How Domestic Violence Affects Child Custody in Florida

The strongest risk factor for family violence passing from one generation to the next is witnessing domestic violence between parents. Family law judges understand the impact household violence has on children and must protect children from abusive behavior.

Here's an overview of how Florida defines domestic violence and how it impacts custody decisions.

Child Custody in Florida

Florida no longer uses the terms "custody" and "visitation." Instead, when Florida family law judges determine how separated or divorced parents will raise their children, they decide two things: "parental responsibility" and a "time-sharing schedule." Parental responsibility refers to which parent will make medical, educational, religious, and other major decisions for the child. "Time-sharing schedule" refers to the child's living arrangement and schedule with each parent. Both are outlined in a written parenting plan.

Judges ultimately decide custody based on what is in the best interests of the child, weighing factors such as:

• each parent’s relationship with the child
• the parents’ current division of responsibilities for the child
• the parents’ parenting abilities
• the child’s current living environment
• the parents’ moral fitness (character)
• the parents’ mental and physical health
• the child’s home, school, and community
• the child’s preference
• the parents’ knowledge about the child’s friends, teachers, medical care providers, activities, and favorite things
• each parent’s ability to discipline and provide daily schedules for homework, meals, and bedtime
• each parent’s willingness to communicate with the other about the child’s activities and other issues
• the parents' issues with drugs or alcohol
• any evidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect
• false information given by either parent about domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, child abandonment, or child neglect, and
• any other factors that affect the child’s well-being.

(Fla. Stat. § 61.13 (2026).)

What Is Domestic Violence in Florida?

In Florida, domestic violence is defined as any assault, battery, sexual abuse, stalking, kidnapping, or any other criminal offense by one "family or household member" to another that causes injury or death. Family or household member means:

• current or former spouses
• people related by blood or marriage
• people who live together now, or used to live together, as if they were a family, or
• people who have a child together even if they were never married.

In general, family or household members must currently live together or have lived together in the same home in the past. The only exception is people who share a child, who don't have to have ever lived together to count as family or household members.

(Fla. Stat. § 741.28 (2026).)

How to Get an Injunction for Protection in Florida

If you have recently experienced domestic violence or are in immediate fear for your safety, you should call local law enforcement or 911.

If you’ve experienced domestic violence in the past and are afraid of future abuse, you can ask for an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence from your county circuit court. The injunction is a court order that directs your abuser to cease all violence and threats against you and stay away from you, or risk going to jail.

To get an injunction, go to the county circuit court clerk’s office and ask for a Petition for an Injunction for Protection. You can go to the clerk’s office for the county where you live, where your abuser lives, or the county where the abuse occurred. A judge can grant a temporary injunction right away, often without the abuser present. The temporary injunction is effective for up to 15 days until a full hearing.

Both parties must attend the full hearing. If the judge finds you are a victim of domestic violence or have reason to believe that you are in danger of becoming a victim, the judge can make the injunction final. A final injunction can last for a set period of time or remain in effect until a judge modifies or dissolves it. Instructions and sample forms for getting an injunction are available from the Florida Courts self-help center.

(Fla. Stat. § 741.30 (2026).)

How Domestic Violence Impacts Custody Decisions in Florida

Florida law starts from the presumption that parents should share parental responsibility and that equal (50/50) time-sharing is in the child's best interests. A parent seeking a different arrangement must prove that it's more likely than not that shared responsibility and equal time-sharing isn't in the child's best interests. Evidence of domestic violence is one of the specific factors a judge must consider when deciding whether to deviate from either presumption.

If a parent has been convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor or greater offense involving domestic violence, the presumption is flipped. The judge can presume that it would be detrimental to the child to give that parent shared parental responsibility or time-sharing, and the convicted parent has to convince the judge that it would not be detrimental to the child.

Even if there's no conviction, a judge will still consider evidence of domestic violence or child abuse. At the start of a custody case, parents must tell the judge about any domestic violence, injunctions, or petitions to terminate parental rights.

Florida courts will also presume that a parent who has been convicted in any state of certain sexual offenses against a minor shouldn't have time-sharing with a child, unless the parent proves the child would face no significant risk of harm.

In custody cases with a convicted parent, the court will hold a hearing to decide whether that parent and the child should have any contact. Before the court will allow any visitation between a child and a convicted parent, the judge must be convinced that the child’s safety and well-being, including physical, mental, and emotional health, isn't in danger.

If the judge decides that it is in the best interests of a child to have contact with a parent who has committed domestic violence, the judge will make time-sharing arrangements to protect the child or the victim parent from further harm, such as requiring visits to be supervised.

(Fla. Stat. § 61.13 (2026).)

Supervised Visitation

To protect both the child and the victim parent, a judge may order that a trained supervisor oversee all visitation between a child and abusive parent. Florida courts work with pre-approved supervised visitation programs that specifically handle visits between parents and children. The judge can also order that the abusive parent pay for all costs of the supervised visitation.

(Fla. Stat. §§ 61.13, 753.03 (2026).)

Termination of Parental Rights

In rare and serious cases, a judge may decide that it's in the child’s best interest to end the parent-child relationship; this is called “termination of parental rights.” Judges may terminate parental rights when a parent:

• is a violent career criminal
• is a sexual predator
• has sexually abused or committed aggravated child abuse against the child
• has been convicted of first- or second-degree murder
• has conspired with someone or hired someone to murder the other parent or another child, or
• has committed a sexual battery that is a first-degree felony (the most serious type of felony in Florida).

The court will also consider the child’s age, the child’s relationship with the parent, and any other factor the court deems relevant before terminating parental rights.

(Fla. Stat. § 39.806 (2026).)

Getting Help

If you have other questions about domestic violence and child custody in Florida, contact a local family law attorney for advice.

For 24-hour support, call the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-500-1119, which is coordinated through the Florida Department of Children and Families. Find more information and resources through Florida's Office of Domestic Violence and the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence.