There are three basic ways to get child support in Florida, which will depend on the particular situation, as it can either be:
1) Ordered during a divorce case;
2) Ordered by filing a support petition in family court (typically for unmarried parents); or
3) Applying to open a case for child support services through the Florida Department of Revenue.
In the absence of a court order for child support, one parent does not have a legal obligation to pay child support to the other parent. However, when the child support matter is corrected, the obligated parent may be required to repay any established arrearages. A court can only order you to pay child support if you are legally considered to be the child’s mother or father. Child support is a parental responsibility, not a legal guardian’s responsibility, and therefore a judge cannot order a legal guardian to pay child support. But adoptive parents DO take on a legal financial responsibility to support their adoptive child(ren)—because they assume all legal rights and responsibilities of biological parents (unlike legal guardians).
When parents or guardians live in different states, you can open a child support case in a local child support agency where one parent lives. The local child support agency will enforce the child support order or ask the other state or county for help. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act is a federal law that tells us how to make and enforce child support obligations when both parents do not live in the same county or state. Federal law requires different states to cooperate to establish and enforce child support orders. For example, North Carolina must recognize orders from Arkansas and vice versa.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) was first adopted in 1992 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (now the Uniform Law Commission), and amended in 1996, 2001, and 2008. UIFSA 2008 builds on the 2001 amendments and focuses on international child support, in particular implementation of the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.
In Florida, the amount of child support is based on the Florida Child Support Guidelines, which are found in Section 61.30 of the Florida Statutes. The primary factor used to calculate child support is the net income of both parents.
Other factors include the number of children involved, health insurance expenses for the children, and the time-sharing schedule. Each factor is examined in turn below.
If child support is at issue, each parent will need to complete and file a financial affidavit with the court. On the financial affidavit, each parent will calculate his or her monthly net income. In order to calculate each parent’s net income, you must first determine each parent’s gross income.
Florida’s child support statute defines gross income broadly, and it includes all of the following:
Once gross income is determined, you may subtract certain deductions from the gross income in order to arrive at the net income figure.
Under Florida’s child support statute, the allowable deductions include the following:
After you have subtracted all of the allowable deductions from each parent’s monthly gross income, you have successfully computed each parent’s monthly net income, which will be used for calculating the child support amount. Each parent’s net income should be added together to determine the combined net income of the parents.
The court then consults the Florida Child Support Guidelines in Section 61.30, which provide a grid showing the child support need given the parents’ combined net income and the number of children.
The final step involves assigning a percentage of the obligation to each parent. Each parent’s percentage share of the minimum child support needed is determined by dividing each parent’s net monthly income by the total combined net monthly income.
This gives you each parent’s percentage share of the child support obligation.
The child support amount also depends on the number of overnights each parent spends with the child. The guidelines presume that as a parent’s time with the child increases, the parent’s monthly obligation should decrease because the more time they have the child in their care, the more they spend on the child.
Accordingly, you must calculate the percentage of overnight stays the child is scheduled to spend with each parent. If the time-sharing schedule provides that the child will spend at least 20% of the overnights of the year—meaning 73 or more overnight visits per year—with each parent, then the court will adjust the child support award.
The more overnights one parent spends with the child, the less the amount of their child support obligation.
Child support orders also factor in the cost of health insurance and other medical expenses for the child. Therefore, you must determine how much each parent pays toward medical insurance and health expenses for the child. After the health insurance cost is added to the basic child support obligation, any amount prepaid by a parent for health-related costs for the child are deducted from that parent’s child support obligation.
A court may order that payment of noncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses of the child be made by the parents on a percentage basis determined by each parent’s percentage share of the combined net income of the parents.
Ultimately, each parent has a legal obligation to contribute to their child’s care. Florida has established a formula for determining the proper amount of child support in any given case. The calculation takes into account each parent’s net monthly income, the number of children involved, the time-sharing schedule, and health insurance costs.
In Florida, there are different ways you can make child support payments. Regardless of the method you choose, make sure you stay current, especially since back child support can result in harsh repercussions.
Many parents pay child support through income withholding. An income withholding order allows an employer to automatically keep part of a worker’s wages for child support. However, you may have to find another way to pay support, whether you do not have a job or your income withholding order will not take effect right away. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, you can pay child support online. You can make a payment with your credit card or an electronic check from your bank.
While electronic checks do not result in fees, credit card payments could lead to fees. Moreover, it can take between two to five business days for payments to process, depending on the method you choose.
You can also mail your child support payment to the state’s disbursement unit. If you decide to mail a payment, make sure you correctly provide all necessary information, such as names, the case number and the county that issued the child support order. Additionally, you can use money transfer services to pay child support using cash, but you should note that it can take as long as seven business days to process these payments.
The law does not require you to hire a lawyer to handle your child support case. But in many situations, it can be a good idea. Sometimes the child support services agency can assist you with all the child support issues — especially child support enforcement.
In some cases, you may need to hire a private attorney. This is especially true if you are in the midst of a divorce or child custody dispute and you and your spouse disagree on the terms of custody or support. For instance, you might differ on alimony (or spousal support) terms or parenting time for the non-custodial parent.
When there are disagreements between couples, a judge will often need to intervene and rule on those issues. Having a lawyer help you may be a good option to ensure you get the best outcome.
What does a Child Support Lawyer Do?
A family law attorney will help you with your case by assisting you with various child support issues, such as:
How to Locate an Experienced Child Support Lawyer?
Although the United States recognizes that both parents should provide support to their children, other countries don’t always honor child support orders that were established in the U.S. when it comes to international child support disputes. If you are a co-parent with someone who lives in another country, it can be difficult to collect child support, however, there might be legal remedies available if you are the custodial parent.
The U.S. has reciprocal agreements in place with several other countries that allow child support orders to be enforced through the Secretary of State. The U.S. currently has treaties for enforcing child support with the following countries:
Individual states in the U.S. also have their own agreements with countries that aren’t on the above list. For example, U.S. states that are in close in proximity to bordering and nearby countries, like Mexico or countries in the Caribbean. If there is a child dispute with a country that does not have an agreement with the U.S., then a local tribunal will enforce the child support order with the particular state involved in the case.
If you need to track down a parent to hold them accountable for their child support obligation, then you will need to speak to the Child Support Enforcement Unit or the Department of Revenue and provide them with as much information as possible about the delinquent parent. This includes:
All of this information can help locate the delinquent parent to order their employer to withhold wages from their paycheck.
If you are entitled to receive child support but don’t know which country the other parent resides in, you could check with the United States embassies to see if they registered with an embassy or U.S. consulate abroad.
If the parent with the child support obligations moves to a country that does not have a treaty or agreement with the U.S. or one of its states, it is still possible to collect support, but it will be a complicated task with many hurdles to overcome. An experienced lawyer who is familiar with international custody disputes can help you navigate this area and ensure your rights are protected as you attempt to enforce child support.
Office of Child Support Services
The Office of Child Support Services is the U.S. Central Authority for international child support. They work with states and countries to provide assistance to families seeking support when family members live in different countries. Below you will fink a link to their website:
Website of The Office of Child Support Services: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/css/partners/international