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Florida Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language Florida information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

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This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

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Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Florida circuit courts. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

How Florida courts decide custody

Florida uses "parental responsibility" and a "parenting plan" rather than treating custody as a single label; the child's best interests are the primary consideration.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

  • The court must evaluate the statutory factors affecting the child's welfare and the circumstances of the family when deciding parental responsibility and a parenting plan.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

  • Shared parental responsibility is required unless the court finds it would be detrimental to the child, and the statute requires the court to consider domestic violence, abuse, abandonment, neglect, and other relevant safety factors.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

Key legal sources

Parenting time

Florida calls the schedule for a child's time with each parent a "time-sharing schedule," which is part of the parenting plan.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

  • Unless the parties agree otherwise or another statutory limit applies, equal time-sharing is rebuttably presumed to be in the child's best interests; a party may rebut that presumption by a preponderance of the evidence.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

  • Except when the parties agree and the court approves the schedule, the court must evaluate the statutory best-interest factors and make written findings when creating or modifying a time-sharing schedule. Safety findings can support restrictions or sole parental responsibility.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 61.13

Key legal sources

How to file

An original dissolution of marriage using Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.901(b)(1), limited to a married couple with a dependent or minor child together, or when a spouse is pregnant; it is not a paternity, modification, enforcement, emergency, or nonparent case.Sources:Instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children

  1. Confirm that this dissolution route fits

    Confirm the marriage-and-children scope, the form's Florida residency requirement, and the correct circuit and county before preparing papers. Different family case types use different forms and procedures.Sources:Instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children, Trial Courts - Circuit

  2. Complete the current petition and related forms

    Use the current Form 12.901(b)(1) instructions and the maintained family-law forms portal. For this route, the instructions list the UCCJEA Affidavit (12.902(d)), Notice of Social Security Number (12.902(j)), a Family Law Financial Affidavit (12.902(b) or (c)), Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure (12.932), and a Parenting Plan (12.995(a), (b), or (c)); other forms depend on the facts and requests.Sources:Instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children, View All Family Law Forms

  3. Sign and file with the circuit-court clerk

    Follow the petition instructions for signing before a notary or deputy clerk and file the original with the clerk of the circuit court in the proper county; confirm local filing methods, fees, and any additional requirements with that clerk.Sources:Instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children, Trial Courts - Circuit

  4. Arrange service and follow the assigned process

    Follow the current instructions for service and the assigned court's hearing process. The instructions distinguish personal and constructive service and describe different next steps. Complete the required parenting course before entry of a final judgment, and ask the clerk, family-law intake staff, or judicial assistant about the local course requirements. Ask whether to bring an applicable final-judgment form to the hearing; if required, prepare only its heading and leave the rest for the judge to complete.Sources:Instructions for Form 12.901(b)(1), Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children, View All Family Law Forms

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

  • The Florida Courts portal lists Supreme Court approved family-law forms by case type and form number, including dissolution, parenting-plan, paternity, service, and financial forms.Sources:View All Family Law Forms

  • A form packet is not universal; use the instructions for the particular case type and ask the local clerk about circuit-specific procedures or additional documents.Sources:View All Family Law Forms, Trial Courts - Circuit

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Bay Area Legal Services

    Area served: Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, with separate statewide helplines for eligible seniors, veterans, and disaster survivors

    Free civil legal help may include family-law information, forms assistance, advice, or representation depending on the program and case.Sources:Locations and Service Area, Family Forms Clinic

    Eligibility: The applicant must complete an eligibility review; geography, case type, program priorities, and capacity determine whether help is available, and applying does not ensure representation.

  • Florida Rural Legal Services

    Area served: Qualified low-income communities in 13 Florida counties and eligible farmworkers statewide

    Free family-law and domestic-violence help can include advice or representation in selected divorce, child-custody, time-sharing, support, and safety matters.Sources:Apply for Help, Family Law and Domestic Violence Protection

    Eligibility: FRLS describes free legal help for qualified low-income communities in 13 counties and farmworkers statewide. Its family-law page says its advice and representation are primarily for people experiencing domestic or sexual violence; contact FRLS to ask whether it can help with a particular matter.

Fee waivers

A person seeking relief from prepayment of civil filing fees and costs must apply to the clerk for a determination of civil indigent status; an indigency determination can waive filing fees, although other charges or a payment plan may still apply under Florida law.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.081, 2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082, Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status

Who may qualify

  • The application must disclose the financial information required by section 57.082 and attest that it is true; the clerk compares the application with the statutory criteria.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082

  • An applicant may ask the court to review a clerk's nonindigent determination, and later discrepancies or false information can lead to revocation or other consequences.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082

What to do

  1. Get the current civil indigent application from the clerk

    Ask the clerk handling the case for the current Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status; the statewide form is unnumbered, and the cited Lake County clerk page provides an official local copy and filing explanation.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082, Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status

  2. Complete and submit the financial disclosure

    Provide the income, asset, debt, and other information required by the application, sign the truthfulness attestation, and submit it to the clerk with or before the case-opening papers as local instructions require.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082, Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status

  3. Follow the determination or request review

    Follow any clerk notice concerning waiver, charges, or a payment plan. If the clerk finds the applicant not indigent, section 57.082 permits a petition for court review without a filing fee.Sources:2025 Florida Statutes section 57.082

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

Part of Family Law in Your State.