How to Remember Florida Timesharing and Relocation: A T-Bird and Johnny Cash

And there she goes . . . that beautiful 1956 T-Bird.

Three years ago, Ali drove away in it after his divorce. Today, he is behind the wheel again. The pain is different now. Not gone. Just quieter.

The Florida sun warms his olive skin as the T-Bird rolls down the highway. His dark greaser hair, once carefully styled, now moves freely in the wind—unkempt and unbothered.

At least on the surface. 

A month ago, everything changed. Ali was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer. With the proper treatment, he has a 65% chance of making it to the five year mark. 

Ali hated the phrase — “five-year mark”.

As if life were something to survive rather than something to live. As if the goal were simply to reach some distant finish line instead of paying attention to the days that make up the journey.

To receive specialized treatment, Ali needs to leave the home he has loved for so long and cross the state line into Georgia. His new home in Georgia will be exactly 49 miles away from the residence identified in his existing Florida court order. 

Forty-nine miles.

As the road stretches ahead, Ali reaches for the radio and turns the dial. Johnny Cash’s “YouTube – Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line”” crackles through the old speakers. For the first time since his divorce, Ali isn’t thinking about the past. He isn’t thinking about asset division or alimony.

He’s thinking about his ten-year-old daughter—the spitting image of him, with the same dark azabache eyes and stubborn streak. He’s thinking about how his ex-wife is already panicking that this move to Georgia means losing her daughter.

The law has a name for the arrangement Ali and his ex-wife built around their daughter.

Time-sharing.

To understand whether Ali’s move changes anything at all, we first need to understand how Florida courts create, evaluate, and modify time-sharing arrangements.

Time-Sharing

The arrangement Ali is worried about is part of a broader document known as a parenting plan.

In Florida, a parenting plan serves as the roadmap for how separated or divorced parents will raise their child. The plan becomes part of the court’s final judgment and governs the rights and responsibilities of each parent moving forward.

A parenting plan generally contains two major components:

• Time-Sharing: This dictates the physical schedule—exactly when the child spends time with each parent.
• Parental Responsibility: This dictates decision-making authority—who has the legal right to make important decisions concerning the child’s upbringing, including matters involving education, healthcare, and other significant issues.

The Legal Starting Point

When a court evaluates a parenting plan, the analysis begins with an important presumption:

• The Equal Time-Sharing Presumption: The law explicitly presumes that equal time-sharing is in a child’s best interests.
• Rebutting the Presumption: However, that presumption may be rebutted when the circumstances of a particular family suggest a different arrangement would better serve the child.

For three years, Ali’s parenting plan provided the framework for raising his daughter.

Then life changed.

Ali’s ex-wife, Daisy, believes the move, combined with the realities of cancer treatment, will make it difficult for him to maintain the same level of involvement in their daughter’s day-to-day life. She intends to seek additional time-sharing.

Modifying Time-Sharing: Let the MUSIC Play 

Johnny Cash is still playing through the speakers.

But before a Florida court will modify an existing time-sharing schedule, it must have a legal reason to reopen a parenting plan that has already been approved.

Here, Ali’s ex-wife wants additional time-sharing. The burden is on her to demonstrate that a modification is appropriate.

Before we dive into the analysis, let the MUSIC play:

• M – Material Change: The shift must directly impact the child’s welfare or the practical operation of the existing parenting plan.
• U – UCCJEA: The interstate statutory framework that determines which state’s court has jurisdiction over child custody matters.
• S – Substantial Change: A major, meaningful disruption to the status quo—not a minor inconvenience or routine life event.
• I – Interests of the Child: The best-interest analysis the court performs after a substantial and material change in circumstances has been established.
• C – Change in Circumstances: Something meaningful has changed since the court entered the original order.

Think of MUSIC as the roadmap for the rest of our analysis.

The M, S, and C give us the threshold modification question: has there been a substantial and material change in circumstances since the entry of the existing parenting plan?

The I reminds us that even if the threshold is met, the court must still determine whether modification serves the child’s best interests.

And the U reminds us that Ali’s move to Georgia may raise a separate jurisdictional issue under the UCCJEA. Before a court can modify a parenting plan, it must have the authority to hear the case.

The first question the court must answer is whether there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances since the entry of the existing parenting plan. Florida courts do not modify parenting plans simply because circumstances become inconvenient or because one parent would prefer a different arrangement. The change must be significant enough to justify reopening an order that has already been finalized.

Exam Tip: 

If you are studying from older outlines, be careful. Florida law no longer requires a change to be unanticipated or unforeseen before a parenting plan may be modified.

Ali’s cancer diagnosis, the demands of treatment, and his move across state lines all force the court to ask whether a substantial and material change in circumstances has occurred.

But if the court finds a substantial and material change in circumstances, the analysis is only half complete. The court must then pivot to the “I” in our acronym and determine whether the proposed modification serves the child’s best interests.

And that brings us right back to Johnny Cash.

Because Florida courts are constantly trying to walk the line between the interests of the parents and the ultimate welfare of the child.

The Best Interests of the Child: Remember CASH

Even if a court finds a substantial and material change in circumstances, modification is not automatic. The threshold is merely the gateway; the court must still determine whether the proposed change serves the child’s best interests.

When analyzing the best interests of the child on exam day, remember CASH:

• C – Child’s Preference: The court may consider the child’s wishes if the child possesses sufficient age, intelligence, understanding, and experience.
• A – Ability to Parent: Each parent’s capacity to meet the child’s emotional, developmental, and educational needs, as well as their willingness to encourage a relationship with the other parent.
• S – Safety, Stability, and Security: The continuity of the child’s home, school, and community environment.
• H – Health: The health, safety, and welfare of the child, as well as the mental and physical health of the parents.

At its core, the court is asking a single guiding question:

What arrangement best serves the child’s overall welfare?

Use CASH to organize your analysis should you see this area on the essay portion of the bar exam. Evaluate each parent’s ability to provide a stable and secure environment. Consider the health needs of the family. Analyze whether the child’s preference should be given weight. Then tie everything back to the child’s overall welfare. 

If you ever forget the word welfare, think back to the song playing through Ali’s speakers. Johnny Cash is singing “I Walk the Line.” Both walk and welfare begin with the letter W.

Bar Exam Tip: Do not overvalue a child’s preference. A child’s wishes are never controlling. The older and more mature the child, the more weight a court may choose to give that preference, but it remains only one factor in the overall best-interest analysis.

For Ali, several CASH factors immediately collide. His ex-wife will almost certainly focus on H (Health) and A (Ability), arguing that stage-three cancer and a demanding treatment schedule may affect his ability to care for their daughter. Ali’s response will likely emphasize S (Stability) and C (Child’s Preference), arguing that he remains a loving and capable parent and that maintaining their close relationship promotes his daughter’s welfare.

The court will weigh the medical evidence, the family dynamics, and the child’s needs to determine what arrangement best serves her welfare.

But Ali’s situation raises another massive question.

He’s not just changing circumstances.

He’s crossing state lines.

Relocation: Let the MUSIC PLAY

The MUSIC is still playing.

But now we need to determine whether Ali’s move triggers Florida’s strict relocation statute.

To remember how the relocation rules operate on exam day, let the MUSIC PLAY:

• P – Petition or Agreement: Relocation generally occurs through either a written agreement between the parties or a formal petition filed with the court.
• L – Locate the Distance: Determine whether the move satisfies Florida’s 50-mile and 60-day relocation requirements.
• A – Answer Within 20 Days: If a petition is filed, the non-relocating parent generally has 20 days to object.

Before you analyze anything else, always start with the L: Locate the distance.

Look back at Ali’s beautiful 1956 T-Bird. For bar exam purposes, ignore the “19.” Instead, focus entirely on the 5 and the 6.

Now place a zero behind each one:

• 5  — 50
• 6 — 60

The zeros are easy to remember because nobody really wins in a divorce. Here’s how it works: 

• 50 miles or more (from the last residence established in the time-sharing order)
• 60 consecutive days or more (excluding temporary absences for vacation, education, or healthcare)

Now return to Ali’s facts.

His new home in Georgia is exactly 49 miles away.

Forty-nine.

Not fifty.

That means the mere fact that Ali crossed a state line is not enough, by itself, to trigger Florida’s relocation statute.

Bar Exam Tip: 

Do not confuse relocation with modification. A parent can seek to modify a parenting plan without triggering the relocation statute. Likewise, a parent may move across state lines without creating a legal relocation. Always start by locating the distance.

Because Ali is moving only 49 miles, he sidesteps this specific statutory hurdle.

If the move qualified as a relocation, however, the parties would need to focus on the P and A in our acronym.

The parties could proceed by agreement, submitting a written relocation agreement for court ratification. If no agreement could be reached, Ali would generally need to file a verified petition detailing the proposed move, the reason for relocation, and a revised time-sharing schedule.

Once served, the non-relocating parent would generally have 20 days to file an objection.

If objections are filed, the court must determine whether the proposed relocation serves the child’s best interests.

Walking the Line: UCCJEA Jurisdiction

Ali may have avoided Florida’s relocation statute, but he still crossed a state line.

And whenever custody disputes cross state borders, the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) determines which court has the authority to decide the dispute.

Fortunately, examiners tend to focus on just two heavy-hitting concepts.

Exclusive, Continuing Jurisdiction

Start here.

Once a court with proper jurisdiction enters an initial parenting plan, that state generally retains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over future custody modifications.

The Rule: The state that issued the original custody order generally remains the state with authority to modify it moving forward. A parent does not automatically get to switch courts simply by moving across state lines.

The Exception: The issuing state may lose that authority if the child, the parents, and any person acting as a parent have all left the state, or if the court determines that the child no longer has a significant connection to the state and substantial evidence concerning the child is no longer available there.

Memory Tip: 

The answer is hidden in the abbreviation (U-C-C-J-E-A) . J = Jurisdiction and EC = Exclusive, Continuing. Before jumping to Home State, always ask whether a court already has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction.

Home State

If no prior custody order exists—or if exclusive, continuing jurisdiction has ended—the next concept to locate is the child’s home state.

Notice how the number 6 keeps appearing throughout Ali’s story. The same 6 from his 1956 T-Bird now reminds us of the home state rule.

The Six-Month Rule: A child’s home state is generally the state where the child has lived with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before the custody proceeding begins.

The Infant Rule: If the child is less than six months old, the home state is simply the state where the child has lived since birth.

Bar Exam Tip: When you see an interstate custody problem, your eyes should immediately look for two phrases: exclusive, continuing jurisdiction and home state. Those concepts generate a significant number of points on Florida Family Law essays.

Breaking Down Ali’s Case

For Ali, the key question is not whether he crossed into Georgia.

The key question is whether Florida still holds the jurisdictional anchor over this custody dispute.

Because Florida entered the original parenting plan three years ago, and because Ali’s ex-wife and daughter still reside in Florida, Florida generally retains exclusive, continuing jurisdiction.

If Ali’s ex-wife wants to pursue modification, the dispute does not automatically move to Georgia simply because Ali does.

She will likely find herself walking the line right back into a Florida courtroom.

Your Exam Day Framework

When you see a Florida Family Law essay involving a parent moving away, don’t panic.

Turn on the dashboard radio dial, picture Ali’s 1956 T-Bird, and let the story guide your analysis.

MUSIC

Start with modification.

Has there been a material and substantial change in circumstances sufficient to justify revisiting the existing parenting plan? 

CASH

If modification is on the table, analyze the child’s best interests. Johnny Cash’s song is playing.

Focus on the child’s preference, each parent’s ability to meet the child’s needs, safety and stability, and the health of the child and parents.

Remember: the destination is always the child’s welfare.

1956 T-Bird

Ignore the “19.”

Focus on the 5 and the 6.

• 50 miles.

• 60 days.

Before writing about relocation, always locate the distance.

PLAY

If the relocation statute applies, think Petition or Agreement, Locate the Distance, and Answer Within 20 Days.

UCCJEA

When state lines appear, do not immediately jump to Home State.

Start with exclusive, continuing jurisdiction.

If you forget where to begin, the answer is hidden in the acronym itself:

• J – Jurisdiction
• EC – Exclusive Continuing

Only then should you begin thinking about home state and the six-month rule.

On a Florida Family Law essay, crossing a state line does not automatically change the parenting plan, trigger relocation, or move the dispute to another court.

Sometimes the keys to a passing score are sitting right there on the dashboard of a 1956 T-Bird.

The Long Road Ahead

The music finally fades as the T-Bird idles in the driveway of Ali’s new Georgia home.

The road behind him was exactly 49 miles.
Not long enough to trigger Florida’s relocation statute.
Not far enough to break Florida’s jurisdictional anchor.

But combined with a devastating diagnosis, those 49 miles may still change everything for a father trying to navigate the most difficult transition of his life.

And that’s what makes family law so challenging.

The answer was never hidden in the state line.

It was hidden in the questions the state line forced us to ask.

• Was there a substantial and material change in circumstances?
• What arrangement best serves the child’s welfare?
• Did the move trigger Florida’s relocation statute?
• Which court has the authority to decide the dispute?

For Ali, those questions determine the future.

For you, they may determine a passing essay score.