T. A. v. A. S.
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledMarch 4, 2022
Docket2D21-1236
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
T.A.,
Appellant,
v.
A.S.,
Appellee.
No. 2D21-1236
March 4, 2022
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Jennifer X.
Gabbard, Judge.
Benndrick C. Watson of Young Esquire Law, PLLC, Tampa, for
Appellant.
David M. Scott of Law Office of David Scott, P.A., Fort Lauderdale,
for Appellee.
SLEET, Judge.
T.A., the Father, appeals the final judgment of paternity in
which the trial court determined him to be the biological father of
the minor child C.S. and, among other things, set a timesharing
schedule. The Father argues, and the Mother concedes, that the
trial court erred by improperly basing the multiphase timesharing
schedule on the completion of contingent events. Because the
timesharing plan applies an impermissible prospective-based best
interest analysis, we reverse that portion of the order. We find no
merit in the Father's remaining arguments on appeal and affirm the
order in all other respects.
The timesharing schedule that was issued in the final
judgment is a prospective-based plan that includes four separate
phases that allow for the Father's timesharing to be gradually
increased based upon the completion of certain events and without
judicial intervention. However, this court has disapproved of such
prospective-based parenting plans. See Natali v. Natali, 313 So. 3d
958, 960 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021) ("This automatically graduated
timesharing arrangement is thus contrary to the reasoning in
Arthur disapproving a prospective-based best interest analysis on
the basis that the factors 'could change within the extended time
period given by the court.' " (quoting Arthur v. Arthur, 54 So. 3d
454, 459 (Fla. 2010))).
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Accordingly, we reverse only the portion of the final judgment
relating to the multiphase timesharing schedule which increases
the Father's timesharing only after the completion of certain events.
See id. The Father retains the right to petition the court for a
modification at any time. However, the trial court's best interest
determination cannot be prospective-based. See id.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
CASANUEVA and KELLY, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.
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