Gov. Rick Scott holds the power to vastly improve the lives of millions of Florida’s children at no cost to taxpayers by signing Senate Bill 668 into law. This bill, which also makes needed reforms to alimony in the age of the two-earner couple, better allows children of divorce to receive what they want and need — equal time with both parents. A large and growing body of research validates their wishes, and I strongly urge our governor to waste no time in signing SB 668, recently passed by the Florida Legislature.
The bill allows mothers and fathers an equal starting point in the time-sharing discussion when first walking into Florida’s divorce courtrooms. Specifically, the bill holds that approximately equal time with each parent is in the best interest of children when parents divorce. Assuming the parents haven’t already agreed on an alternative arrangement, it also requires judges to produce written findings of fact to justify a parenting plan that does not require close to equal time between parents. This is a reasonable and necessary move that will encourage all judges to follow the overwhelming research on what’s best for kids.