CHRISTOPHER M. FAZZARO, APPELLANT,
v.
KRISTIN E. FAZZARO, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by granting the mother final decision-making authority over all matters concerning the minor child, as this undermined the statutory preference for shared parental responsibility without sufficient justification.
[1] A trial court abuses its discretion by granting one parent ultimate decision-making authority over all matters concerning a minor child without sufficient findings or jus…
[2] Shared parental responsibility is the statutory preference for child custody matters unless it is contrary to the child's best interests.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceIn a marriage dissolution, the trial court ordered shared parental responsibility but granted the mother final decision-making authority on all matter…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Parenting Plan cases and more on FLexlaw
Christopher Fazzaro appeals the final judgment dissolving his marriage to Kristin Fazzaro. We agree that the trial court abused its discretion by giving Ms. Fazza-ro final decision-making authority over matters involving the parties’ minor child, and we reverse on this issue.
The parties were married in 1999, and they have one minor child. In the final judgment, the trial court found that it was in the child’s best interests for the parties to exercise shared parental responsibility, and the court ordered them to do so. But the final judgment further provided that Ms. Fazzaro “shall have final decision-making authority should the parties be unable to reach an agreement on matters pertaining to the minor child.” Time-sharing was ordered in accordance with an attached parenting plan, which also provided for shared parental responsibility. But like the final judgment, it granted sole authority to Ms. Fazzaro if the parents are unable to agree, although it limited her ultimate authority to the areas of “Education/Academic decisions” and “Non-emergency health care.”
Under the parenting and time-sharing statute, shared parental responsibility is preferred unless it would be contrary to the child’s best interests. § 61.13(2)(c)(2), Fla. Stat. (2009). Pertinent to this case, the statute provides as follows:
*51In ordering shared parental responsibility, the court may consider the expressed desires of the parents and may grant to one party the ultimate responsibility over specific aspects of the child’s welfare or may divide those responsibilities between the parties based on the best interests of the child. Areas of responsibility may include education, health care, and any other responsibilities that the court finds unique to a particular family.
§ 61.13(2)(c)(2)(a). The statute then sets forth a nonexclusive list of factors for the court to consider in establishing parental responsibility, § 61.13(8)(a)-(t), but the. court is not required to make specific findings other than on the ultimate fact of the child’s best interests, Bader v. Bader, 639 So.2d 122, 124-25 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (en banc). On appeal, we apply an abuse of discretion standard to determine “whether there is logic and justification for the result.” A.L.G. v. J.F.D., 85 So.3d 527, 529 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012) (quoting Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So.2d 1197, 1203 (Fla.1980) (internal quotation mark omitted)).
The court here made no oral or written findings on the factors governing parental responsibility. And our review of the record reveals no logic or justification for the final judgment’s provision granting one party ultimate responsibility over all decisions affecting the child should the parties be unable to agree. As was noted by a sister court, “the effect of this order gives one parent complete control over all the decision-making, which undermines the intent of the child custody statute regarding shared parental responsibility.” Kuharcik v. Kuharcik, 629 So.2d 224, 225 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993) (reversing provision awarding mother ultimate authority over all decisions and remanding for court to delineate authority over specific aspects only). We likewise find no logic or justification for the provisions in the parenting plan that granted Ms. Fazzaro ultimate authority over the child’s education and nonemergency health care. See A.L.G., 85 So.3d at 529 (finding an abuse of discretion “when the judicial action is arbitrary, fanciful, or unreasonable” (quoting Canakaris, 382 So.2d at 1203) (internal quotation marks omitted)).
The evidence at trial primarily focused on Ms. Fazzaro’s request to relocate to Texas with the minor child. There was extensive evidence about Mr. Fazzaro’s many changes in employment, the family’s frequent moves, and the parties’ financial issues. Pertinent to the child’s education, the evidence showed that both parents read to the child and helped with her homework. Because Ms. Fazzaro did not work outside the home, she was able to volunteer at the child’s school. But according to the child’s former teacher, both parents were involved with the school. While this teacher also said that the child had no difficulty learning, Mr. Fazzaro was concerned about the child’s reading level; he was interested in learning aids that would help the child improve. The scant evidence did not support assigning Ms. Fazzaro ultimate responsibility for decisions affecting the child’s education. Nor was there any evidence on the issue of nonemergency health care. In fact, the only possibly relevant evidence pertained to an emergency situation in which the child broke her arm when Mr. Fazzaro was out of town.
We reject Ms. Fazzaro’s assertion that the award of ultimate responsibility was supported by the level of hostility between the parties. Cf. Schneider v. Schneider, 864 So.2d 1193, 1195 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (finding no abuse of discretion in award to mother of ultimate responsibility for the child’s health, education, and travel in light of evidence showing hostility between the parties and specific evidence that father had screamed at a teacher and failed to *52work constructively with the child’s psychologist). Here, there was evidence that Mr. Fazzaro had insulted Ms. Fazzaro, and we do not condone his remarks. But nothing showed a continuing pattern of hostility that reasonably would lead one to conclude that the parties will be unable to effectively work together for their child’s best interests.
We reverse the provision in the final judgment granting Ms. Fazzaro ultimate responsibility for all decisions affecting the child, and we reverse the provisions in the parenting plan assigning to Ms. Fazzaro ultimate responsibility for the child’s education and nonemergency health care. We see no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s relocation decision, and we affirm on this issue without discussion. At oral argument, the parties advised that they had resolved the final issue concerning temporary alimony, which makes that issue moot.
Affirmed in part; reversed in part.
KELLY and VILLANTI, JJ„ Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Pena v. Rodriguez, 273 So. 3d 237 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)…ting evidence. However, she commendably and properly confesses error as to “the final judgment’s provision granting [her] ultimate responsibility over all decisions affecting the child should the parties be unable to agree.” Fazzaro v. Fazzaro, 110 So. 3d 49, 51 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). STANDARD OF REVIEW A “trial court has broad discretion in child custody matters, and its decision in that regard is [typically] reviewed for an abuse of discretion.” Miller v. Miller, 2 The father was not administered an o…
-
Hailey A. Neville v. McKibben, 227 So. 3d 1270 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…. (2015). However, “a blanket, nonspe [*1273] cific award of ‘ultimate responsibility’ is contrary to the statutory concept of shared parental responsibility.” Wheeler v. Wheeler, 501 So. 2d 729, 729 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); see also Fazzaro v. Fazzaro, 110 So. 3d 49, 51 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). In support of its blanket award of ultimate decision-making authority to McKibben, the trial court characterized a number of Neville’s parenting choices as dangerous and contrary to normal medical care. Specifically, the tri…
-
Cranney v. Cranney, 206 So. 3d 162 (Fla. 2d DCA 2016)…in light of the trial court’s findings that “both parents are fully capable” of parenting the children and that it was only the parties’ personal problems with each other that caused a breakdown in co-parenting the children. See Fazzaro v. Fazzaro, 110 So. 3d 49, 51-52 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013) (rejecting argument that award of ultimate responsibility to the mother was supported by level of hostility [*165] between the parents where there was no evidence of “a continuing pattern of hostility that reasonably would…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d 1197 (Fla. 1980)
- Anibal Sella v. Unemployment Appeals Comm'n & Women's Work of Cent. Fla., 639 So. 2d 122 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)
- Schneider v. Ivy Schneider, 864 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)
- Kuharcik v. Kuharcik, 629 So. 2d 224 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- A.L.G. v. J.F.D., 85 So. 3d 527 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)