QUESTION
What are my rights and options in the state of Florida?
Asked on Feb 14th, 2020 on Fathers Rights - Florida
More details to this question:
I have a daughter with a woman that co-habitated with me but did not marry. She chose to move out and took our daughter with her. At the time of the child's birth, she (daughter's mother) was still married to her first husband. 18 months ago, following my current marriage, my daughter's mother wanted child support for our daughter and I wanted to spend time with my daughter which her mother was not allowing. Given the circumstances around her birth we had to require Cheryl (daughter's mother) to obtain a divorce and have first husband attest to decline parentage of our daughter. Then I had to sign agreement of paternal responsibility and a DNA test. I did all of that so I could see my daughter. We also went through all of the court proceedings necessary to establish the grounds and parameters of our custody of the child. Shortly after everything was established legally, my current wife and I welcomed our first son. Since that occurred, Cheryl has gone off the rails.
1 ANSWER
Dear Mr. Wolfe:
From your history it appears that you did everything correctly to establish paternity and a parenting plan/timesharing. If Cheryl is not abiding by the court ordered timesharing and parenting plan then you must file a Motion to Compel/Motion for Contempt, and bring this matter before the court for enforcement. It is very important that you keep a written log of each and every time that you are unable to exercise timesharing, when she does not consult with you in making joint parental decisions, and when Cheryl otherwise hampers your ability to exercise the rights you were afforded by the Court.
Although you do not state what your timesharing schedule is, it is possible that, if Cheryl continues to disregard the Court's order, that you could ask the Court for more time with the child. This is a long process, so it is critical that you keep track of the missed timesharing, etc., and asks the Court for relief. I should note that to do so you would have to file a Supplemental Petition for Modification. Section 61.13 Fla. Stat. looks at a number of factors for changing or make up timesharingLSO: (b) When a parent refuses to honor the other parent’s rights under the time-sharing schedule, the parent whose time-sharing rights were violated shall continue to pay any ordered child support or alimony.
It also states that:
(c) When a parent refuses to honor the time-sharing schedule in the parenting plan without proper cause, the court:1. Shall, after calculating the amount of time-sharing improperly denied, award the parent denied time a sufficient amount of extra time-sharing to compensate for the time-sharing missed, and such time-sharing shall be ordered as expeditiously as possible in a manner consistent with the best interests of the child and scheduled in a manner that is convenient for the parent deprived of time-sharing. In ordering any makeup time-sharing, the court shall schedule such time-sharing in a manner that is consistent with the best interests of the child or children and that is convenient for the nonoffending parent and at the expense of the noncompliant
I hope this gives you some help and guidance.
Best of luck,
Cindy S. Vova
Law Offices of Cindy S. Vova, P.A.
Broward/Boca Raton
954-316-3496/561-962-2785
Answered on Feb 16th, 2020 at 12:48 PM