12.995: Write What a Judge Can Sign
12.995(a) and 12.995(b) are Florida's parenting plan forms: the place where timesharing, decision-making, and daily logistics stop being arguments and become paragraphs. This page is about plan design, not the modification caption. If you already have a final plan and need to change it, start with the modification lane: 12.905 modify parenting plan / timesharing.
Timesharing grid
Weekly pattern, overnights, summer blocks, school-year transitions.
Authority & health
Education, medical, activities: who decides, what happens on tie votes.
Logistics & contact
Exchanges, travel notice, holidays, electronic contact with limits.
Weak plan lines
- "Flexible schedule as parents agree"
- Holidays "to be coordinated later"
- No late pickup or makeup rule
Workable plan lines
- Start/end times with time zones if needed
- Odd/even holiday rotation plus school break split
- Written travel notice days and passport custody rule
Relevant Florida law
The statutes and appellate decisions below are the ones Florida courts actually apply here. Educational orientation only — not legal advice. Read the source before you rely on it.
Statutes
- Fla. Stat. § 61.13 — Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
Makes the best interests of the child the primary consideration for parental responsibility and time-sharing, and requires a substantial and material change in circumstances, plus a best-interests finding, to modify an existing parenting plan or time-sharing schedule.
- Fla. Stat. § 61.13001 — Parental Relocation With a Child
Requires a parent who wants to relocate with a child to file and serve a petition to relocate; the relocating parent must first prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the move is in the child’s best interest, after which the burden shifts to the objecting parent.
Key cases
- Arthur v. Arthur, 54 So. 3d 454 (Fla. 2010)
A court cannot make a “prospective” best-interests determination that authorizes a parent to relocate with the child at a future date; the propriety of relocation must be decided on the circumstances at the time of the final hearing, not predicted in advance.
- Wade v. Hirschman, 903 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 2005)
The substantial-change-in-circumstances test governs modification of all custody arrangements, including rotating or shared custody; a court modifying custody applies that test rather than re-deciding custody as if making an initial determination.
Related guides
More Florida forms
State guides (overview)
General support (not Florida-specific)
Official source
Florida Courts (12.995(a) and (b)): https://www.flcourts.gov/Resources-Services/Court-Improvement/Family-Courts/Family-Law-Forms/Parenting-Plan-12.995-a-and-b
12.995 questions
What is 12.995 trying to lock down?
The practical rules for timesharing, parental responsibility and decision-making, communication, and logistics. It is the document a court can sign as written. Mushy language turns into the next modification or enforcement fight.
Where do Florida plans fail first?
Holiday rotation without tie-breakers, silent transportation rules, "reasonable electronic contact" without windows, and decision-making paragraphs that punt every conflict to "mutual agreement."
When do I leave 12.995 and look at 12.905?
When a signed plan or order already exists and you need a modification petition to change it. 12.995 is plan substance; 12.905 is often the modification vehicle.
MyCustodyCoach is not a law firm. Court rules, fees, and form versions change by county; confirm what applies to your case with official court resources or counsel you hire.