4D10-3737-Justin M. Knowles v. Lilliani Knowles

State: Florida

Court: Florida Southern District Court

Docket No: 4D10-3737.op

Case Date: 02/08/2012

Plaintiff: 4D10-3737-Justin M. Knowles

Defendant: Lilliani Knowles

Preview:DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FOURTH DISTRICT
January Term 2012

JUSTIN M. KNOWLES, Appellant, v. LILLIANI KNOWLES, Appellee. No. 4D10-3737 [February 8, 2012] CIKLIN, J. Justin Knowles (the "former husband") appeals the trial court's final order denying his post-dissolution petition to modify the custody and visitation arrangements for his and his former wife's two minor children. Because the trial court's order was based on a n erroneous legal conclusion regarding the effect that a post-dissolution agreed order had on the current parenting plan and time-sharing schedule, we reverse and remand for a new evidentiary hearing. The former husband and the former wife have been married and divorced twice. The first action was filed in 2004 and resulted in a final judgment of dissolution of marriage entered in March 2005 (the "2004 case"). The second action was filed in 2006 and resulted in a final judgment of dissolution of marriage entered in November 2006 (the "2006 case"). In the 2006 final judgment, the Honorable Jack H. Cook found that it was in the best interests of the parties' two minor children that neither party be designated the primary residential custodian of the children.1 The parties were to have shared parental responsibility and
We recognize that in 2008, "the Florida Legislature amended various sections of Chapter 61, including section 61.13, to remove the references therein to `custody,' `primary residence,' `primary residential parent,' and `visitation' in favor of a `parenting plan' that includes `time sharing.'" Hahn v. Hahn, 42 So. 3d 945, 947 n.2 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (citation and quotation marks omitted). Nevertheless, as the 2008 amendments were prospective only, we continue to use the pre-2008 terminology when referring to custody orders that pre-date the amendments. See id. at 947

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