Divorce Child Support

With decades of experience, our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can guide you through the complicated legal process.  We have over 10 attorneys with several practicing in the area of divorce, dissolution and family law.

In today’s legal system, establishing a monthly amount for child support can be complex.  Child support or a modification of support can also be the most contentious part of the divorce or dissolution.  Overnights are critical to the amount of support. 

What Is Child Support?

Much like its name, child support is designed so that the parents of a child support the child consistent with the parents’ combined incomes and the child’s needs.

The Court can order child support be paid directly, by income deduction order from a parent’s employer or through the State of Florida, Department of Revenue. 

• Make Child Support Payments – Department of Revenue
• Receive Child Support Payments – Department of Revenue

Are There Factors In Setting The Amount of Child Support?

Some of the issues our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers advise clients on are the factors concerning child support which the Court must considered.

1. the amount of support;
2. the method of payment;
3. ways to assure payments are made;
4. when child support may be increased or decreased; and
5. who claims the dependency deduction for tax purposes.

The above list is not exhaustive and other facts and issues may impact the amounts to be paid.  Guidelines for the amount of support apply to all cases and are based on the income of the parents and the number of children with adjustments for overnights. 

How Is Child Support Set In A Divorce?

Child support calculations involve a mix of statutory guidelines and factors to be calculated.  The State of Florida provides a general calculator followed by Courts.  Our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can advocate for you through the divorce process, running the numbers and helping you with analyzing the income and expense data to protect your rights. 

• Florida Law contains Child Support Guidelines.
• Florida Courts provide a Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. 

These guidelines are not iron clad rules and can been impacted significantly by, for example, the amount of overnights each party gets with the children.   

Is There Really A Child Support Calculator?

Our experienced Our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can help you calculate anticipated child support obligations.

• Florida provides a Child Support Guidelines Calculator

The standard Child Support Calculator is useful estimator to help understand the amounts to anticipate in a divorce, it is not the final answer.  In fact, Judges can deviate from the amounts calculated. Our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can help make the argument to maximize your rights and minimize the amount of missed opportunity.  

Better that the free Calculator, our attorneys employ the use of a complex Divorce Power Analyzer to demonstrate a more comprehensive picture to the Court.  This helps our clients to demonstrate when a deviation from the norm or modification is warranted.  This powerful software program that our attorneys use really make the difference. 

Let us run the numbers and put our experience and knowledge to work for you.

Overnights In Time-Sharing For Divorce.  Did You Know?

Giving up overnights or gaining overnights may significantly alter the amount of child support necessary when one parent cares for the child or children more than the other. This means that the amount of child support payments can be significantly impacted should time-sharing change by 1 or 2 nights per week.   

Our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can help you analyze the importance of overnights and the impact on child support paid or received.

Divorced And Not Getting Paid?

You have to file a motion to enforce, motion for contempt or other legal action should the other parent stop paying or fail to pay child support in full.  Our Divorce Child Support and Modification Attorneys and Lawyers can advise on the appropriate action to take.  If you have a problem getting support payments from the other parent or the parenting plan is not being followed, contact us for legal guidance.  

Important:  A parent cannot withhold time-sharing or deviate from a parenting plan because the other parent fails to pay court ordered child support or violates the time-sharing schedule. 

Can Child Support Be Modified?

Yes.  If there has been a substantial change in circumstances.  For examples, Florida law provides:

• The guidelines may provide the basis for proving a substantial change in circumstances upon which a modification of an existing order may be granted. However, the difference between the existing monthly obligation and the amount provided for under the guidelines shall be at least 15 percent or $50, whichever amount is greater, before the court may find that the guidelines provide a substantial change in circumstances.
• Incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment in establishing or modifying a support order. However, the court may deviate from the child support guideline amount as provided in paragraph (1)(a).
• A parent’s failure to regularly exercise the time-sharing schedule set forth in the parenting plan, a court-ordered time-sharing schedule, or a time-sharing arrangement exercised by agreement of the parties not caused by the other parent which resulted in the adjustment of the amount of child support pursuant to subparagraph (a)10. or paragraph (b) shall be deemed a substantial change of circumstances for purposes of modifying the child support award. A modification pursuant to this paragraph is retroactive to the date the noncustodial parent first failed to regularly exercise the court-ordered or agreed time-sharing schedule.

If you want to modify child support, let our attorneys and lawyers assist with the petition and affidavit.  

Does Child Support End?

Normally, supporting a child ends when the child reaches age 18, marries, is emancipated, joins the armed forces, or dies.  

IMPORTANT:  CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINE CALCULATIONS ARE INCREASED OR DECREASED BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF OVERNIGHTS.  CONTACT OUR CHILD SUPPORT ATTORNEY AND MEDIATOR BEFORE AGREEING TO SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED.