How A Florida Custody Evaluation Works In 2026

If a Florida judge ordered a custody evaluation in your case, start with this: it won’t decide who gets the kids. It gives the judge evidence to make that call.

A Florida custody evaluation is a court-ordered assessment by a licensed psychologist that informs how a judge sets time-sharing and parental responsibility under Florida Statute 61.13. The evaluator interviews both parents and the children, runs psychological testing, contacts collateral sources like teachers and pediatricians, then files a written report the court weighs but isn’t bound to follow.

We’ve written these reports for Florida’s 15th Judicial Circuit since 2008. What follows is the process from our side of the table, including the parts most parents get wrong and the one 2023 law change that reset what the whole evaluation is for.

What is a Custody Evaluation in Florida?

In Florida, there’s technically no such thing as a “custody” evaluation. The court orders a time-sharing or parenting plan evaluation, and that wording tells you what the psychologist is actually measuring.

Florida dropped the word “custody” from its statutes years ago. Parents now share parental responsibility and follow a time-sharing schedule, both written into a parenting plan. When parents can’t agree on that plan, a judge can order a psychological evaluation of the child under Family Law Rule 12.363, or a broader social investigation under Florida Statute 61.20. Either route points the evaluator at the same target: the best interest factors in section 61.13.

This is not a therapy visit. A custody evaluation answers a legal question, not a treatment question, which separates it from the clinical psychological evaluations people sometimes confuse it with. The evaluator isn’t your psychologist. Everything you say can end up in a report to the court.

Who Orders the Evaluation, and Who Pays

A judge orders an evaluation when parents can’t agree on a parenting plan, either on a parent’s motion or on the court’s own motion. It can be court-appointed, where one neutral evaluator serves the whole case, or party-retained, where each side brings its own expert.

Payment follows the appointment. Court-appointed evaluators are often paid by the parents, split or divided as the judge directs. A retained expert is paid by the side that hires them. We work as retained forensic evaluators, and we quote the retainer before any work starts, which we’ll get to below.

What actually Happens During the Evaluation

Expect several sessions over several weeks, not one appointment. A real evaluation gathers data from more than one source so no single interview can skew it.

A standard evaluation includes two or three interviews with each parent, interviews with the children when they’re old enough, and direct observation of each parent with the child, usually in the office and sometimes at home. On top of that, the evaluator reviews records (court filings, report cards, medical records, messages) and contacts collateral sources: teachers, therapists, pediatricians, and daycare providers who see the child in daily life. Peer-reviewed research on the process describes evaluators in complex cases pulling from as many as 75 separate sources.

Treat the observation sessions the way you’d treat a job interview you actually prepared for. Arrive on time. When you’re with your child in front of the evaluator, pay attention to the child, not to the evaluator. We notice which parent knows the pediatrician’s name and which one checks their phone. If the child needs testing of their own, that gets scheduled separately.

What Tests are Used, and What do they Measure?

The tests aren’t lie detectors. They’re built to flag the parent who’s working too hard to look perfect.

The two personality measures you’ll most likely see are the MMPI-3 and the PAI. Where the case raises a question of exaggeration or faking, an evaluator may add the M-FAST or the SIRS-2. Each of these carries validity scales, built-in checks that detect defensiveness and over-reporting. A parent who answers every item to look flawless produces a defensive profile, and that profile is itself a finding.

Here’s the part even some attorneys miss. The older MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF still carry comparison norms drawn from actual child-custody litigants. The newer MMPI-3, released in 2020, doesn’t have those custody-specific norms yet; its specialized norms are for police-candidate screening. That gap is exactly why the choice of instrument gets argued on cross-examination. We use the MMPI-3 and document the reason in the methodology, because the APA’s guidelines for child custody evaluations expect that rationale on the record.

How Florida’s 2023 Equal Time-sharing Presumption changed the Stakes

Since 2023, Florida starts from the position that equal time-sharing is best for the child, and the evaluation exists to test whether that starting point holds. This is the single biggest shift most older custody articles never mention.

Florida law now includes a rebuttable presumption that equal, 50/50 time-sharing serves the child’s best interest. A parent who wants something other than equal time carries the burden of showing why. That reframes the whole evaluation. The report doesn’t hand the judge a schedule. It gives the judge the evidence to decide whether the section 61.13 factors rebut the equal-time starting point. If you walk in believing the evaluator picks the winner, you’ve misread the assignment before you sat down.

What Evaluators actually Assess

The statute lists more than a dozen best-interest factors. Most of what we watch for comes down to a handful of them.

The heaviest factor is each parent’s capacity and willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent. A parent who blocks calls, badmouths the other home, or uses the child as a messenger scores badly here, no matter how warm they are one-on-one. After that: the daily parenting role, the child’s school and medical needs, each parent’s mental and physical health, moral fitness, and how each parent handles conflict. When a child resists spending time with a parent, we look closely at why, and at whether one parent helped build that resistance.

Conflict shows up in writing more than anywhere else. The co-parents who look best keep their messages Brief, Informative, Friendly, and Firm, the four-part standard psychologist Bill Eddy calls a BIFF response. The ones who look worst hand us a stack of 2 a.m. texts that become exhibits. Assume every message you send the other parent could be read aloud in court.

How should you Prepare?

The parents who do best don’t perform. They’re specific.

Keep your concerns factual instead of global. “He drinks about six beers a night” tells an evaluator something; “he drinks a lot” doesn’t. Bring your records organized, not in a grocery bag. Make a short list of the people who see your child regularly so the evaluator can reach them, and tell those people to be honest. Answer the question you’re asked, and if you don’t understand it, ask the evaluator to rephrase rather than guessing.

Two things sink otherwise good parents. The first is coaching the children on what to say; we’re trained to spot it, and it reads as a red flag about the coaching parent, not the other one. The second is trying to look flawless on the testing, which, as covered above, produces exactly the defensive profile the validity scales are designed to catch. It’s fine to be nervous. It’s fine to cry. Honesty tests better than a performance every time.

What’s in the Report, and How much Weight it Carries

The report ends with recommendations. The part that actually decides your case is the methodology.

A finished report recommends a time-sharing and parental-responsibility arrangement, proposes a way to resolve future disputes, suggests therapy or parenting classes where they fit, and flags any need for re-evaluation later. The court gives that report real weight, then makes its own decision under the statute. Judges are not required to adopt a single word of it.

Weak reports get excluded before they ever reach the judge’s desk. Under Florida Statute 90.702, opposing counsel can move to strike an opinion whose method doesn’t hold up, and a chart-note style evaluation is an easy target. Every report we issue is built to survive that motion, which is the same standard behind all of our forensic psychological evaluations. If you want a fuller picture of what a forensic psychologist adds to a high-stakes case, we’ve written about that separately.

For Attorneys Retaining in the 15th Circuit

If you’re the retaining attorney, local structure matters as much as the science. The 15th Circuit’s standing orders and its judges’ preferences for how recommendations are organized under 61.13 aren’t the same as Miami-Dade’s or Hillsborough’s, and an out-of-county evaluator can hand you a report that comes back for revision two weeks before trial.

We’ve written for Palm Beach County courts since 2008, with two offices, in Jupiter and Fort Lauderdale, covering Palm Beach and Broward. For matters set downtown, our West Palm Beach forensic team handles the work directly.

A Florida custody evaluation is the most consequential few weeks of a case like yours, and the parents and attorneys who come through it well are the ones who understand what it’s for. If one is ahead of you in Palm Beach or Broward County, our Palm Beach County office can walk you through what to expect. Call (561) 870-0411.

Frequently asked questions

What is a custody evaluation in Florida?

It’s a court-ordered assessment by a licensed psychologist that helps a judge set time-sharing and parental responsibility under Florida Statute 61.13. The evaluator interviews both parents and the children, runs psychological testing, and files a written report with recommendations. Florida calls it a time-sharing or parenting plan evaluation, not a custody evaluation.

How much does a custody evaluation cost?

Private forensic evaluations commonly run several thousand dollars into the low five figures, and forensic psychologists often bill $250 to $400 an hour. FC PsychExperts works on one flat retainer paid before the evaluation begins, quoted on a free intake call, with deposition and trial testimony billed separately.

How long does a custody evaluation take in Florida?

Most run two to four months, depending on the number of parties, collateral sources, and any abuse or relocation issues. FC PsychExperts delivers standard forensic reports within 30 days of the final session, with rush work under 14 days available by arrangement.

What psychological tests are used in a custody evaluation?

The MMPI-3 and the PAI are common, with added measures like the M-FAST or SIRS-2 when malingering is a question. These tests carry validity scales that flag a defensive or over-polished profile, which is why trying to look flawless usually backfires.

Can you fail a custody evaluation?

There’s no pass or fail. The evaluator gathers data and gives the court a recommendation, and the validity scales on the testing show how candidly you answered. What hurts parents is coaching the children or hiding facts the evaluator later confirms with collateral sources.

Does the judge have to follow the evaluator’s recommendation?

No. The court gives the report weight but makes the final decision using the Florida Statute 61.13 factors. Since 2023, the judge starts from a rebuttable presumption of equal time-sharing, and the evaluation is evidence for whether that presumption should hold.