That will likely be difficult. In Florida, “sole custody” is a term that is no longer used. Florida will not normally allow a parent to be completely cut out of his or her child’s life except in very unusual situations.
However, you may be able to successfully petition the court to allow you to make all parenting decisions, as well as to require that your spouse receive limited or supervised visitation with your child only.
Florida courts recognize that children benefit from having a relationship with both parents. Therefore, it can be difficult to limit access to your child through the courts.
In order to limit access to your child, you will have to prove that your spouse is dangerous, on drugs, unstable, or worse. In that situation, the court can take steps to limit the rights that the other parent has.
Instead of seeking sole custody, there are some other actions you could take to protect your children from their father.
You could ask the court to allow you to make all major decisions concerning the children. You could ask for supervised visitation only or no overnight visits.
You will need to make a compelling case about why the children would be better off with supervised visitation or no overnight visits.
You may also try simply negotiation with your spouse to reach an agreement you can live with.
If you are seeking to limit a parent’s legal rights or access to their child in Florida, you need an attorney who can fight for your legal rights.