In this part three of our series on parental responsibility, traditionally called legal custody, we will discuss sole parental responsibility, a status the court grants in some divorces, separations or parenting disputes between unmarried parents. When one parent has...
Parental responsibility
Respect my authority? Shared parental responsibility with assigned areas of authority, part 2
In part one, we explained that Florida has three kinds of parental responsibility, sometimes called legal custody: Shared, shared with assigned ultimate decision-making authority and sole. Parental responsibility is the right and responsibility to make major life...
Shared decision-making between divorced, separated or unmarried parents, part 1
Private Montessori or public kindergarten? Basketball or piano lessons? Church, temple, mosque or none of these? Vaccinate or not? Parents often have understandably strong feelings about these kinds of important life decisions for their children – and they have...
On pins and needles over a vaccine dispute with your kids’ other parent?
Do you and your ex disagree about whether your child should get vaccinated against COVID-19? Divorced and unmarried parents across the country are finding themselves at odds over this crucially important decision. Today we will discuss the debate and how parents at...
Part 3: When can a Florida court consider extended family to care for a child?
In this last post of our three-part series on nonparent family members and child custody, we discuss shelter care. Shelter care is the protective placement of a child to live outside of their parental home because the child is in danger there. Florida judges consider...
Part 2: When might relatives obtain custody of a child in Florida?
There are times in life when for a parent to best care for their child, they must ask for help. Often this assistance comes in the form of asking a family member to take care of the child for a while. Florida law recognizes that extended families providing for...
Part 1: Can a Florida court award custody of a child to another family member?
While people think of child custody disputes as being between the two parents of a child, in some situations Florida law provides for other immediate or extended family members to step in to take responsibility for a child’s care. This is the first of a three-post...
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?
What to do in Florida if you’re being ignored as a co-parent If you are the divorced or unmarried parent of a minor child, there is a high chance that you share with the other parent the responsibility to make important life decisions for your child together. Despite...
COVID-19 and other vaccinations
Can a Florida judge force you to have your child vaccinated? What happens when parents disagree? At the time of this writing in December 2020, we are at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans await the approval of vaccines that could protect us, but when they...
The Law Office of Forrest & Forrest, PLLC represents individuals in Fort Lauderdale in high-asset divorce matters. Daniel Forrest is board-certified family lawyer and mediator serving the South Florida area.
