Child support is a form of financial assistance provided by the noncustodial parent. Noncustodial parent refers to the parent who does not have custody of the child. A child support payment is intended to help with costs associated with raising children. It may be paid in one or more payments, depending on the situation.
Child support may be paid by a parent to another parent or guardian of his or her child, and the courts will determine what is fair. Child support payments may be paid directly to the other parent or guardian, or may be paid into a trust account that is then given to the other parent.
Hiring a Sarasota divorce lawyer provides you with the right counsel. With years of experience helping parents sort out agreements, Bragg Law Firm can help you figure out which child support arrangement is best for you.
In the state of Florida, parents have a duty to provide for their children. This includes providing shelter, food, clothing and education. Parents are also expected to monitor their children’s activities and provide guidance. When one of the parents is not providing this care, the state law steps in by enforcing “child support”.
It depends a few factors. Child support includes the following three parts:
As previously mentioned, basic support is intended to cover the costs of a child’s housing, food, clothing, transportation, education, and other related expenses.
This includes providing health and dental insurance, payments for the costs of health and dental insurance that the other parent provides, and payments for uninsured or unreimbursed medical and dental expenses.
Payments for child care (day care) costs when parents go to work or school.
In Sarasota County, Florida, the application process can be completed on-line or in person. Applicants should bring their current order for child support from a court in another state or country to the Clerk’s Office. If there is no order, the petitioner must file a petition for child support with a court in Florida.
To apply for child support in Sarasota County, Florida, the petitioner must file a petition for child support with a court in Florida.
Contact Bragg Family Law to begin the process
While the parties generally do not argue about the number of minor children between them, they may disagree on two key things:
Monthly net income is a common highly-contested issue. Official tax filings and employment records will be the proof needed for determining income of each parent.
Regarding overnights – Florida no longer uses the term custody and instead uses the term timesharing. The number of overnights used in the formula is taken from the parties’ timesharing plan. The exact number is determined by mutual agreement, work schedules, living arrangements, and if the parties can’t agree, it is decided in a court order.
There can be significant legal consequences if parents fail to submit child support payments.
If you don’t make payments, a judge can issue a warrant for your arrest and have you taken into custody. Your wages will also be garnished or seized, and it may result in your inability to renew your driver’s license or apply for a new one. With all the requirements and details, it’s important to do your research before legal action is taken.
To get legal support and guidance in this process, contact an attorney.
In some cases, yes. Parents may petition to modify the agreement for child support if there is a material change in circumstance. Our child support lawyers can help parents modify child support with file petitions and advocate on their behalf to prove why the change is necessary. Any child support issue that may affect a parent’s rights is assisted by our attorneys, including:
It is possible to request a modification of a child support order when a significant financial change in circumstances occurs. A loss of employment or dramatic income reduction can be the basis for a modification. However, please note that a court will only modify from the date of the filing of a Supplemental Petition for Child Support Modification.
Simply put, the court only modifies from the date you filed. So if you wait (sometimes people wait years) the total amount owed continues to build up into a large and unmanageable number and the court is not permitted to reduce it even if the judge wanted to.
It is the public policy of Florida that both parents financially support their child. Therefore, “child support” technically belongs to the child and not the parent receiving the support.
However, this does not mean the receiving parent has to spend the money in a certain fashion. As the parent of the child, they can spend the money as they see fit. This can be very frustrating for the paying parent. This is one reason why it is very important to have an attorney for proper counsel when navigating this area of family law.
Florida essentially uses a formula commonly referred to as the Child Support Guidelines to determine how much of a child support obligation to order.
Deductions such as taxes, mandatory union dues and retirement payments are also considered by the courts.
The procedure for getting a child support order in Sarasota County includes the following steps.
Get knowledge on what to expect in the process of child support issue including information such as caring for children, their health, and financial information.
In order to get a child support order, the person who is asking for it must provide proof that they are the parent and that they are going through financial hardship or if their income has decreased. The person who is requesting the order must also provide a list of all the children that they have and their relationship to them.
If there is more than one parent, then both parents will need to be involved in the process. If there is not enough information or they cannot provide a list of all their children, then it will be difficult for the court to determine who should get support from whom.
You can go the route of filing for court-ordered child support yourself and then arranging a meeting with your former spouse. If it is not possible to get a hearing date, you can file for child support yourself and then ask your spouse to agree that the court order will be enforceable by taking out a complaint of contempt against them.
If you find that going through the process DIY is too confusing or too time-consuming, reach out to a trusted attorney in the Sarasota area.
With over 20 years of combined experience in family law, we know how to navigate the system to fight for what’s right. Let us fight for you.
Established in 2009, Bragg Law Firm, focuses on solving family legal matters.
