Fla. Law Changes Terms to Make Divorce Less Toxic

Divorcing parents won't be making deals on "custody" and "visitation" in Florida in the future; a new law scrubs the terms from its legal code in a bid to reduce acrimony and give kids a better shot at continuing relationships with both parents. Starting next month, custody will be renamed “shared-parental responsibility,” and visitation becomes “time-sharing.”

The new law is aimed at combating the tendency to treat a child as "a piece of property,” says one divorce attorney. A family law attorney says the change is overdue: “Custody and visitation are destructive words and destructive concepts. Unless there's a reason for a restriction, it takes two to raise a child.” (More divorce stories.)