Child Custody

To most parents, there is nothing more sacred or important than their child’s health and happiness. Oftentimes, child custody matters are among the most stressful and contentious aspects of a family law case. With your child’s future at stake, you need the experienced attorneys at The Family Law Advocates, P.A. Whether you’re dealing with time-sharing, modification, or parental decision-making matters, we will be there for you every step of the way.

The end goal of any child custody case is making sure that you end up with orders that make sense for you and your child. While Florida statute requires a court to enter orders in the child’s “best interest,” parents often disagree as to what exactly that means. If you’re going through a divorce or custody case, give the Family Law Advocates a call. Our attorneys are skilled at both litigating and negotiating child custody matters. Let us put our skills to work for you.

As a parent, you have fundamental rights regarding the care and upbringing of your children. Florida law promotes the importance of maximizing the time and decision-making rights of each parent and prohibits any preferences based on a parent’s gender. The experienced professionals at the Family Law Advocates can help you assert those rights, at all stages of your child custody case. We serve our clients as aggressive representatives in the following types of Florida child custody cases.

• Modification of Time-Sharing and Parenting Plans
• Enforcement of Child Custody Orders
• Relocation
• Paternity
• Third-party custody; and
• More

Florida law requires each case to conclude with a parenting plan setting forth a time-sharing schedule and each parent’s duties regarding raising a child. In many cases, parents agree regarding what their parenting plan should be. While some cases may easily settle, others will require a final court hearing, with the judge ultimately deciding the relevant issues. Not all child custody cases are simple and some may even require help from a child custody expert, such as a guardian-ad-litem, to investigate and report to the court related to your child’s best interest and what appropriate court orders regarding visitation and decisions might look like. As we strive to obtain the best possible outcomes for our clients, we also work hard to help them understand their rights and options concerning their children. If your case is headed to court we will thoroughly prepare to advocate for you and parenting plan you are seeking.

With the goal of building lasting relationships with our clients, we will also be there for you when future issues arise. After final custody orders are entered, the court generally still retains jurisdiction over the case or child until emancipation. As kids grow, things can change. Florida statute allows parents to seek modification to their child custody orders if there has been an unanticipated change in circumstances that is both substantial and material. As with original orders, statute also requires that modifications be in a child’s best interest.

Unfortunately, sometimes one parent violates the time-sharing orders and denies visitation rights. Florida law affords parents the ability to enforce their time-sharing orders. In these types of cases, the consequences can be severe, including orders requiring make-up visitation and attorney fees. Courts take time-sharing orders seriously, and we do, too.

Whether you find yourself in the initial stages of establishing and creating child custody orders, or you are looking to make modifications to an existing parenting plan, we can help you. Our Bay area (Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater) family law attorneys will work closely with you to strategize and create the optimal child custody and parenting time plan.

Child custody cases can be stressful for any parent. A certain level of comfort comes with knowing that you are well represented by your attorney. The partners at the Family Law Advocates have served family law clients since the late 1990’s. With over 50 combined years of family law and child custody experience, our team of attorneys is well qualified to fight for your child custody and time-sharing rights.

As a firm, we pride ourselves on providing each potential client an honest and thorough assessment of their rights and options. From there, we work to develop a sound and logical plan for settling each case. If settlement cannot be achieved, we know what is needed to effectively prepare your case for trial. Our attorneys are equally comfortable in and out of the courtroom. Whether your case is headed for settlement or a trial before the presiding judge, we will work hard to obtain the best possible outcome for you and your children.

When you find yourself in need of a compassionate and aggressive legal team to protect your child custody and visitation rights, give The Family Law Advocates a call. Schedule your initial consultation today, and protect your children’s future.