Sunday, February 4, 2024

Must a parent be heard before a child custody change?

According to Florida law, courts must allow parents to present evidence and argument before changing custody:

The trial court could have granted Appellee emergency custody without taking evidence or argument. See Loudermilk v. Loudermilk, 693 So. 2d 666, 667–68 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997) (“Under extraordinary circumstances, a trial court may enter an order granting a motion for temporary custody of a child without affording notice to the opposing party.”). However, an emergency order must be followed by an opportunity to be heard as soon as possible. Id. at 668; see also Wilson v. Roseberry, 669 So. 2d 1152, 1154 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996) (“[T]he trial court should make every reasonable effort to allow both parties to be heard prior to issuing an emergency modification order. If this is not possible, however, an opportunity to be heard should be provided as soon thereafter as possible.”). But the trial court's judgment purports to determine the custody arrangement indefinitely and did not contemplate a follow-up hearing. Instead of an emergency order followed by a prompt hearing, the trial court conducted a partial hearing, did not accept evidence or argument on the required time-sharing factors, and entered a temporary time-sharing order.

See: Reynolds v. Reynolds, 331 So. 3d 832

 

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