Are you contemplating a divorce? Are you already involved in a divorce? Do you have a minor child but are not married? The court has the power to order either or both parents of a minor child to pay child support. The amount of support will depend upon the needs of the minor child and the ability of the parties to pay in addition to time sharing had by both parties with the child. Courts consider the age of the minor child, the earning ability of each party, the standard of living for the minor child if this is a divorce case, and the physical and emotion health of the minor child.
Child support guidelines are currently used in determining child support in the state of Florida. The Florida child support guidelines is a formula for determining a reasonable amount of child support. It is based on the parents’ incomes, the needs of the minor children and the number of minor children. If a parent is unemployed, or under employed, a court may assign or “impute” income to that parent based on things such as education, experience, skills and prior employment. Click Here for 2010 Child Support Guidelines.
The court can also deviate from the Florida Child Support Guidelines by using the following factors as consideration:
Florida Statutes 61.30(11)
(a) The court may adjust the minimum child support award, or either or both parents’ share of the minimum child support award, based upon the following considerations:
1. Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses.
2. Independent income of the child, not to include moneys received by a child from supplemental security income.
3. The payment of support for a parent which regularly has been paid and for which there is a demonstrated need.
4. Seasonal variations in one or both parents’ incomes or expenses.
5. The age of the child, taking into account the greater needs of older children.
6. Special needs, such as costs that may be associated with the disability of a child, that have traditionally been met within the family budget even though the fulfilling of those needs will cause the support to exceed the proposed guidelines.
7. Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and the child.
8. The impact of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption and waiver of that exemption. The court may order the primary residential parent to execute a waiver of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption if the noncustodial parent is current in support payments.
9. When application of the child support guidelines requires a person to pay another person more than 55 percent of his or her gross income for a child support obligation for current support resulting from a single support order.
10. The particular shared parental arrangement, such as where the child spends a significant amount of time, but less than 20 percent of the overnights, with the noncustodial parent, thereby reducing the financial expenditures incurred by the primary residential parent; or the refusal of the noncustodial parent to become involved in the activities of the child.
11. Any other adjustment which is needed to achieve an equitable result which may include, but not be limited to, a reasonable and necessary existing expense or debt. Such expense or debt may include, but is not limited to, a reasonable and necessary expense or debt which the parties jointly incurred during the marriage.
(b) Whenever a particular shared parental arrangement provides that each child spend a substantial amount of time with each parent, the court shall adjust any award of child support, as follows:
1. In accordance with subsections (9) and (10), calculate the amount of support obligation apportioned to the noncustodial parent without including day care and health insurance costs in the calculation and multiply the amount by 1.5.
2. In accordance with subsections (9) and (10), calculate the amount of support obligation apportioned to the custodial parent without including day care and health insurance costs in the calculation and multiply the amount by 1.5.
3. Calculate the percentage of overnight stays the child spends with each parent.
4. Multiply the noncustodial parent’s support obligation as calculated in subparagraph 1. by the percentage of the custodial parent’s overnight stays with the child as calculated in subparagraph 3.
5. Multiply the custodial parent’s support obligation as calculated in subparagraph 2. by the percentage of the noncustodial parent’s overnight stays with the child as calculated in subparagraph 3.
6. The difference between the amounts calculated in subparagraphs 4. and 5. shall be the monetary transfer necessary between the custodial and noncustodial parents for the care of the child, subject to an adjustment for day care and health insurance expenses.
7. Pursuant to subsections (7) and (8), calculate the net amounts owed by the custodial and noncustodial parents for the expenses incurred for day care and health insurance coverage for the child. Day care shall be calculated without regard to the 25-percent reduction applied by subsection (7).
8. Adjust the support obligation owed by the custodial or noncustodial parent pursuant to subparagraph 6. by crediting or debiting the amount calculated in subparagraph 7. This amount represents the child support which must be exchanged between the custodial and noncustodial parents.
9. The court may deviate from the child support amount calculated pursuant to subparagraph 8. based upon the considerations set forth in paragraph (a), as well as the custodial parent’s low income and ability to maintain the basic necessities of the home for the child, the likelihood that the noncustodial parent will actually exercise the visitation granted by the court, and whether all of the children are exercising the same shared parental arrangement.
10. For purposes of adjusting any award of child support under this paragraph, “substantial amount of time” means that the noncustodial parent exercises visitation at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year.
(c) A noncustodial parent’s failure to regularly exercise court-ordered or agreed visitation not caused by the custodial 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 shall be retroactive to the date the noncustodial parent first failed to regularly exercise court-ordered or agreed visitation.
As a part of child support, some things the court may order are that the payor spouse/parent maintain health insurance for the minor child, maintain a life insurance policy to guarantee the continued payment of child support in the event of the payor’s untimely death, require the payor to make child support payments into a central depository, and have an income deduction ordered on the payor spouse to his or her employer.
If you are in need of representation on child support matters, contact a knowledgeable Orlando Family Law Attorney for immediate legal direction. The Law Office of Donna C. Hung, P.A. uses an aggressive and practical approach to client representation throughout Orlando and surrounding areas.
Call now for a free confidential consultation (407)999-0099