Overview of Child Support
In most family law cases involving minor children, the court will require the payment of child support. Calculating Florida Child Support is easier with the calculator found below.
Florida has a child support support worksheet that can help you determine the correct amounts of you and the other parent will be responsible for.
Child support includes:
- Child care
- Health Insurance
- Based on income of the parents
For help try this calculator:
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Income of the Parents
A basic part of how Florida child support payments are determine is based on the income of both parents. The income is then entered into the child support worksheet and is the basis for all child support obligations. For example if the combined income of both parents is $1000.00 a month, and there are two children the basic obligation is $365.00 according to the statute.
Monthly Child care costs.
You must determine how much is quality child care costs. The statute says that child care support cannot exceed the level required to provide quality care from a licensed source. What is quality care is a somewhat subjective term and is determined on a cases by cases basis. According to the Department for Human Health and Services, child care is considered affordable if its less than 10% of the gross income of the family. For more information on childcare see this article from babycenter.com.
Adjustments to the support amount.
After you have determined the amount of child support the law says you might desire to deviate-more or less-from this amount for one reason or another. To do this you would have to file a separate motion or request to the court and explain why you you want to deviate and pay a different amount than what the court expects you to pay. For example, if you have a child with special needs with a lot of medical expenses you this could be grounds for a larger amount of child support. Another example might be if you are a seasonal worker and your income varies substantially from one part of the year to another.
Do I Need a Lawyer’s help to Calculating Florida Child Support?
Whether you need a lawyer to help you with your child support case will depend on several factors, including your comfort level with calculating numbers as well as whether the other party has a lawyer and many other factors. Attorney Joel Lipinski provides free phone consultations to help you decide whether you need a lawyer or not.
Conclusion
Child support is primarily determined by the parents income. Besides the income, the courts will order that one or both parents pay health insurance and child care costs. It can be hard to change a child support order. The court will need strong evidence of changed circumstances to justify a change.
Need help with child support? Call attorney Joel Lipinski for a free consultation at 727-643-8964 or fill out the form below.
