How to File for Joint Custody in Florida: Petition and Parenting Plan

To file for joint custody in Florida, you file a petition in the county where the child lives (a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children if you are married, or a Petition to Determine Paternity if you are not), attach a proposed parenting plan and a UCCJEA affidavit, pay the filing fee, have the other parent formally served, complete a state-approved parent education course, exchange financial disclosures, and then either settle through mediation or go to a final hearing where the judge signs your parenting plan into a court order. Florida does not actually use the phrase “joint custody” in its statutes; the legal term is shared parental responsibility, and since July 2023 the state also presumes that equal time-sharing is in the child’s best interests.¹

What Joint Custody Means Under Florida Law

Shared parental responsibility means both parents keep full parental rights and must consult each other on major decisions about the child’s education, healthcare, and welfare. Neither parent gets to pick the school, approve medical treatment, or sign the child up for activities alone. Courts must order shared parental responsibility unless a judge finds it would harm the child, which is a high bar tied to things like convictions for domestic violence or certain sex offenses.¹

Time-sharing is separate. The starting point is now a 50/50 overnight split, and a parent who wants a different schedule has to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal time would not serve the child’s best interests. The judge evaluates over 20 statutory factors to make that call, including each parent’s willingness to co-parent, the child’s stable environment, geographic practicality, and each parent’s knowledge of the child’s daily life.¹

Step 1: Prepare the Right Petition

Which form starts your case depends on whether you and the other parent are married.

If you are married, file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children (Form 12.901).
If you are not married, file a Petition to Determine Paternity and for Related Relief (Form 12.983(a)). If paternity has not already been established, the court handles that issue as part of the same case.²

Every custody case also requires a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) Affidavit (Form 12.902(d)). This affidavit lists where the child has lived for the past five years and whether any custody proceedings involving the child are open in another state. It is what establishes Florida’s authority to decide your case.³

Step 2: Draft a Parenting Plan

You file your proposed parenting plan with the petition. A judge cannot finalize your case without one, and vague plans get sent back. The statute lists the required elements.¹

Time-Sharing Schedule

Spell out which nights the child spends with each parent during the regular school year, and address holidays, school breaks, birthdays, and summer vacation individually. Common 50/50 arrangements include alternating weeks, or a rotating pattern where one parent has every Monday and Tuesday, the other has every Wednesday and Thursday, and weekends alternate. Language like “parents will split holidays fairly” is unenforceable and invites conflict. Be specific.

Decision-Making Authority

State who is responsible for healthcare decisions, school matters (including which address determines school enrollment), and extracurricular activities. Under shared parental responsibility, both parents typically decide together, but you can agree in advance that one parent has final say in a specific area if you reach a deadlock.

Communication and Exchanges

Describe how you and the other parent will communicate about the child, and how each of you will communicate with the child during the other’s parenting time. Many parents designate a co-parenting app or email as the required channel because it creates a written record. Name the location where exchanges happen. If there is a risk of harm during the handoff, the court can require a neutral exchange location.

You can use the standard parenting plan form on the Florida Courts website or draft a custom plan, as long as it covers every required element. Custom plans are common for families with unusual schedules or special needs.

Step 3: File the Documents and Pay the Fee

Once your petition, UCCJEA affidavit, and parenting plan are complete and notarized where required, file them with the Clerk of Court in the county where the child lives. You can file in person or electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal.⁴

The base statutory filing fee for family law cases runs up to $295.⁵ After county surcharges, expect about $300 for a paternity case and around $400 for a dissolution of marriage.⁶ If you cannot afford the fee, file a Civil Affidavit/Application for Indigent Status with the clerk. If approved, the filing and summons fees are waived.

Step 4: Serve the Other Parent

After filing, you must formally deliver the paperwork to the other parent. You cannot hand it over yourself. Florida law requires service through a legally recognized method.⁷

The standard method is personal service by the county sheriff or a certified private process server, who delivers a summons and copies of the filed documents in person. Private process servers typically charge between $40 and $200 per attempt. If the other parent is cooperative, they can sign an Acceptance and Waiver of Service form instead, which skips the cost.

If you genuinely cannot locate the other parent, Florida allows service by publication. You must first perform a diligent search and file an affidavit describing what you did. If the search fails, a Notice of Action runs once a week for four consecutive weeks in a local newspaper. Publication has a real limit: a judge can enter your parenting plan and time-sharing on that basis, but cannot order child support against a parent served only by publication.

Step 5: Complete the Parent Education Course

Both parents must finish a state-approved Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the judge signs the final order. The petitioner has 45 days from the filing date; the other parent has 45 days from being served.⁸ Most approved courses are online and take about four hours. File your certificate of completion with the court. Judges can waive the requirement for good cause, but that is rare.

Step 6: Exchange Financial Disclosures

Florida requires both parents to exchange detailed financial information, and this cannot be waived even by mutual agreement. The court needs the data to set child support, which is always part of a custody case involving a minor child.⁹

Each parent files a financial affidavit. If your gross annual income is under $50,000, use the short-form affidavit (Form 12.902(b)). If it is $50,000 or more, use the long form (Form 12.902(c)). Along with the affidavit, produce:

Federal and state tax returns for the past three years
W-2s, 1099s, and K-1s for the most recent year
Pay stubs or other income documentation for the prior three months
Bank, investment, and retirement account statements

The deadline to produce these documents is 45 days after the respondent is served with the initial petition.⁹ Missing it can delay your case or result in sanctions, so start gathering records before you file.

Step 7: Response, Default, or Mediation

Once served, the other parent has 20 days to file a written answer. The answer should address each claim in your petition, and the other parent may file a counter-petition proposing a different plan or schedule.

If they do not respond within 20 days, you can file a Motion for Default (Form 12.922(a)) along with a Non-Military Affidavit confirming the other parent is not on active duty. The court still requires a hearing where you testify about your proposed parenting plan, time-sharing, and child support. Default cases move faster, but you still need evidence supporting what you are asking for.

If the other parent does respond and the case is contested, most circuits with a family mediation program will refer you to mediation before setting a trial.¹⁰ A neutral mediator helps you negotiate the parenting plan. If you settle, the judge reviews and signs the agreement. If you do not, the case goes to trial. Courts will not refer a case to mediation if there is a documented history of domestic violence. Private mediators typically charge $100 to $500 per hour, and some circuits offer reduced-cost mediation through court-affiliated programs.

Step 8: Final Order and Child Support

Whether by settlement, default, or trial, the case ends with a judge signing your parenting plan into a final court order. From that point on, both parents are legally bound by its terms.

Child support is calculated alongside time-sharing, and the schedule directly affects the number. When a parent has the child for at least 20 percent of overnights in a year (about 73 nights), Florida applies a formula that adjusts support based on each parent’s share of overnight time. The more overnights you have, the lower your support obligation is likely to be, because you cover more daily expenses directly.¹¹ Under an equal 50/50 schedule, the higher earner will generally still owe some support to the lower earner, but the amount is significantly reduced compared to a schedule where one parent has the child most of the time. Daycare and health insurance premiums are factored in separately.

If a parent fails to actually exercise the schedule that was used to calculate support, that failure is grounds for modifying support retroactively to the date the parent stopped showing up.¹¹

After the Order: Enforcement, Modification, and Relocation

Your parenting plan is enforceable, and it is not permanent. Both facts matter after the final hearing.

If the other parent refuses to follow the schedule, you can file a motion for contempt. You need to show that a valid order existed, the other parent knew about it, had the ability to comply, and chose not to. Keep dated logs of missed exchanges and save text messages and emails. When a court finds a time-sharing violation, it must order make-up time at the wronged parent’s convenience. Judges can also award attorney’s fees, require the violating parent to complete a parenting course at their own expense, order community service, or modify the schedule to give the compliant parent more time. Serious or repeated violations can carry fines or jail.¹

To modify the plan later, you must show a substantial and material change in circumstances that was not reasonably anticipated when the original order was entered, and that the change you want serves the child’s best interests.¹ Common triggers include a work schedule change, a child’s evolving needs, safety concerns, or one parent moving closer or farther away.

Relocation has its own rules. If you want to move more than 50 miles from your current residence for at least 60 consecutive days, Florida treats that as a “relocation” and you cannot simply take the child with you. Unless both parents agree in writing, the moving parent must file a petition that includes the new address, the proposed move date, detailed reasons, and a revised time-sharing schedule. If the reason is a job offer, attach the written offer. The other parent has 20 days to file a written objection. If they miss that window, the court presumes the move is in the child’s best interests and generally approves it along with the new schedule.¹²

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 61.13 – Parental Responsibility and Time-Sharing
2
Florida Courts. Petition to Determine Paternity and for Related Relief
3
Florida Courts. Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Affidavit
4
Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 28.241 – Filing Fees
6
Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Section 48.021 – Process, by Whom Served
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 61.21 – Parenting Course
9
Florida Courts. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Rule 12.285 – Mandatory Disclosure
10
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 44.102 – Court-Ordered Mediation
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines
12
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 61.13001 – Parental Relocation with a Child