Florida 50/50 Time-Sharing: The 2023 Equal-Time Presumption

Which Florida Statutes Govern Time-Sharing and Parenting Plans? (§ 61.13, eff. 1 July 2023)

Since 1 July 2023, Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(c)1. has carried a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests. Every proposition below is tied to the pinpoint subsection that supports it. Links go to the official text published by the Florida Legislature.

• § 61.13(2)(c)1. — creates a rebuttable presumption, effective 1 July 2023, that equal time-sharing is in the minor child’s best interests; a party must rebut it by a preponderance of the evidence.
• § 61.13(2)(b) — sets the mandatory minimum contents of a parenting plan: daily tasks, time-sharing schedule, designated decision-making, communication methods, and exchange locations.
• § 61.13(2)(c) — requires a “substantial and material change of circumstances” before a parenting plan or time-sharing schedule can be modified.
• § 61.13(2)(c)2. — requires shared parental responsibility unless the court finds it would be detrimental to the child.
• § 61.13(2)(c)7. — guarantees both parents access to the child’s medical, dental, and school records unless a court order revokes it.
• § 61.13(3) — makes best interests the primary consideration and lists the 20 statutory factors in paragraphs (a) through (t).
• § 61.13(3) — also provides that a parent moving to within 50 miles of the other parent may be a substantial and material change supporting modification.
• § 61.13(4)(c)1. — requires the court to award makeup time-sharing when a schedule is denied without proper cause.
• § 61.13(4)(c)2. — permits an award of costs and attorney’s fees against the noncompliant parent.
• § 61.13(5) — confirms that an equal time-sharing order does not preclude a child support order.
• § 61.30(1)(a) — makes the guidelines schedule the presumptive amount of child support.
• § 61.30(11)(b)8. — defines a “substantial amount of time” as at least 20 percent of the overnights in the year.
• § 61.13001 — governs relocation of 50 miles or more for 60 or more consecutive days.
• § 61.14 — governs modification and enforcement of support after the judgment.
• § 61.16 — governs attorney’s fee awards between the parties.
• § 44.102(2)(c) — requires referral of custody, visitation, and parental-responsibility disputes to family mediation, with an exception where domestic violence would compromise the process.
• §§ 61.501–61.542 — the UCCJEA governs which state has jurisdiction over the parenting issues.
• § 61.183 — governs mediation of contested parenting issues; the records exemption is in subsection (3).
• § 44.405 — establishes mediation confidentiality and the mediation privilege, and its exceptions.
• § 61.052 — supplies the ground for the underlying dissolution in which the parenting plan was entered.
• § 61.075(1) — divides property from an equal premise, on a track separate from the time-sharing analysis.
• § 61.13(2)(a) — allows the court to approve or modify a parenting plan even when the child is not physically present in Florida, where the child was removed to avoid the court’s jurisdiction.
• § 61.13(2)(b)2. — requires the plan to specify the time the child spends with each parent.
• § 61.13(2)(b)5. — requires the plan to designate authorized exchange locations unless both parents agree otherwise in writing.
• § 61.13(4)(a) — bars a parent owed support from refusing to honor the time-sharing schedule because support was not paid.
• § 61.13(4)(b) — requires a parent whose time-sharing was violated to keep paying ordered support.
• § 61.13(6) — bars denial of shared parental responsibility or time-sharing solely because a parent is or is believed to be HIV positive.

Source: Florida Legislature, 2025 Florida Statutes. Fla. Stat. ch. 61 Fla. Stat. ch. 61

“Unless otherwise provided in this section or agreed to by the parties, there is a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing of a minor child is in the best interests of the minor child. To rebut this presumption, a party must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the best interests of the minor child.” — Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(c)1.

“A determination of parental responsibility, a parenting plan, or a time-sharing schedule may not be modified without a showing of a substantial and material change in circumstances and a determination that the modification is in the best interests of the child.” — Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3)

“If the parents of a child are residing greater than 50 miles apart at the time of the entry of the last order establishing time-sharing and a parent moves within 50 miles of the other parent, then that move may be considered a substantial and material change in circumstances.” — Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3)

Answers to the Questions the Statute Actually Decides

Is 50/50 time-sharing automatic in Florida after § 61.13(2)(c)1.?

No. It is a rebuttable presumption, not a mandate. The starting point is equal time-sharing, and a parent who wants a different schedule must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interests, measured against the 20 factors in § 61.13(3).

What is a “substantial and material change in circumstances”?

It is the threshold § 61.13(3) imposes before any parenting plan or time-sharing schedule can be modified. The change generally must be significant, material, and not reasonably contemplated when the last order was entered, and the modification must independently serve the child’s best interests.

Does moving closer to the other parent count as a change under § 61.13(3)?

It can. Where the parents lived more than 50 miles apart when the last time-sharing order was entered and one parent moves within 50 miles of the other, the statute allows the court to treat that move as a substantial and material change supporting modification.

How many overnights matter for child support under § 61.30(11)(b)8.?

At least 20 percent of the overnights in the year. That is the statutory definition of a “substantial amount of time,” and reaching it changes the guideline calculation.

Statutory authority checked against the 2025 Florida Statutes on 6 August 2026.