Florida's 50/50 Time-Sharing Presumption: What Parents Need to Know

By Joshua C. Miller, Esq. · Green Bench Law, PLLC · Informational only — not legal advice

For decades, parents walking into a Florida family courtroom asked the same first question: "Will I get equal time with my kids?" Until recently, the honest answer was "it depends — entirely." Florida law listed best-interest factors but started from no particular schedule.

That changed on July 1, 2023. Florida amended section 61.13 of the Florida Statutes to create a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing is in the best interests of a minor child. It is one of the most significant shifts in Florida custody law in a generation — and one of the most misunderstood.

What the presumption actually does

A presumption is a starting point, not a guarantee. When parents litigate time-sharing, the court now begins from the position that a 50/50 schedule serves the child's best interests. A parent who wants something different carries the burden of rebutting that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence — showing it is more likely than not that equal time-sharing is not in this particular child's best interests.

If the presumption is rebutted, the court returns to the familiar best-interest analysis, evaluating the statutory factors in section 61.13(3) — things like each parent's demonstrated capacity to put the child's needs first, the division of parental responsibilities before the case, the child's school and community record, each parent's moral fitness and mental and physical health, and any evidence of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect.

What it doesn't do

• It doesn't make 50/50 automatic. Courts must still evaluate the best-interest factors and make findings. Evidence still decides cases.
• It doesn't rewrite existing parenting plans. The new presumption is not, by itself, a basis to modify an existing final judgment. Modification still requires a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances.
• It doesn't override safety concerns. Evidence of domestic violence, substance abuse, or neglect remains central to the analysis and can readily rebut the presumption.

How this plays out in real cases

In practice, the presumption has shifted negotiating leverage more than trial outcomes. A parent who previously might have conceded to every-other-weekend now starts settlement discussions — and mediation — from an equal-time baseline. Conversely, a parent seeking majority time-sharing needs to come prepared with concrete, documented reasons: work schedules that don't accommodate exchanges, school-distance logistics, safety concerns supported by evidence rather than accusation.

Judges still scrutinize the practical details. A proposed 50/50 schedule that requires a kindergartner to commute 45 minutes each way to school half the week invites questions. The strongest cases — on either side — pair the legal presumption with a parenting plan that actually works on a calendar: exchanges, school transport, holidays, summer, communication protocols.

What to do if you're facing a time-sharing dispute

1. Document your involvement. School pickups, medical appointments, activities — contemporaneous records beat recollection.
2. Propose a realistic plan. Courts reward parents who present workable schedules, not just objections to the other side's.
3. Take mediation seriously. Most Florida family cases are referred to mediation, and most settle there. Walk in knowing the presumption and your evidence.
4. Get advice early. The positions you take in the first weeks — texts, informal schedules, who keeps the children where — often shape the final outcome.