Court Ruling Expands Emergency Custody Protection for Emotional Abuse of Children
In Capps (December 2025), the Fourth DCA issued a significant opinion on the type of emergency situations in which judges are permitted to enter temporary ex parte emergency orders, including emergency orders that suspend a parent’s time-sharing.
Florida law permits trial courts to temporarily modify (and suspend) child custody and time-sharing without prior notice in “emergencies.” Caselaw defines “emergencies” as threats of physical harm or imminent removal from the state. In Capps (December 2025), the Fourth DCA recognized that “substantial emotional abuse or trauma” may also qualify as an emergency.
The case arose from a contentious marriage dissolution proceeding. Initially, both parents were granted shared parental responsibility and timesharing. However, the situation escalated when the mother filed an emergency motion alleging harm by the father, including allegations of child drug exposure and child sexual abuse.
Shortly thereafter, the father filed a sworn emergency motion claiming the mother fabricated allegations and subjected the children to repeated, unnecessary invasive examinations, including drug testing and pelvic examinations, and that she made repetitive abuse reports that resulted in police and DCF involvement. The GAL corroborated the children were exposed to unnecessary medical and forensic evaluations and investigations. The trial court found that the mother’s actions were causing severe emotional trauma to the children. The trial court entered a temporary emergency order that restricted the mother’s contact with the children to supervised time-sharing.
The Fourth DCA affirmed the trial court’s emergency order pending a full evidentiary hearing. The Fourth DCA emphasized that its decision does not predetermine the outcome of the pending evidentiary hearing but validates the trial court’s authority to act promptly in emergencies, which may include situations in which children are exposed to emotional or psychological harm.
The case is notable because it explicitly recognizes mental and psychological harm as a basis for the domestic relations court to enter temporary, emergency orders on the topic of child time-sharing.
Michael DeVoe is a divorce attorney in Orlando, Florida practicing contested divorce, uncontested divorce, timesharing, visitation, custody, paternity, child support, injunctions, and other family law cases.
