
Healthcare Decisions
Establish responsibility for medical care, appointments and healthcare decisions.
School & Education
Address school-related decisions, registration and education responsibilities.
Communication & Exchanges
Address parent-child communication and practical exchange arrangements.
Activities & Important Decisions
Clarify responsibility for extracurricular activities and other significant matters.
BEYOND THE BASIC SCHEDULE
The Best Parenting Plans Address Everyday Life
A good plan should reduce future questions instead of creating new ones.
The goal is not to control every moment. It is to create enough clarity that both parents understand their responsibilities and children can have greater consistency.
A Plan that Fits Real Family Life
Thoughtful planning can address the routine moments that often create friction later, school mornings, holidays, practices, vacations, exchanges and schedule changes.
The details should reflect your children, your schedules and your family's circumstances.
- School and activities
- Healthcare appointments
- Parent communication
- Travel and vacations
- Schedule changes
- Decision-making responsibilities
- Future disagreement procedures
- Weekday and weekend schedules
- School-year and summer schedules
- Holidays and birthdays
- Pick-up and drop-off arrangements
- Transportation responsibilities
FINDING THE RIGHT PATH
What Happens if Parents Agree, or Cannot Agree?
Whenever possible, parents can work toward their own solution. When they cannot, the court can decide.
When Parents Can Reach an Agreement
Parents may work together, often with the assistance of their attorneys or mediation, to create a parenting plan suited to their family's needs.
Reaching an agreement can reduce conflict and give parents greater control over the details of their children's schedules.
When Parents Cannot Reach an Agreement
If parents cannot agree, the court can establish the parenting plan and time-sharing schedule based on the child's best interests and the circumstances of the family.
Caroline prepares clients to negotiate from an informed position while remaining ready to advocate in court when litigation becomes necessary.
WHAT FLORIDA LAW SAYS
Does Florida Automatically Require 50/50 Time-Sharing?
No. Florida law creates a starting presumption, but every family's circumstances still matter.
Florida currently has a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in a minor child's best interests unless another provision of law applies or the parents have reached another agreement. That does not mean every family automatically receives an identical 50/50 schedule.
A parent may present evidence showing that equal time-sharing would not serve the child's best interests. The court considers the statutory best-interest factors and the circumstances of the child and family.
KEEPING CHILDREN AT THE CENTER
What Does "Best Interests of the Child" Mean?
Florida courts look at the individual child and family, not one isolated factor.
The court may consider the child's stability and developmental needs, the geographic practicality of the schedule, each parent's ability to meet the child's needs, involvement with school and activities, communication between the parents and relevant safety concerns.
Caroline helps clients focus on the facts that matter and on solutions that protect their children without losing sight of the practical realities of family life.
Common considerations
- Stability and continuity
- Parenting responsibilities
- School and community involvement
Also considered
- Communication and cooperation
- Developmental needs
- Safety concerns
WHEN CIRCUMSTANCES CHANGE
Can a Florida Parenting Plan Be Modified?
Families change. Parenting plans sometimes need to change with them.
Work schedules change. Children grow older. School arrangements, transportation needs or living circumstances may no longer look the way they did when the original parenting plan was entered.
Modification generally requires a substantial and material change in circumstances along with a determination that the requested modification is in the child's best interests.
Is the Existing Arrangement Still Working?
Caroline can review your current order, discuss what has changed and help you understand whether pursuing a modification may be appropriate.
ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE
What If the Other Parent Is Not Following the Parenting Plan?
Court-approved parenting plans are orders, not informal suggestions.
Disagreements sometimes arise over missed parenting time, exchanges, schedule changes, communication or other parenting-plan requirements. Florida law provides potential remedies when a parent refuses to honor a time-sharing schedule without proper cause. Caroline can help you understand your options before the conflict becomes more difficult.
COMPETENCE + COMPASSION
An Experienced Family Law Attorney Who Takes the Time to Listen
A solution-oriented approach designed around your family, not a template.
Caroline Olson has practiced family law since 1999. Her professional experience also includes service as an Assistant State Attorney and Court Appointed Guardian Ad Litem. She understands that parents need more than legal terminology. They need straightforward answers, realistic options and an attorney who listens.
Accessible & Responsive
You should understand what is happening in your case and be able to ask questions along the way.
Solution-Oriented
The goal is to identify practical solutions based on your family's specific circumstances.
Competence & Compassion
Strong representation can be provided with professionalism, respect and understanding.
RESOLUTION WHEN POSSIBLE
Parenting Plans Do Not Have to Begin With a Courtroom Fight
When parents can reach workable agreements, everyone can benefit from greater control and predictability.
Negotiation and mediation may give parents an opportunity to resolve scheduling, decision-making and parenting issues while maintaining more control over the outcome.
Caroline works toward practical agreements when resolution is possible. When court involvement becomes necessary, she is prepared to advocate for a parenting plan that reflects the facts, the law and your children's needs.
Tired of fighting? Start with a conversation.
Resolution when Possible. Preparation when Necessary.
The right process depends on your family and the issues that need to be resolved.
THREE CONVENIENT OFFICE LOCATIONS
Parenting Plan Guidance for Families Throughout South Florida
Meet with Caroline through one of three convenient office locations serving clients across South Florida.
Boca Raton Office
6501 Congress Avenue, Suite 100 Boca Raton, FL 33487
Jupiter Office
601 Heritage Drive, Suite 452
Jupiter, FL 33458
Plantation Office
8551 W. Sunrise Blvd., Suite 208 Plantation, FL 33322
Serving clients throughout Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Naples, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Plantation, Wellington, West Palm Beach and surrounding South Florida communities.
PARENTING PLAN QUESTIONS
Common Questions About Florida Parenting Plans
What is a parenting plan in Florida?
A Florida parenting plan is a court-approved document that establishes how parents will share responsibilities for their children and specifies the time the children will spend with each parent. It can also address healthcare, education, communication and child exchanges.
Does Florida require parents to split time 50/50?
Florida law creates a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in a minor child's best interests, but that does not guarantee a 50/50 schedule in every case. The child's best interests remain the controlling consideration.
What happens if we cannot agree on a parenting plan?
If parents cannot reach an approved agreement, the court can establish the parenting plan and time-sharing schedule after considering the statutory best-interest factors and the circumstances of the family.
Can a parenting plan be changed later?
Yes. Modification generally requires a substantial and material change in circumstances and a finding that the modification is in the child's best interests.
Can a parenting plan address holidays and school vacations?
Yes. A well-developed plan can set out regular parenting time as well as holidays, school breaks, vacations and other scheduling issues important to the family.
What if the other parent does not follow the plan?
A court-approved parenting plan can be enforced. Florida law provides potential remedies depending on the facts of the case.
Where does Caroline Olson, P.A. meet with clients?
Caroline Olson, P.A. has offices in Boca Raton, Jupiter and Plantation and serves clients from communities throughout South Florida.
FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION
Let’s Talk About What Comes Next
Your first step can simply be a conversation.
Tell us a little about your situation. Caroline Olson, P.A. will contact you to discuss your family law matter and the next steps that may be available.
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(561) 288-0548
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Create a Parenting Plan With Your Children's Future in Mind
Whether you are developing a parenting plan for the first time, trying to resolve a disagreement or considering changes to an existing plan, you do not have to figure it out alone. Caroline Olson offers practical family law guidance with the competence, compassion and personal attention families need during difficult transitions.
Protecting What Is Most Precious To You Since 1999.
