Main Office Location : 201 North Magnolia Avenue, Suite 6, Ocala, Florida 34475
Child Custody Paperwork Services in Ocala, FL
Court Source, Inc. prepares child custody and child support paperwork for parents in Ocala and Marion County. Our non-lawyer preparers complete parenting plans, time-sharing schedules, child support modification petitions and paternity forms using Florida Supreme Court approved forms. We also prepare temporary custody documents for relatives. If your case needs legal advice, ask about our free attorney referral service.
Custody Documents We Prepare in Ocala
We prepare paperwork to set up custody for the first time and to change an existing order, including:
- Florida parenting plan forms and time-sharing schedules
- Supplemental Petition to Modify Parental Responsibility, Visitation or Parenting Plan/Time-Sharing Schedule and Other Relief (Form 12.905(a))
- Child support modification paperwork
- Petition to Determine Paternity and for Related Relief
- Temporary concurrent custody documents for extended family members
- Relocation and time-sharing changes
- Motions for contempt to enforce an existing order
What Is Time-Sharing in Florida?
Florida now uses the term time-sharing instead of custody and visitation. Time-sharing sets when and where your children spend time with each parent. Together with parental responsibility, it is written into a parenting plan that the court must approve. Every Florida divorce or family case that sets custody or visitation requires a parenting plan.
Florida Parenting Plan Options
Florida offers three parenting plan forms: the standard Parenting Plan, the Long-Distance Parenting Plan and the Safety-Focused Parenting Plan. Because no single form fits every family, we help you prepare a plan that reflects your schedule and your children’s needs.
Modifying Custody or Child Support
A Florida court can change a custody order when there has been a substantial, material and unanticipated change in circumstances, and the change is in the children’s best interests. Child support can be modified when income or the child’s needs change. Changes are filed through a supplemental petition, which we prepare as part of our service. Our guide on how to modify child support in Ocala explains the process.
Paternity for Unmarried Parents
For unmarried parents, paternity must be established before a court can order custody or time-sharing. Most fathers establish paternity by signing the birth certificate at the hospital. Otherwise, a Petition to Determine Paternity can request a court-ordered test. We also prepare disestablishment of paternity documents.
Temporary Custody for Grandparents and Relatives
Florida allows extended family members within the third degree, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings and stepparents, to request temporary custody. A temporary custodian can enroll a child in school, consent to medical care and request records.
Why Parents in Marion County Trust Court Source, Inc.
Our experienced preparers have supported Ocala families since 2017. We use current Florida Supreme Court approved forms and explain each step clearly. If your custody case is contested, we offer free attorney referrals. Filing for divorce at the same time? See our divorce document preparation service.
Court Source, Inc. is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
SUPPLEMENTAL PETITION TO MODIFY CUSTODY
The Florida child custody and visitation form Supplemental Petition to Modify Parental Responsibility, Visitation or Parenting Plan Time Sharing Schedule and Other Relief, Form 12-905(a) is sometimes to be used when you are asking the court to change current court-ordered custody or visitation arrangements.
The court can change an order granting shared parental responsibility, including a primary residential responsibility custody order if the judge finds that there has been a substantial change in the circumstances of the parties and the change is in the children’s best interests.
A current child custody order may not be modified without a showing of a substantial, material, and unanticipated change in circumstances and a determination that the modification is in the best interests of the children.
Modifying an existing Child Custody & Visitation order is generally done by using a Supplemental Petition to Modify Child Custody as part of our document preparation services
SUPPLEMENTAL PETITION TO MODIFY CUSTODY
When unmarried parents are involved, paternity must be established before child custody and visitation can be ordered and enforced. There are several ways that paternity can be legally established. The voluntary signing of the child’s birth certificate at the hospital is the most common way for the legal establishment of paternity in Florida.
Another way to establish paternity is to have the court order scientific paternity testing. This procedure is handled through the Petition to Determine Paternity and for Related Relief.
Once Paternity is established (through scientific paternity testing if necessary) then custody, visitation, time-sharing and parental responsibility can be established.
TEMPORARY CHILD CUSTODY
Florida allows an extended family member may petition the court for temporary custody of a minor child. This law allows a child’s grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, adult siblings, or step-parents (if the step-parent is still happily married to the parents) and other family members to petition the court for a temporary order granting custody.
The definition of “extended family member” is a relative within the third degree by blood or marriage to the parent. The Florida state courts have published a set of forms for use by pro se parties to petition the courts to grant temporary custody of minors by extended family members. You can find these forms on the Florida State Courts website under the title Temporary Concurrent Custody.
Some of the circumstances that the temporary custody and concurrent custody law addresses are the ability for extended family custodians to enroll the children in school, request medical records, consent to medical care for the children, request copies of official documents and records such as birth certificates, medical and dental records, and educational records.
At Court Source we prepare these documents using the highest quality Florida Supreme Court Approved Forms so that we may assist you in your legal document paternity, custody , or child support matter.
Disclaimer
Court Source, Inc. is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or representation. We are non-lawyer document preparers authorized to assist with legal forms based solely on information provided by you. No attorney-client relationship is formed, and nothing on this site should be considered legal advice. For legal guidance, please consult a licensed Florida attorney. Our services comply with Florida Bar Rules, including Rule 10-2.1(b) and Opinion SC00-984.
