Why families come to Connect Attorneys
Connect Attorneys is a Miami law firm serving clients throughout South Florida. Our family law attorneys focus on giving clients clear information and steady guidance, explaining how Florida law may apply and what to expect at each stage. Every client works directly with an attorney, and we serve South Florida families in English and Spanish.
Fathers and Time-Sharing in Florida
Florida law does not favor mothers or fathers: time-sharing runs on the best interest of the child, with the equal-time-sharing presumption our time-sharing page explains in full. So the practical question in most fathers' cases is rarely whether the law is neutral. It is whether the father's situation and record let him use the neutrality the law already gives him. That is what this page is about.
(Source: Fla. Stat. § 61.13.)
For Unmarried Fathers, Paternity Comes First
The most common gap in fathers' cases is not bias; it is a missing legal step. A father who was never married to the child's mother generally has no enforceable time-sharing or decision-making rights until paternity is legally established, no matter how involved he has been. Paying for things and being there every weekend do not substitute for the legal establishment itself. A voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, notarized or signed before two witnesses, creates a presumption of paternity and, after 60 days, generally establishes it (F.S. §742.10); without that or a court order, the gap remains. Our paternity page covers the paths; for most fathers it is the first move, and everything else builds on it.
(Source: Ch. 742, Fla. Stat..)
The Mistakes That Cost Fathers the Most
Certain patterns hurt fathers' cases over and over, and all of them are avoidable. Moving out and going quiet, letting months pass with little contact, reads as absence no matter the reason. Withholding child support because time-sharing is being denied backfires twice: support and time-sharing are separate obligations, and the remedy for blocked time is enforcing the parenting plan, not stopping payments. Informal arrangements that never reach a court leave a father with nothing to enforce. And walking into the first hearing unprepared, assuming fairness will take care of itself, spends the one moment when first impressions are set.
Building the Record of an Involved Father
Cases are decided on evidence, and the evidence of involved fatherhood is buildable, starting today. Show up in the places that generate records: school pickups and teacher conferences, medical appointments, activities. Keep communication with the other parent civil and in writing. Exercise every hour of whatever time you currently have, consistently, because a father asking for more time is strongest when he has fully used what he has. We help fathers turn that day-to-day involvement into a case a judge can see.
This is general information about Florida law, not legal advice. How these rules apply depends on the details of your situation. Talking with an attorney is the clearest way to understand what they mean for you.