USA – FLORIDA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Elisha D. Roy and Carolyn Ware, Sasser, Cestero & Roy
Surrogacy and Assisted Reproduction Surrogacy and assisted reproduction continue to expand in Florida practice, driven by broader fam ‑ ily formation pathways and technological advances. Practitioners are refining contract architectures to address parentage determinations, medical deci ‑ sion-making, reimbursement limits, escrow adminis ‑ tration, and contingency planning for fetal reduction, selective reduction, and extraordinary medical risks. Courts remain attentive to pre- and post-birth parent ‑ age orders, consent formalities, and the alignment of surrogacy agreements with public policy. The 2026 legislative session in Florida is currently underway with the filing of bills, and there are sug ‑ gestions in some of these filings that seek to under ‑ mine the ability of non-biological parents to participate in surrogacy, which clearly could have an impact on same-sex marriages and even the use of a non-rel ‑ ative to carry a child. While there are organisations, including the Florida Bar Family Law Section and the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Matri ‑ monial Lawyers, looking to prevent such legislation from passing, there remains genuine concern, given the current political climate, that these efforts may not succeed. Florida practitioners must therefore pay very close attention to developments emerging from the 2026 legislative session. Timesharing and Best Interests Florida’s ongoing trajectory toward maximising mean ‑ ingful contact with both parents continues to influence timesharing litigation and negotiated parenting plans. Courts are emphasising child-centric analyses that integrate school schedules, transportation burdens, special needs accommodations, and demonstrated co-parenting capacity. Parallel to this, practition ‑ ers are increasingly using structured parenting plan addenda for virtual communication, extracurricular co-ordination, and holiday rotations that account for long-distance or international travel. The implementation of the equal timesharing pre ‑ sumption appears to be having an inverse effect. Presented as a bill necessary to prevent unnecessary child-related litigation, the presumption appears to have taken Florida back to its pre-2008 mindset. In 2008, the Florida legislature was at the forefront of
Some years in Florida are marked by numerous statu ‑ tory changes, and this has been particularly apparent over the last few years. With sweeping changes to both timesharing and alimony, the landscape of fam ‑ ily law has undergone a substantial transformation, giving rise to a range of emerging trends. Florida, in the past few years, has abolished permanent ali ‑ mony, created alimony guidelines for both length and amount, and instituted a rebuttable equal timeshar‑ ing presumption. Legal trends stemming from those changes are in flux, as we wait for our appellate courts to make decisions about interpretations of these vari ‑ ous statutory changes. However, the current politi ‑ cal climate, both in the state and across the coun ‑ try, has brought trends to the fore through numerous intersecting forces: evolving immigration dynamics, modernised assisted reproduction frameworks, and continued refinement of timesharing standards under Florida Statutes Chapter 61. Concurrently, newly filed legislative proposals targeting Chapter 61 proceed ‑ ings signal procedural and substantive adjustments that practitioners must track closely. Immigration Intersections With Family Law Florida’s diverse population and ongoing uncertain ‑ ty regarding federal immigration policy continue to surface in dissolution, paternity, and domestic vio ‑ lence matters. Core practice realities include: verify ‑ ing lawful marriage validity from foreign jurisdictions; addressing service and jurisdiction when one party resides abroad; navigating UIFSA and UCCJEA issues with cross-border elements; and managing discov ‑ ery and testimony complications for noncitizen par ‑ ties and witnesses. Practitioners are also seeing increased use of protective orders for parties fear ‑ ing exposure of immigration status and requests for tailored case management to facilitate safe partici ‑ pation in proceedings. In parenting disputes, courts remain focused on best interests while weighing real ‑ istic relocation risks, passport controls, and abduc ‑ tion prevention measures such as bond requirements or travel restrictions consistent with least-restrictive alternatives. Practitioners must also consider issues of duress and coercion when immigration concerns are at issue. Can parties contract to end their mar ‑ riage and agree to timesharing arrangements for their children when their status, which may hinge upon that marriage, is at stake?
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