| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to child custody; amending s. 61.13002, |
| 3 | F.S.; providing that a parent's activation, deployment, or |
| 4 | temporary assignment to military service and the resultant |
| 5 | temporary disruption to the child may not be the sole |
| 6 | factor in granting a petition for or modification of |
| 7 | permanent time-sharing and parental responsibility; |
| 8 | providing an effective date. |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
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| 12 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 61.13002, Florida |
| 13 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 14 | 61.13002 Temporary time-sharing modification and child |
| 15 | support modification due to military service.- |
| 16 | (1) If a supplemental petition or a motion for |
| 17 | modification of time-sharing and parental responsibility is |
| 18 | filed because a parent is activated, deployed, or temporarily |
| 19 | assigned to military service and the parent's ability to comply |
| 20 | with time-sharing is materially affected as a result, the court |
| 21 | may not issue an order or modify or amend a previous judgment or |
| 22 | order that changes time-sharing as it existed on the date the |
| 23 | parent was activated, deployed, or temporarily assigned to |
| 24 | military service, except that a court may enter a temporary |
| 25 | order to modify or amend time-sharing if there is clear and |
| 26 | convincing evidence that the temporary modification or amendment |
| 27 | is in the best interests of the child. However, a parent's |
| 28 | activation, deployment, or temporary assignment to military |
| 29 | service and the resultant temporary disruption to the child may |
| 30 | not be the sole factor in a court's decision to grant a petition |
| 31 | for or modification of permanent time-sharing and parental |
| 32 | responsibility. When entering a temporary order under this |
| 33 | section, the court shall consider and provide for, if feasible, |
| 34 | contact between the military servicemember and his or her child, |
| 35 | including, but not limited to, electronic communication by |
| 36 | webcam, telephone, or other available means. The court shall |
| 37 | also permit liberal time-sharing during periods of leave from |
| 38 | military service, as it is in the child's best interests to |
| 39 | maintain the parent-child bond during the parent's military |
| 40 | service. |
| 41 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011. |