Greyson’s Law is a Florida statute that took effect on July 1, 2023, and changed how state courts evaluate domestic violence in custody and protective-order cases. Formally Senate Bill 130, it amended Florida Statutes § 61.13 (parenting plans and time-sharing) and § 741.30 (injunctions against domestic violence) so that judges must weigh patterns of abuse, threats, intimidation, and controlling behavior, even when no prior case has been filed and no single incident meets the older definition of domestic violence.1Florida Senate. CS for CS for SB 130
Why the Law Was Passed
The statute is named for Greyson Kessler, a four-year-old from Fort Lauderdale who was killed by his father, John Stacey, in a murder-suicide on May 20, 2021. Greyson’s mother, Allison Kessler, had earlier petitioned for an injunction for protection, citing threatening text messages and erratic behavior. A judge denied the petition, finding that what she alleged did not qualify as domestic violence under Florida law at the time. The gap the case exposed was narrow but fatal: Florida courts could see threatening behavior aimed at a parent and still lack authority to treat it as a danger to the child. Greyson’s Law was written to close that gap.
What Changed in Custody Cases
Florida courts start from a presumption that both parents share decision-making responsibility. Greyson’s Law added new grounds for overcoming that presumption. A judge must now consider whether either parent has reasonable cause to believe that they or their children face imminent danger of domestic violence or sexual violence from the other parent, and whether the children face imminent danger of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court Neither factor requires a prior court filing or a pending case. A parent who never reported the conduct to police can still raise it.
New Best-Interests Factors
The best-interests analysis under § 61.13(3) already contained roughly twenty factors. Greyson’s Law added factor (m), which directs courts to consider evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, abandonment, or neglect, and situations where a parent has reasonable cause to believe imminent danger exists even without a pending case.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court When a judge accepts this kind of evidence, the law now requires a written acknowledgment that the evidence was considered. That written record matters on appeal, because it shows the domestic violence evidence was actually weighed.
Factor (n) was added at the same time: whether either parent has knowingly provided false information to the court about domestic violence or abuse allegations.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court It cuts both ways. It protects genuine victims by requiring the court to take their evidence seriously, and it lets a court hold dishonesty against a parent who fabricates allegations.
What Changed for Protective Injunctions
The second statute Greyson’s Law rewrote is § 741.30, which governs domestic violence injunctions. The prior version already listed factors a court could consider: prior threats, attempts to harm family members, weapons, a violent criminal history. Greyson’s Law added a new factor covering a pattern of abusive, threatening, intimidating, or controlling behavior that shows a continuity of purpose and reasonably causes the petitioner to believe that they or their children are in imminent danger.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence; Injunction
A pattern does not require months or years of documented incidents. A concentrated series of escalating threats over a short period can satisfy the standard, so long as the behavior has a clear direction and the petitioner’s fear is reasonable. This is the gap that failed Allison Kessler: she had threatening messages and erratic behavior, but the older law required a specific qualifying act. Under Greyson’s Law, that same evidence must be evaluated as a possible pattern.
How to Use Greyson’s Law
If you need immediate protection, file a Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence. The form is available through the Florida Courts website and at your local clerk of court.4Florida Courts. Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence Florida law bars the clerk from charging a filing fee for these petitions.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence; Injunction
Specificity is what makes a petition work. Give the respondent’s full name and physical description, describe the most recent incidents with dates and locations, quote the content of any threats, and explain how the behavior affects your children’s living situation. Attach or reference police reports, prior injunctions, screenshots, call logs, and any records showing that the respondent tracked or followed you. The judge often decides on the temporary order without hearing from the other side, so the paper does most of the talking.
If a custody order is already in place, the path is a supplemental petition to modify the parenting plan. The argument is that the domestic violence or the pattern of controlling behavior is a substantial change in circumstances, and the court then runs the best-interests factors, including the new (m) and (n) factors.
What Happens After You File
A judge reviews the petition ex parte, meaning without the respondent present. If the judge finds enough evidence of imminent danger, a temporary injunction can issue that same day. It can require the respondent to stay away from your home and workplace, surrender firearms, and follow temporary custody terms.
A temporary injunction lasts up to fifteen days, and a full hearing must be scheduled before it expires.3The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence; Injunction Law enforcement serves the respondent during that window. At the full hearing, both sides present evidence, and the judge decides whether to extend the injunction, make custody changes, or dissolve the temporary order. If you need more time, or the respondent has not yet been served, the court can continue the hearing and keep the temporary order in place.
Bring everything to the full hearing. The evidence in your petition, any new incidents since filing, and witnesses who can confirm the pattern. The respondent will get to challenge you, and documentation carries far more weight than general statements about being afraid.
Penalties for Violating a Protective Order
Violating an injunction is a crime in itself. Under § 741.31, a willful violation is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.31 – Violation of an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence Violations include going within 500 feet of the petitioner’s home, school, or workplace, any direct or indirect contact, coming within 100 feet of the petitioner’s car, destroying the petitioner’s property, or refusing to surrender firearms when ordered.
Possessing a firearm or ammunition while under a final injunction is a separate first-degree misdemeanor. With two or more prior convictions for violating any injunction against the same victim, a further violation becomes a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.31 – Violation of an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence If the respondent contacts you or shows up where they are barred from being, call law enforcement. Each violation is a separate criminal offense, and documenting each one strengthens both any pending prosecution and your ongoing custody case.
If the Case Crosses State Lines
Custody situations involving abuse do not always stay inside Florida. Under § 61.517, a Florida court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when a child present in the state has been abandoned or needs protection because the child, a sibling, or a parent has been subjected to or threatened with abuse.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.517 – Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction That authority is temporary. Florida can issue protective orders to keep you and your child safe now, but long-term custody generally belongs to the child’s home state, the state where the child lived for at least six months before the case was filed. The two courts communicate to sort out who handles what. If you relocated to Florida to escape abuse, the emergency jurisdiction provision lets a Florida judge act immediately rather than sending you back to file where you fled.