How Can A Father Get Custody Of A Child When Paying Child Support In Florida?

Florida’s shared parenting laws (custody laws) are focused on the best interests of the children. Therefore, a father, regardless of whether he is paying child support or not, can gain shared custody of his children when he can show that sharing in the parenting is in the best interests of the children.

If the father is seeking custody as part of the divorce proceedings and has been an active part of the children’s lives prior to the divorce, it is fairly simple to establish that it is in the best interest of the children that he share in the parenting. If the divorce and custody arrangement is already established and the father is seeking a greater portion of shared parenting or complete custody, he must show that a significant change in circumstances has occurred that would warrant a change to the custody arrangement and that this change is in the child’s best interest.

Additional information about child custody and child support law in Florida can be found on these pages of our web site: