Hello and thank you for the opportunity to assist you. There may be a slight delay between your follow ups and my replies as I am typing out my answer. Please remember that this is general information only, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed.

I am sorry for your situation. First we look at what the standard visitation order is, and then we will look at how you can argue to modify it.

Courts are wary to restrict visitation of parents to children, so in order to restrict visitation in any way, you would have to show that said visitation would put the child in danger of abuse/neglect. Keep this in mind.

Florida has a a standard visitation schedule. There are generally two forms - Shared parental responsibility and Sole parental responsibility. Sole parental responsibility means that only one parent (you) will make decisions regarding the child and child will live with you majority of time, and dad would have visitation rights (§ 61.046.18, Fla. Stat). It sounds like this is what he is requesting.

In a sole parental responsibility standard order, then he would get the child:

-Every other weekend from Friday after school until evening on Sunday,
-One week night per week from after school,
-Alternating holidays, and
-Extended summer breaks.

This is the standard possession order. The Court will want to implement this. To show why he should have the child every weekend, he'd have to show why this is necessary, and frankly, the Court is likely to disagree.

In addition, you can argue that his visitation should be restricted (supervised, no overnights, etc based on his living conditions. If the Court agrees that his "party" atmosphere is not conductive to parenting, the visitation order may be amended to what the Court feels is in the "best interest of the child."

So - is he likely to get the child every weekend? No.

Can you petition to restrict his visitation even further than every other weekend? Yes, if you can show by convincing evidence that his living conditions are a danger to the child.

This may be done via testimony from you and witnesses, as well as asking the Court to appoint an Ad Litem to inspect both of your housing accommodations and report back to the Court before the Judge makes said decision.

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No, because he is not requesting custody, but simply visitation.

Also, I am currently un employeed and live with my parents and support my son through them and the financial aid I receive being a full time student. Does this also look poorly on my end?

Again, no, because he is requesting visitation, and just custody. Now if he was requesting custody via Shared parental responsibility or custody while sole parental responsibility, the Court would determine which of you would be better to have the child, according to household stability, financial stability, etc.

But again, here, he is simply requesting visitation, so it does not reflect "badly" on you that you live with your parents because (1) the discussion is about visitation, and not custody, and (2) living with your parents provides you with extra support, while he is living with 3 college roommates, so it still makes you look better than him, anyhow.

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Thank is quite alright and this is what I am here for - ask as much as you need to.

He lives two hours away.....is that stable for my son to be going back and forth to Orlando from saint pete or do the courts not care?

The Court will take that into consideration, especially at his young age. The father may be ordered to have part of the visitation near you, so as to cut down on the traveling time. So the Court will take this into consideration, but it is best to bring this up yourself as well.

Also, should I hire an attorney or just use the state appointed attorney? Will both represent me to the fullest extent I need?

Both are in theory supposed to represent you zealously, but a court-appointed attorney is often overworked, and may not offer the same level of commitment as a private attorney. So if you can retain counsel yourself, it is advisable:

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/Public/LawyerReferralServicesLRS.aspx

...the attorneys are vetted and qualified and the service is free. Then you can cross-reference the name(s) on www.avvo.com for client reviews, Bar history, and metrics.

Doing this, you should be able to find an attorney you are confident with and whom you can trust, and who is available ASAP.

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No, that website is for paid attorneys. If you need a free attorney (and the Court may not appoint one - I am not clear if the Court has in your case and if so, this is unusual and is a local, county-based program), I can recommend three resources. First, here is a list of all pro bono work in the state...

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/directory/florida.html

…and another list:

http://www.lawhelp.org

Finally, you may call your local law school and see if they have the family law clinic. The legal clinic is a free service the school(s) provide to the community. While they are often overbooked, they have openings sometimes. Here is the list law schools in your state:

http://www.hg.org/law-schools-florida.asp

And I read online that as far as visitations, for pick up the father is responsible, however, I am responsible to pick my son up at end of visitation. He lives two hours away once again, and I have school. Is this truly my responsibility?

No, the visiting parent is generally supposed to both pick the child up and drop him off, although the court can alter this doctrine to something that is more fair given the facts of every case.

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Jonne,

Will child support grant me more than this since I have food, formula, diapers, health insurance, clothing, etc to provide for my son? He makes well over $1000 per month and I don't think that $100 is fair to me.

Child support in Florida is based on a formula that sees how much he makes and other factors. Unless you and him come up with a number, the default formula applies. See here to calculate (roughly) how much he'd need to pay under default rules:

http://www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/florida/

Also, do you accept tips/how can I tip you?

The system does allow for a tip after you rate my answer. You are not obligated to do so, but if you do, thank you in advance.

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Hello,

Yes. In California, the court shall consider the following when making a custody decision:

(1) The health, safety, and welfare of the child.
(2) Any history of abuse by one parent or any other person seeking custody
(3) The nature and amount of contact with both parents.
(4) The habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances or habitual or continual abuse of alcohol by either parent.

California Code - Sections: 3011, 3020, 3024, 3040, 3042.

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Oops, my sincere apologies. The answer is still YES, because the Court will base custody on the best interest of the child including alcohol and drug consumption, criminal record, household stability, etc. Florida Statutes - Chapters: 61.13 et seq.

Ergo, the very same applies in Florida. Apologies for giving you CA law for a second. You can use his past criminal convictions and alcohol abuse (as well as household atmosphere) to argue minimized visitation like we discussed above (no overnights, supervised only, etc).

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Hello,

Hard to say. It is more likely that per your request, the Judge will agree that that individual is not to come around during visitation with the father. Of course, enforcement of this is hard to do.

Thank you.

You can:

-bring a certified copy of his criminal record,
-photographs that you feel illustrate his drinking, etc, and
-Printout of Facebook posts.

Also, testimony from you and other individuals would be very important.

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Correct. You may testify, and others may as well. Testimony of third parties has the potential to be very damaging.

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