Child Custody & Visitation – in Florida A Court is not bound by an agreement between the parties nor by opinions of experts concerning time-sharing. “It is undisputed, and should be indisputable, that a trial court’s responsibility to the child cannot be abdicated to any parent, any expert. That heavy responsibility mandates that a court is not bound by any agreement between parents, nor by the opinions of any experts or group of experts.” Lane v. Lane, 599 So. 2d 218, 219 (Fla. 4th DCA 992); see Feliciano v. Feliciano, 674 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (confirming that a trial court is not bound by an agreement regarding child support, custody, and visitation where it determines that it is not in the best interests of the children). As noted by the reviewing court in Jones v. Jones, 674 So. 2d 770, 774 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), the “best interests of the children are to govern the custody decision, regardless of any stipulation between the parties.” Sparks v. Sparks.
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