Many parents entering a Volusia County divorce or paternity case arrive with one of two assumptions: either the court will favor the mother, or a 50/50 split is now automatic. Both assumptions lead people in the wrong direction before they’ve filed a single document. Florida courts don’t work from a template, and the statute governing timesharing makes that clear. David Elizey has served as a Guardian ad Litem Volunteer Attorney since 2015, a role that places an attorney in the position of representing a child’s best interests directly to the court. That perspective shapes how we approach every timesharing case we handle.
Florida law eliminated the words “custody” and “visitation” years ago and replaced them with parental responsibility and timesharing. The vocabulary shift matters because it reflects a substantive change in how courts think: neither parent automatically gets primary physical control, and neither is treated as a secondary figure. At every stage, the court is asking one question about the child in front of it.
Florida’s Best Interest Standard: No More Custody or Visitation
The governing statute is Florida Statute 61.13, and it frames the entire analysis around the best interests of the child. Under Section 61.13(3), courts evaluate twenty statutory factors, labeled (a) through (t). The list is wide-ranging: each parent’s demonstrated ability to facilitate the child’s relationship with the other parent, moral fitness, the stability of each home, and the child’s ties to school and community, among others.
Florida law explicitly prohibits any presumption favoring or disfavoring a parent based on sex. No single factor automatically outweighs the others, and if a judge gives one factor controlling weight, the written order must explain why. That requirement for written justification is what makes appellate review meaningful. It’s also why a well-documented factual record matters so much before a hearing.
The 2023 Change: A Presumption of Equal Timesharing
Effective July 1, 2023, HB 1301 amended Florida Statute 61.13 to add a rebuttable presumption that equal timesharing is in a child’s best interest. The starting point is equal time, but a parent can overcome it by presenting enough evidence that equal timesharing doesn’t serve this particular child. The burden falls on whichever parent seeks something other than an equal split, who must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that equal timesharing isn’t appropriate on these facts.
What the 2023 amendment doesn’t do is eliminate judicial discretion. Courts still run the full best-interest analysis under Section 61.13(3). A judge can deviate from equal time based on geographic distance between households, a parent’s work schedule, the child’s school calendar, or developmental needs that make long stretches away from one parent difficult. The presumption changes where the burden sits. It doesn’t hand anyone a predetermined result.
Building the Parenting Plan
Every Florida case involving minor children, whether it arises from a divorce or a paternity action, requires a parenting plan. This document is more than a calendar. It spells out the timesharing schedule, identifies which parent has decision-making authority over education, healthcare, and extracurricular activities, and addresses how parents will handle daily logistics and communication.
Parents who can agree submit a proposed plan for the judge’s approval. If they can’t reach an agreement, the judge reviews the evidence, hears from both sides, and creates the plan. A plan adopted by consent is still subject to court approval. The judge won’t sign off on terms that contradict the child’s best interests even when both parents have agreed to them.
Once a final parenting plan is in place, changing it isn’t straightforward. Florida requires a showing of a substantial and material change in circumstances. The change must be significant, not merely inconvenient. A slightly shifted work schedule won’t clear that bar on its own. And if a parent wants to relocate more than 50 miles from their current principal residence, that triggers a separate legal process governed by Florida Statute 61.13001, which carries its own notice requirements and evidentiary standards.
How Volusia County Handles It When Parents Can’t Agree
When parents in Volusia County can’t reach a parenting plan on their own, the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which covers Volusia, Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns counties, may refer the case to its Family Mediation Program. Session fees are set on an income-based scale: $60 per person when combined household income is $50,000 or less, and $120 per person when combined income falls between $50,000 and $100,000. For families above that threshold, private mediation is typically the route.
Jeremy Buckmaster is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator (certification number 32580 F), which means he’s trained and credentialed to conduct exactly the kind of mediation sessions that resolve Volusia County cases before they reach a judge. That background gives our clients a clearer picture of how mediation works and what positions tend to hold up in that setting.
Before a Volusia County judge will finalize any case involving minor children, both parents must complete a Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course as required by Florida Statute 61.21. This isn’t optional, and a final judgment won’t be entered without proof of completion.
Family law matters in Volusia County are heard at two locations:
- Steven C. Henderson Judicial Center at 125 E. Orange Ave. in Daytona Beach
- Volusia County Courthouse at 101 N. Alabama Ave. in DeLand
General Magistrates, operating under Florida Family Law Rule 12.490, handle temporary and post-judgment timesharing hearings while a case is pending. When a General Magistrate presides, the parties receive a recommended order that goes to a circuit judge for review rather than a final ruling issued directly from the bench. That procedural layer matters when you’re preparing for a temporary hearing.
What This Means for Your Case
No timesharing outcome follows automatically from income levels, gender, or a presumption alone. Every result turns on the specific facts of that family: the child’s age and needs, each parent’s demonstrated history, the stability of each home, and the willingness of each parent to support the child’s relationship with the other. Courts look at documented history, not promises about future behavior.
Parents who want to understand their options before mediation or a hearing can benefit from working through the factors with attorneys who know the local court process, the mediation program, and how general magistrates handle contested schedules in Volusia County. To discuss your situation, contact Buckmaster & Ellzey at (888) 785-6548.