Every year it happens the same way. Two parents get through the fall without a problem, and then
somewhere around the second week of November, one of them reads the parenting plan closely for the first
time since the judge signed it — and realizes it does not actually say who has the children on Thanksgiving.
By then, the flights are expensive, the other parent has already told the kids, and the courthouse is heading
into its slowest weeks of the year. What could have been a ten-minute conversation in September becomes
an emergency motion in December.
So let us do this now, while there is still time to fix it calmly.

Your parenting plan is supposed to cover holidays already

Florida does not leave the holiday question to chance. A parenting plan approved by a court must include a
time-sharing schedule, and Florida law defines that schedule as a timetable that specifies the time —
including overnights and holidays — that a minor child will spend with each parent.

In other words, if your plan is silent on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Three Kings Day, that is not a gray area
you have to live with. That is a gap that should be closed. See Fla. Stat. § 61.046(23) (2026), read together
with Fla. Stat. § 61.13(2)(b)2. (2026).
Pull out your plan this week and look for five things:
• Named holidays, and whether they rotate by odd and even years
• Exact exchange times — & Thanksgiving
.
• Winter break: is it split at a fixed date, or by halves?
• Whether a holiday overrides the regular weekly schedule or layers on top of it
• Travel terms — notice before out-of-state trips, who holds the passport, who pays for flights
If the answer to any of those is & it does not say, ; you have found your September project.

The rule that changed, and that a lot of parents still have not heard about

For years, Florida judges applied a three-part test to any request to change a parenting plan: the parent
asking had to show a change in circumstances that was substantial, material, and unanticipated. That last
word did real damage. If a court decided you should have seen the change coming — a new job, a new
school, a child simply getting older — your petition could fail before anyone reached the question of what
was actually good for the child.
In 2023, the Legislature removed it. Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(3) (2026), a parenting plan or time-sharing
schedule & may not be modified without a showing of a substantial and material change in circumstances and
a determination that the modification is in the best interests of the child." The word unanticipated is gone.
See ch. 2023-301, Laws of Fla., effective July 1, 2023.
Going forward, that is a meaningful opening. It is not a free pass — the change still has to be substantial and
material, and it still has to be better for the child — but the third hurdle no longer exists. Whether the new
standard reaches plans entered before July 2023 is a separate question worth asking an attorney about,
rather than assuming either way.

And for parents whose case is starting now

Unless the statute provides otherwise or the parents agree, Florida carries a rebuttable presumption that
equal time-sharing is in the best interests of a minor child. To overcome it, a parent must prove by a
preponderance of the evidence that equal time-sharing is not in the child’s best interests. Fla. Stat. §
61.13(2)(c)1. (2026).
If you are negotiating a first parenting plan this fall, that presumption is the backdrop for every conversation
you are about to have — including the holiday conversation.

What a court can do when the other parent simply will not follow the
schedule

This is the question we get most in December, and the answer surprises people: Florida law is not vague
about it, and one of the remedies is not optional.

Under Fla. Stat. § 61.13(4)(c) (2026), when a parent refuses to honor the time-sharing schedule without
proper cause, the court shall calculate the time that was improperly denied and award the other parent
enough extra time-sharing to make it up — ordered as expeditiously as possible, in a manner consistent with
the best interests of the child, at the expense of the parent who withheld the time. That remedy is
mandatory.
Beyond that, the court may also:
• Order the offending parent to pay the other parent’s court costs and attorney’s fees
• Order that parent to complete a court-approved parenting course
• Order community service, if it will not interfere with the child’s welfare
• Place the financial burden of promoting frequent and continuing contact on that parent, where that
parent and the child live more than 60 miles from the other parent
• Modify the parenting plan, on request of the parent who did not violate it, if modification is in the child’s
best interests
• Impose any other reasonable sanction
And separately from that list, a parent who violates the schedule "may be punished by contempt of court or
other remedies as the court deems appropriate." Fla. Stat. § 61.13(4)(d) (2026). In practice, contempt is the
tool parents hear about most — but note that it lives in a different subsection than the make-up-time
remedy, and it is discretionary.
One warning that saves people a great deal of trouble: if the other parent withholds the children, you still
owe your child support. Do not stop paying to even the score. You will simply end up defending two problems
instead of one.

Moving before the holidays? Read this first.

If a parent plans to move at least 50 miles away for at least 60 consecutive days, Florida treats it as a relocation —
and it requires either a written agreement or a petition served on the other parent. Fla. Stat. § 61.13001 (2026).
The other parent then has 20 days after service to file a written objection. If no objection is filed on time, the law
presumes the relocation is in the child’s best interest and should be allowed.
Twenty days goes quickly in November and December. If you have been served, do not wait.

A practical September checklist

• Read the plan start to finish. Not the parts you remember — all of it.
• Write out the actual dates and times for this year’s holidays on a calendar. Odd-year and even-year
language causes more fights than any other clause.
• Send the other parent a short, neutral message confirming your reading. In writing. No commentary.
• If you agree on a change, put it in writing and have it entered by the court. A text message you both liked
is not an enforceable order.
• If you do not agree, call a family law attorney in September or October — not the week of the holiday.
• Book travel only after the schedule is settled.

The part that matters more than the law

Children do not remember which parent won the Thanksgiving motion. They remember whether the holiday
felt safe. A schedule that is clear, written down, and followed by both parents is worth more to a child than
an extra day argued for in court.
If your plan needs work, this is the month to do it. We are happy to look at it with you.
Grace Law, P.A. represents families across Central Florida in English and Spanish. Call 407.777.4994 or
schedule a consultation at gracelawpa.com.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an
attorney-client relationship. Every family’s situation is different — please speak with an attorney about yours.