Paulette Hamilton | July 29, 2025 | Child Support Cases in Orlando
If you have joint custody of your child, you might assume that you don’t have to pay child support. After all, why would you have to pay child support when your child is with you half of the time? Many parents in Florida are surprised to learn that they may still be required to pay child support even in 50/50 custody situations.
Understanding this information is essential so you know how to prepare your child custody and child support cases.
Purpose of Child Support
First, it’s essential to understand the purpose of child support and why you might still be responsible for paying it even with 50/50 custody. Child support is a cash payment from one parent to the other intended to provide for a child’s basic needs, including housing, food, and clothing.
Courts order child support to ensure that a child’s basic needs are met, regardless of whether the parents are no longer together. Child support can help mitigate income disparities between parents so that the child has a similar lifestyle, regardless of which home they happen to be in at the time.
For example, if one parent makes significantly more money than the other, this cash payment can help the child have what they need when they are with the lower-earning parent.
How Child Support Is Determined in Florida
Every state chooses how to calculate child support. Florida uses the Florida Child Support Guidelines, which use the income shares model. Under this model, courts estimate the cost of raising children if the parents were still together and then divide this cost between the parents based on their portion of the total income.
The guidelines provide a table of income levels. The amount of support is primarily based on the parents’ income. You can look at your combined income and the number of children in the order to see the presumptive amount of child support. Certain expenses, including taxes, health insurance, and daycare costs, are factored into the calculation of child support.
How Parental Income and Expenses Are Calculated
The first step in calculating child support is figuring out each parent’s gross and net income. Gross income includes all sources, such as wages, tips, commissions, and bonuses. You subtract taxes, health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, and other allowed deductions to get net income.
Next, you use Florida’s Child Support Guidelines. The final amount may be adjusted based on time-sharing and child-related expenses.
The amount specified in the guidelines is the presumptive amount, which is typically what the court orders in most circumstances. However, the court may find justification to deviate from this amount. The court can set a child support amount within five percent of the guidelines amount if circumstances warrant it.
How Child Custody Arrangements Affect Child Support
Child custody can impact the amount of child support awarded. The court assumes that a parent provides for their child’s needs when they are in their care. Therefore, the more parenting time they spend with their child, the less the child support amount might be. Courts can consider the division of parenting time when awarding child support.
Contact our Child Support and Divorce Lawyers at Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers for Help Today
For more information, please contact the Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers in Orlando, FL for a free consultation with our experienced Orlando child support lawyers.
Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers – Orlando
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Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 420-2311
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