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tina.lewert@lewertlaw.com

301 Yamato Rd #4110, Boca Raton, FL 33431, United States

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Boca Raton Divorce Lawyer and Family Attorney

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561-544-6861

Board Certified Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Lawyer

However difficult a separation becomes, your child’s wellbeing comes first. Tina L. Lewert, a Boca Raton parental responsibility attorney who is Board Certified by The Florida Bar, helps parents build workable parenting plans and time-sharing schedules that protect their children and their rights.

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How a Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Attorney Can Help

No matter how contentious a divorce or separation becomes, both parents share one job: keeping the child’s welfare and best interests at the center of every decision. That is easier said than done when emotions run high, which is where experienced guidance matters. As a parental responsibility attorney Boca Raton parents rely on, Tina L. Lewert helps you craft arrangements that genuinely serve your child while respecting your role and concerns as a parent.

Parental responsibility decisions carry real, lasting weight, and the single guiding principle a Florida court applies is the best interests of the child. Lewert Law brings focused, certified experience to that process, from negotiating an agreed parenting plan to advocating for you if the matter goes before a judge.

Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Lawyer
Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Lawyer

Tina Lewert

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Parental Responsibility Versus Custody

Florida no longer uses the word “custody.” Instead, the law speaks of parental responsibility and time-sharing. Parental responsibility refers to who makes the major decisions in a child’s life, things like schooling, healthcare, and religious upbringing. Time-sharing refers to the actual schedule of when the child is with each parent. Together, these are set out in a written parenting plan that the court must approve. This arrangement generally lasts until the child turns 18, unless special circumstances apply.

This is more than a change in vocabulary. The framework reflects Florida’s policy that a child benefits from frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a separation.

Shared Versus Sole Parental Responsibility

Florida law, under Section 61.13 of the Florida Statutes, starts from a strong preference for shared parental responsibility. The court must order that parental responsibility be shared by both parents unless it finds that shared responsibility would be detrimental to the child. In weighing detriment, the court considers evidence such as domestic violence.

In a shared parental responsibility arrangement, both parents consult with each other and make the major decisions about the child’s life together, including choice of doctors, schools, medical care, and activities. Florida judges favor this because it keeps both parents meaningfully involved.

Sole parental responsibility, where one parent makes those decisions alone, is the exception. Florida courts generally do not favor it and typically reserve it for situations, often involving abuse or substance abuse, where shared responsibility would genuinely harm the child. The court can order sole parental responsibility to one parent when that is in the child’s best interests.

A separate but related point: since July 1, 2023, Florida law also includes a rebuttable presumption that equal, 50/50 time-sharing is in a child’s best interests. A parent who believes a different schedule is appropriate must prove that by a preponderance of the evidence. As a timesharing lawyer Boca Raton families turn to, Tina L. Lewert can help you understand how that presumption applies to your situation.

The Parenting Plan

Every shared parental responsibility arrangement requires a parenting plan. As a parenting plan lawyer Boca Raton parents work with, Tina L. Lewert helps you build one that holds up and works in daily life. A Florida parenting plan typically sets out:

  • Who makes decisions about the child's education, healthcare, and general welfare
  • The time-sharing schedule, including weekdays, weekends, holidays, and school breaks
  • How the parents will communicate with the child during the other parent's time, by phone, video, or otherwise
  • Which parent's address is used for school district purposes

Parents can build the plan themselves, which is usually the better path, but a judge must approve it. If the parents cannot agree, or if the judge finds their plan does not serve the child, the court can impose its own plan that overrides theirs.

How a Court Decides Parental Responsibility and Time-Sharing

When parents cannot agree, the court decides based on the best interests of the child, weighing a list of statutory factors. These include, among others:

  • Each parent's ability to foster a close and continuing parent-child relationship and to honor the time-sharing schedule
  • Each parent's ability to act on the child's needs rather than their own
  • The moral fitness and the mental and physical health of each parent
  • Each parent's ability to provide a consistent routine for the child
  • How well each parent can keep the lines of communication open with the other
  • Evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or neglect
  • Each parent's willingness to be involved in the child's school and activities

This is not the complete list. The court may consider anything it finds relevant to the child’s welfare.

Why Work With a Board Certified Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Lawyer

Decisions about your children are the ones that matter most, and they reward careful, experienced handling. Working with a board-certified specialist means your case is handled by someone whose focus and experience in marital and family law have been formally recognized by The Florida Bar. Because Lewert Law keeps a deliberately limited caseload, the attorney you meet is the attorney who handles your matter.

That certified focus has been recognized by The Florida Bar and the wider legal profession:

  • Board Certified Specialist, Marital and Family Law, by The Florida Bar, 2009 to present
  • Nationally Board Certified in Family Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy
  • U.S. News "Best Lawyers" 2023 to 2026, Family Law and Family Law Mediation
  • Super Lawyers Magazine's "Top Attorneys in Florida" 2013 to 2025

Serving Boca Raton and South Florida

Lewert Law is based in Boca Raton and handles parental responsibility and time-sharing matters for clients throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, including Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Highland Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, and Parkland. As a Boca Raton family law attorney focused exclusively on marital and family law, Tina L. Lewert handles these cases personally. Local cases are generally heard in the Palm Beach County or Broward County family courts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between parental responsibility and time-sharing?

Parental responsibility is about decision-making authority, who decides on the child's schooling, healthcare, and similar major matters. Time-sharing is the schedule of when the child is physically with each parent. Both are set out in a parenting plan the court must approve.

Does Florida favor shared parental responsibility?

Yes. Under Section 61.13, the court must order shared parental responsibility unless it finds that sharing would be detrimental to the child, for example where there is evidence of domestic violence. Sole parental responsibility is the exception, generally reserved for situations where shared responsibility would harm the child.

Is equal time-sharing now the default in Florida?

Since July 1, 2023, Florida law presumes that equal, 50/50 time-sharing is in a child's best interests. That presumption can be rebutted, but a parent seeking a different schedule must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the child's best interests.

What goes into a Florida parenting plan?

A parenting plan covers decision-making authority, the time-sharing schedule including holidays and school breaks, how parents communicate with the child during the other parent's time, and which parent's address is used for school purposes. Parents can create it together, subject to the court's approval.

What does the court consider if we cannot agree?

The court weighs the best interests of the child using a list of statutory factors, including each parent's ability to support the child's relationship with the other parent, moral fitness, the mental and physical health of each parent, consistency, and any evidence of domestic violence or abuse. The court can consider anything relevant to the child's welfare.

Where are these cases heard for Boca Raton residents?

A parental responsibility matter is filed with the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court, and for Boca Raton residents these cases are generally heard in the family division at the South County Courthouse, located at 200 W. Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, the nearest county courthouse to Boca Raton.

Parental responsibility connects closely to several other matters:

Speak With a Boca Raton Parental Responsibility Lawyer

Few things matter more than your relationship with your children. To talk through a parenting plan or time-sharing question with a board-certified Boca Raton parental responsibility lawyer, call Lewert Law at (561) 544-6861 or reach out online to schedule a confidential consultation.