Not so long ago in Florida, separating parents (and, if necessary, the courts) addressed “child custody”.

The term “child custody” has since been banished from the Florida legal vocabulary and courts.

In the words of one Canadian commentator, Florida has joined the ranks of “label-free” settlements of parental responsibility and timesharing regarding children.

That contrarian voice questions whether this is a change for the better.

She looks to Australia, which she reports adopted a presumption of joint custody in 2006.

After which, she reports, conflict and litigation there escalated, rather than decreased.

“Label-free” parenting arrangements can also leave significant third parties in the dark, such as schools, health care providers, etc., and necessitate cumbersome duplicative communications with and permissions from both parents when the third party is in doubt.

“Label-free” kid-sharing can also tie hands of police and other law enforcement authorities who are unclear as to which parent has rights and is in the right.

Label-free parents, according to this commentator, can even stump judges charged with applying family law in the no-label vacuum.

Read more in this Canadian Lawyers Weekly article: Why custody labels matter.