You are seeking shared parental responsibility, but are you sure that’s what’s best for your child?
Why not fight for more now?
Florida Statute § 61.13 dictates what the court considers in determining parental responsibility. The best interest of the child factors are laid out in that statute and give a good road map as to what the judge may be thinking about when making this major decision.
You may be like a lot of other men and simply say, “Let’s just do shared, we’ll figure it out.”
That sounds great, but the truth is that you may not be considering the practical effects of “just figuring it out…” If you can’t communicate with your “soon to be ex”, then you need to fight for ultimate decision making authority now.
You can attempt shared, but you may be living in contempt court.
If she is the type that simply disregards the agreement and does whatever she wants unilaterally without including you, you’ll be spending time and money dragging her to court to comply with the agreement. Which in that scenario, compliance means that she has to talk to you and make decisions with you, despite the fact that you both don’t talk anymore; even if the child(ren) was the only amicable spot left between you two.
Remember, ultimate decision making authority doesn’t give you the authority to just do whatever you want, but it does clearly define who gets the tie breaker vote if the two of you can’t communicate on making major decisions for your child(ren).
With ultimate decision making authority you still have to try and make the decision together first, but if no agreement can be reached, then you have the ultimate say so.
In a lot of cases shared parental responsibility is what we strive for and the way to go, however if you have the foresight to see that practically it may be a problem, you may want to consider fighting for more now.
If you, or someone you know is taking that step towards family law litigation, don’t wait, call Men’s Rights Law Firm at 239-829-0166 for a consultation today.