Children's Custody Fight

by Liliana from Orlando, Florida, Orange County

My husband and I want to get a divorce and we have 3 children. He's saying he wants full custody of the kids and that he will take me to court for it.

I haven't been happy with him so I stopped performing my duties as a wife for a long time now, but I do take care of my children.

My children are not neglected in any way. I'm not working at the moment he's the one that works - however - I am looking for a job.

What are the grounds in which a court will give the father custody of the children and take them away from their mother? Please help!

Answer to Florida Child Custody Question

Dear Liliana,

Florida courts have a strong bias towards shared parental responsibility.

There is almost no such thing as one parent being awarded full or sole custody these days, unless there has been some extreme behavior by a parent.

Judges are very reluctant to deny custody and/or time-sharing.

By extreme behavior I mean things like child abuse, drug addiction, etc.

However, there is also no longer a strong bias towards the children staying with the mother. The fact that he is the breadwinner should not matter.

Both parents are expected to support the children. If you were a stay at home Mom during your marriage, you may be able to seek spousal support as well.

Notice: We provide these answers to the general public and our website visitors as a means to further their online legal research. These answers are merely suggestions and should not be regarded as legal advice.

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Children's Custody Fight

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Answer Child Custody Modification
by: Deborah from East Amherst, New York

I relocated out of the state of Florida to New York with permission from the court in my final divorce papers. My ex husband deployed with the military for 9 months and now has come back from deployment to Florida and is filing to get the children for the next year because he could not see them during his deployment. I was awarded primary parent and he was secondary parent. Is there anything I can do?

--Yes, just answer the paperwork within the 20 day response period and state in your answer, what you would like to happen with respect to custody and visitation with your children. See our Divorce Answer and our Answer Florida Petition To Modify Custody and Visitation pages for more information. --Staff

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