Divorce requires many moving parts to come together. It is a legal termination of legal obligations as man and wife. Going this route allows the parties to live separately, divide assets and move forward as a single person, allowing each to remarry in the future. One of the main issues determined during a Florida divorce involves the children common to the marriage. Take a look at what the process involves in a custody case.
1. Custody
Finding a tampa divorce lawyer to explain the custody process further may help you understand the implications better. The main components, however, involve legal custody and physical custody. Many courts favor a joint legal custody designation, allowing each parent to make decisions for their children and have the right to access to their children at any time. Physical custody has more to do with where the children will reside. Parents may split legal custody evenly, but not physical custody.
2. Support
Child support is calculated using a state calculator which takes some basic information into account. First, the income of the parties is combined to come up with a general amount that is necessary to support the children. Then, the parties are given a percentage of this support based on income. If one makes substantially more than the other, that person may have to pay more unless physical custody is taken into effect.
3. Visitation
The parents will then need to create a parenting plan, setting forth a viable schedule of where the children will live. This visitation plan will include some of the following:
- Where the children will go during the school year
- How they will spend holidays
- What happens during the summer
Parents may choose to keep the schedule the same for the school year and summer breaks if the situation allows it.
Knowing the basics of a child custody case in Florida may help ease stress when discussing the issues with your spouse. Coming up with a viable plan may help keep the final decisions out of the hands of a judge.