Floridians Want To Know About Equal Time

You are not the only person who comes to us at McCauley Law Offices, P.A., wanting to understand what is meant by the phrase equal time in family and divorce law. In providing you with an understanding of equal time, we draw on more than 19 years of experience in helping clients just like you throughout the Panama City area.

What Is Equal Time?

Equal time is the phrase recently used in proposed Florida legislation. Generally speaking, that legislation would have required judges in divorce cases to assume at the start of a case that custody of children should be divided equally between the parents.

That initial assumption could have been overcome by evidence. By the end of a divorce case, in other words, the judge could have used discretion to divide custody of the child unevenly between parents, with one parent getting more time than the other with the child.

The legislation made it through the state house and state senate. The governor of Florida, however, vetoed the legislation.

As a result, equal time is not the law in Florida at this point. While it remains a contentious point, the law still follows the previously existing rules: The best interest of the child governs the decision. To understand what is in the child’s best interests, the judge will analyze the facts of the case very closely and consider a number of factors.

Seek Out Experienced Legal Counsel

For that reason, if you are involved in a custody dispute, you will want to work with a law firm that understands how Florida law works and how judges view these situations. You can schedule an initial consultation with our office by calling 850-299-4070 or by reaching us online.