CALCULATING YOUR OWN FLORIDA CHILD SUPPORT

DID YOU KNOW....

 

Florida has a table of income levels that determine the amount of child support for a given number of children. The primary figure used to calculate support is the income of both parents. Certain expenses also go into the calculation such as taxes, health insurance, and employment related daycare costs. A popular misconception is that household expenses can be used to reduce support. In general that is not true.

 

In Florida, parents of children are obligated to provide support for their children. Florida follows an “Income Shares Model” for determining child support. This means that courts will attempt to estimate the amount of money the parents would have spent on their children if they remained together and were not divorcing. This amount is then divided between the two parents, based on their incomes. Generally speaking, this is the manner in which child support is determined.

 

While most parties in a Florida divorce or custody case understand the concept of “child support,” not all understand how a Florida court calculates the precise amount of child support. It is not entirely uncommon for a divorced father of four to pay less in child support than another divorced father who has only one or two children.

 

The Florida Child Support Enforcement Program is administered by the Florida Department of Revenue. They provide a number of services to families that need assistance with child support throughout Florida. There are only two counties in which an alternative organization handles child support services: Miami-Dade County and Manatee County (child support matters are handled by the Manatee County Clerk of Court).

 

Determining Paternity

If you had a child out of wedlock and are not sure who the father is or need to establish legal paternity, the Florida Child Support Enforcement Program can help you. In Florida, there are five ways to establish paternity: marriage, acknowledgement of paternity, administrative order based on genetic testing, court order and legitimation. The Florida Child Support Enforcement Program can assist with all of these methods of determining paternity.

 

Establishing Child Support Orders

If you do not have a child support order in place, the Florida Child Support Enforcement Program can assist you with applying for court-ordered child support. You must have a child support order through the courts for child support payments to be a legal obligation. It is the goal of the Child Support Enforcement Program to get both parents to agree to the amount of child support based on state guidelines that are in place to help determine appropriate amounts of child support.

 

Enforcing Child Support Orders

The Florida Child Support Enforcement Program can help enforce child support orders by suspending the offender’s licenses (professional, driver, hunting, fishing, etc.), denying a passport, issuing an income deduction order, intercepting money (IRS tax refunds, lottery winnings, workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment benefits, insurance settlements, etc.), placing liens against property and freezing financial accounts. When all else fails, a negligent parent may be arrested.

 

The Law offices of Dustin H. Hay, P.A. can help you whether you are a mother seeking support for your children from their biological father, or a father willing to pay his fair share of support, but with some knowledge of his paternal rights.

 

Calculate Your Own Child Support

The Law Offices of Dustin H. Hay, P.A.