Child Custody

Child custody is perhaps the most emotionally wrenching aspect of any divorce proceeding.  At Plasencia & Associates, we provide caring, knowledgeable legal support to help you achieve the child custody arrangement that best meets the needs of your child.

Considering what's best for your child

In Florida, the courts show a clear preference for joint child custody, with both parents equally involved in the rights and responsibilities of childrearing.  However, when awarding child custody in Florida, the court will consider all factors affecting the welfare and interests of the child, including:

• The parenting skills of each parent
• The willingness of each parent to encourage contact with the other parent
• The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parents and the child
• The capacity and disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs
• The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity
• The moral fitness of the parents
• The mental and physical health of the parents
• The home, school, and community record of the child
• The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, age, understanding, and experience to express a preference
• Evidence of domestic violence or child abuse

If your ex-spouse was abusive in any way towards you or your child, Plasencia & Associates will work aggressively to help make certain that you have full custody of that child.  

Child support payments

Both parents have an obligation to support their children.  This is true both before and after a divorce.  Child support is a court-ordered amount that must be paid by a non-custodial parent to the custodial parent.  It is intended to cover a proportionate amount of the child's expenses, including:

• Housing
• Food
• Clothing
• Education
• Medical care

If you are not receiving the child support payments mandated by the court during your divorce, you should speak to an attorney at Plasencia & Associates.  We will aggressively pursue the interests of your child and work to get the child support payments entitled to you by law.