A Custody Agreement in Florida Is Called a Parenting Plan — and It Must Do Five Things
Quick Answer
Florida law does not use the phrase “custody agreement.” The document a Florida court approves is a parenting plan. The difference is not pedantry — it is visible in the statute itself. In the whole of Fla. Stat. § 61.13, the section that governs this, the word custody appears twice, and neither time does it describe an agreement between parents. Parenting plan appears seventeen times. And § 61.13(2)(b) sets out five things a court-approved parenting plan must do at a minimum.
The Five Things a Parenting Plan Must Do
Section 61.13(2)(b) says a parenting plan approved by the court “must, at a minimum, do all of the following”:
- Describe in adequate detail how the parents will share and be responsible for the daily tasks associated with the upbringing of the child.
- Include the time-sharing schedule — the arrangements specifying the time the minor child will spend with each parent.
- Designate who is responsible for any and all forms of health care; school-related matters, including the address used for school-boundary determination and registration; and other activities.
- Describe in adequate detail the methods and technologies the parents will use to communicate with the child.
- Designate authorised locations for exchanging the child, unless both parents agree otherwise in writing.
A plan that leaves any of the five blank is not a plan a court can approve. That is the practical test to run against anything a co-parent hands you.
Why the Wording Changed
Florida moved away from “custody” and “visitation” toward parental responsibility and time-sharing. The two places § 61.13 still says “custody” show why the old word survives at all: one refers to a third party who has custody of a child for support purposes, and the other is part of the name of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. Neither describes what two parents sign.
It matters when you search, and when you read a form someone sends you. A document headed “custody agreement” is not a Florida court document. It may still be a perfectly good starting draft — but it has to be turned into a parenting plan that satisfies the five requirements before a judge can adopt it.
Does Florida Start at 50/50?
Since 2023 there is a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in the best interests of the child. It is a starting point, not a guarantee, and it can be rebutted on the evidence. The presumption and the best-interest factors are set out here.
What a Parenting Plan Does to Child Support
The time-sharing schedule inside the plan feeds directly into the money. Under § 61.30(11)(b)8, a “substantial amount of time” means a parent exercises time-sharing at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year — 73 nights — and crossing that line changes how support is calculated. Count your overnights here.
Changing a Plan Later
A parenting plan is not fixed forever, but it is not casually changed either. Modification requires a substantial, material and unanticipated change in circumstances, and that the change is in the best interests of the child. What meets that test, and what does not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a custody agreement the same as a parenting plan in Florida?
In practice people mean the same thing, but only “parenting plan” is the term Florida law uses. § 61.13 mentions “custody” twice in the entire section and “parenting plan” seventeen times.
What has to be in a Florida parenting plan?
Five things, under § 61.13(2)(b): daily upbringing tasks, the time-sharing schedule, who decides health care and school matters, how the parents communicate with the child, and where the child is exchanged.
Do both parents have to agree to a parenting plan?
No. If the parents agree, the court reviews and approves their plan. If they do not, the court establishes one, and the statute directs it to do so in the best interests of the child.
Does a parenting plan decide child support?
Not directly, but it drives the calculation. The number of overnights in the time-sharing schedule feeds the child-support guidelines under § 61.30.
Primary Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 61.13 — support, parental responsibility, parenting plans and time-sharing.
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30 — child support guidelines, including the 20-percent overnight threshold.