Childrens' Issues
Nothing Is More
Important
The Client is the Architect of the Case, Setting the
Goals and StyleAt our initial consultations, we ask our prospective clients to establish s prioritize the goals they want to achieve, and consistently people are concerned to protect their children and provide for the children’s best interests. There may be disputes about how decisions are made, where children should live, when children should be with each parent etc., but the parents understand that the everyone involved has a responsibility to minimize the harm to the children that family litigation all-too-often brings. At that point, the attorney and client design the structure of the case to establish a plan for how to achieve the client’s goals. Central to the philosophy of the firm is to work with the client to achieve the client’s goals, working as a team. It’s important that the client understand the process; reducing confusion helps reduce anxiety and stress. To that end, from time to time, the process and law are explained so the client is able to make informed decisions. People coming in ask for help with custody, joint custody, visitation etc. For 25 years, Charlotte Karlan has been a vigilant advocate for her client’s rights and for children’s best interests. She brings to the case her compassion, knowledge, wit, creativity, tenacity and experience to get the best results possible for her clients. In these cases with issues concerning children, Charlotte is available to her clients by email, text message and cellular phone. It is important that the team work together when the client is making decisions or taking actions so that the attorney can give guidance or counseling beforehand, rather than having to “clean up” or justify afterwards. One of this firm’s strong points is the ability to see a case concerning children from all angles. The firm doesn’t hesitate to look represent a father who feels that the children are best off living with him for a majority of the time. Men aren’t told that the battle is too hard because the system is against them. There are men who are better caregivers than their spouses; that’ a fact. And there are men who are not. If the firm believes that its client is the better parent, the attorney fights hard and well for the client to achieve the best results possible. In other words, we don’t represent someone in a “custody case” just because the client pays; we believe in our clients or we don’t take the case. Children are too important to do otherwise. Custody? Visitation? Access & Contact? Parenting Plan? Time-Sharing Schedule? It’s a new game – since October 1, 2008! The law concerning children’s issues took a dramatic change when a new statute was enacted the removed the words custody and visitation from Florida law. While the law took effect on October 1, 2008, it may apply to cases that are finalized on or after October 1, 2008. The change began over ten years ago when the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar began working on nomenclature that would recognize that the children’s relationship with both parents must be protected so that one parent is not inferior in standing to the other. Historically, the mother was the custodial parent. The father had no rights to decision-making; he was designated as visiting his children and was disenfranchised in his parental rights so that he had less authority from when the family was intact. That was when the legislature in Florida passed the statute that created shared parental responsibility so that the parents were on equal footing in making major decisions regarding the children and all decisions must be made jointly; neither parent had a veto power over the other. Unfortunately, the disenfranchisement continued as the primary residential parent understood the word primary to mean “more important” or “more authorized” so that disenfranchisement continued. Many parents who were not the primary residential parent objected to being called “secondary” because that is how their ex-spouses treated them, as secondary in importance. The trend then developed to replace the word “visitation” with “access and contact” so that parents who felt they were not visiting their children but were instead spending time with their children would be heard. History and research have found that parents pay child support more willingly when they feel that their parental rights are intact and they are able to participate in their children’s lives instead of being pigeon-holed into spots of time and authority. Thus we come to the new statute that does away with the nomenclature that had the primary residential parents feeling that they were indeed primary. Now, the court establishes a parenting plan that sets out the way that the parents will be sharing their parental responsibility. If a specific case is not suited for shared parental responsibility, the option for sole parental responsibility is still in place in Florida law. The parenting plan details how decisions are to be made so that they parents may designate ultimate decision-making authority to one parent for some decisions and others to the other parent. All aspects of parenting are set out in the plan that is ultimately part of the final judgment. Of course, if it is created by the parents themselves through cooperation, mediation, or collaborative process, it is better for the parents and children than having a judge impose a standard plan that is not tailored to the individual needs and preferences of all. Within the parenting plan there is a time-sharing schedule that has replaced “visitation” and its later terminology of “access and contact”. There are no presumptions of equal time sharing; there is no presumption that the older more standard alternate weekends with weeknight dinners were to continue. There are no presumptions in this statute. What does that mean? It means that the community now has the opportunity to create what will work for each family without being tied down to the past. Our firm has been involved in these transitions throughout its development when the first committee was formed to find new nomenclature to find words to substitute for custody and visitation when Charlotte Karlan was the Chair of the Mental Health Professionals in Litigation Committee, then the Chair of the Litigation Support Committee and then the Chair for the first year of the Nomenclature Committee. Eventually, an ad hoc committee was formed and the full statute was the result of the hard work of many committed attorneys who contribute to the development of laws that better meet Florida’s families’ needs. Grandparent and Other Non-Parental Visitation At this time, grandparents seeking visitation rights with their grandchildren face a difficult hurdle because the Florida Constitution has a privacy provision that protects the grandchildren’s parents’ right to raise their children as they see fit. Yes, under certain circumstances, a grandparent may prevail. At this time, the Family Law Section of The Florida Bar is examining the issue to see what changes in the law would be appropriate and constitutional. Check back to this website for updates on this legislative issue. Contact our Miami office at 305.914.5677 for experienced, compassionate, and discreet representation. In your free consultation, we will explain the process, discuss your options, and estimate your costs |
