Child Custody Lawyers in Miami & Ft Lauderdale

Two aspects of parental responsibility are considered in Florida divorce proceedings: parental decision making and residential care.  Florida law favors shared parental decision making in which both parents jointly make important decisions related to their children’s welfare, such as those concerning medical care, education, and religion.  If a court finds that shared parental decision making would be detrimental to the child, it may grant one parent sole responsibility to unilaterally make important decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.  The residential custody of children must also be determined. Usually one parent’s home is designated the child’s primary residence, but the court may permit rotating custody in which the child lives for set periods of time in each parent’s house if it is in the child’s best interests.  Courts determine child custody arrangements based upon the best interests of the children, and both parents are to be given equal consideration regardless of the age and gender of the children.