Fla. Stat. § 61.703 — Florida Code / Title VI / Chapter 61 / Part IV / Section 61.703
61.703 Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this part:

(1) “Adult” means an individual who has attained 18 years of age or who has had the disability of nonage removed under chapter 743.

(2) “Caretaking authority” means the right to live with and care for a child on a day-to-day basis. The term includes physical custody, parenting time, right to access, time-sharing, and visitation.

(3) “Child” means: (a) An individual who has not attained 18 years of age and who has not had the disability of nonage removed under chapter 743; or (b) An adult son or daughter by birth or adoption, or designated by general law, who is the subject of a court order concerning custodial responsibility.

(4) “Close and substantial relationship” means a positive relationship of substantial duration and depth in which a significant emotional bond exists between a child and a nonparent.

(5) “Court” means the court of legal jurisdiction.

(6) “Custodial responsibility” includes all powers and duties relating to caretaking authority and decisionmaking authority for a child. The term includes physical custody, legal custody, parental responsibility, parenting time, right to access, time-sharing, visitation, and authority to grant limited contact with a child.

(7) “Decisionmaking authority” means the power to make important decisions regarding a child, including decisions regarding the child’s education, religious training, health care, extracurricular activities, and travel. The term does not include the power to make decisions that necessarily accompany a grant of caretaking authority.

(8) “Deploying parent” means a servicemember who is deployed or has been notified of impending deployment and is: (a) A parent of a child; or (b) An individual who has custodial responsibility for a child.

(9) “Deployment” means the movement or mobilization of a servicemember for less than 18 months pursuant to uniformed service orders that: (a) Are designated as unaccompanied; (b) Do not authorize dependent travel; or (c) Otherwise do not permit the movement of family members to the location to which the servicemember is deployed.

(10) “Family member” means a sibling, aunt, uncle, cousin, stepparent, or grandparent of a child or an individual recognized by the deploying parent and the other parent to be in a familial relationship with a child.

(11) “Limited contact” means the authority of a nonparent to visit a child for a limited time. The term includes authority to take the child to a place other than the child’s residence.

(12) “Nonparent” means an individual other than a deploying parent or other parent.

(13) “Notice of deployment” means official notification to a servicemember, through orders or other written or electronic communication, that the servicemember is subject to deployment on or about a specified date.

(14) “Other parent” means an individual who, in addition to a deploying parent, is: (a) A parent of a child; or (b) An individual who has custodial responsibility for a child.

(15) “Record” means information that is created in a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

(16) “Return from deployment” means the conclusion of a servicemember’s deployment as specified in uniformed service orders.

(17) “Servicemember” means a member of a uniformed service.

(18) “Sign” means, with the intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to: (a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or (b) Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

(19) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(20) “Uniformed service” means any of the following: (a) Active and reserve components of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, or Coast Guard of the United States. (b) The United States Merchant Marine. (c) The commissioned corps of the United States Public Health Service. (d) The commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (e) The National Guard of a state or territory of the United States, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia.

History: s. 1, ch. 2018-69; s. 1, ch. 2022-183.