If you need to seek child support, enforce the payment of benefits, or modify an order, don’t hesitate to contact our Orlando child support lawyers at (407) 420-2311. At the Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers , we want to help you achieve the best results for your children.
Child support claims can be complicated, especially when they’re met with resistance from your child’s other parent. When you have kids in Orlando, Florida, you assume a responsibility to make sure they have a safe place to live, healthy food to eat, a good education, and access to medical care when necessary. Providing for your children can be easy when you’re married. However, things can get more complicated when parents are unmarried or decide to get divorced. In these situations, it can be necessary to seek child support to ensure that children’s needs are consistently met.
Since 2011, our law firm has provided unrivaled support and advocacy for families in Orlando, Florida. We understand that child support can be a delicate and nuanced issue, and we strive to help families focus on doing what’s best for their young children.
How the Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers Helps Families Navigate Child Support Issues in Orlando, FL
Who’s supposed to pay child support in Orlando? How is child support calculated? Can child support payments ever be disputed or changed? What happens if a parent refuses to pay child support?
There’s no doubt about it–child support can be complicated. It’s easy to get stressed out and overwhelmed as you attempt to secure benefits, enforce payment, or modify an order. With so much at stake for your children, it’s best to make sure that you have the support and guidance of an experienced Orlando divorce attorney throughout the process.
At Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers, we’re known and respected family law attorneys with 15 years of experience helping clients navigate delicate legal disputes, including matters of child support. We’re strong, honest, and respected attorneys who strive to treat every client as if they’re our family.
When you ask for our help with your child support case, you’ll be able to rely on us to:
- Gather necessary documentation to support your efforts to secure/enforce/modify a child support order.
- Hire expert witnesses and specialists to consult and collaborate on your case and, if necessary, testify on your behalf during a child support hearing.
- Utilize alternative dispute resolution strategies, including mediation and arbitration, to encourage amicable, cost-effective resolutions.
- Represent you and your child’s best interests during hearings and at trial, if necessary.
There’s nothing more important than your children. Our child support attorneys in Orlando are here to help you secure the benefits necessary to meet their needs.
Contact our law office in Orlando to discuss the specific details of your case with our team today.
What is Child Support?
In Florida, both of a child’s parents are expected to help care for the child’s emotional and financial needs. In fact, the state holds that it’s in the child’s best interests to receive emotional and financial support from both parents. This can be easy to achieve when parents are married, and a family lives together. Things can get more challenging when parents split up or aren’t together in the first place.
When parents get divorced or are unmarried, it can be necessary for the custodial parent to ask a court to require the non-custodial parent to pay child support to ensure that the child’s needs are met.
Child support is a legal obligation to provide financial support for a child’s health, education, welfare, and safety.
In Florida, child support requirements must be settled before a divorce can be finalized. This includes which parent will be required to pay support and how much they’ll be expected to pay each month. Contrary to popular belief, child support payments are paid exclusively for the benefit of the children, not the custodial parent.
How is Child Support Calculated in Orlando?
Child support can be negotiated privately by parents or determined by a court.
Florida courts follow the Child Support Guidelines in Section 61.30 of the Florida Statutes when calculating support. The primary consideration is the net income of both parents.
A parent’s net income is calculated by taking their gross income–which can include wages, interest, pension and retirement payments, income from trusts and estates, social security, workers’ compensation, bonuses, and commissions–and deducting:
- Tax obligations
- Insurance payments
- Required union dues
- Mandatory retirement contributions
- Spousal support
- Court-ordered support for other children
The net income of both parents is combined, and that figure is used to calculate the minimum support payment, which will depend on the number of children who require support. Other factors can influence–and in most cases increase–child support obligations.
These include:
- Child care costs
- The children’s health insurance and medical costs
- How much time each parent spends with the children
Once the support requirement is calculated, each parent’s share of the obligation is determined by dividing their net income by the combined net income. The more time a child spends with a parent, the less that parent is expected to pay in additional financial support. Overnight visitation is particularly important when child support obligations are calculated.
Can Child Support Be Modified?
Yes, child support orders can be modified. However, there must be a legitimate reason to ask a court to change an existing order for child support.
Pursuant to Florida state law, a modification of a child support order can only be approved if there is a “substantial change of circumstances.”
This might include:
- A decrease in the non-custodial parent’s income
- An increase in the custodial parent’s income
- A parent’s cost of living increase
- Job loss
- A parent or child’s medical emergency
- Bankruptcy
- Significant changes in parenting time
- Disability
- Emancipation of a child
Adverse changes in income or employment must be involuntary. For instance, a parent who is required to pay child support cannot quit their job or take a pay decrease at work and then expect to be able to pay less in child support.
Any requests to modify child support must be supported by compelling evidence. Whether you’re seeking an increase or reduction in payments for your children, our child support attorneys in Orlando will work with you hand-in-hand to gather the documentation and testimony needed to demonstrate that a significant change in circumstances has occurred that warrants your request for modification.
How Can Paternity Affect Child Support in Orlando?
A parent is only required to pay child support for biological or adoptive children. If a child is born to unmarried parents, it might be necessary to prove a father’s paternity before he will be required to support the child financially.
In Florida, paternity can be established voluntarily. However, when child support obligations are front and center, an alleged father might not voluntarily agree to take a paternity test. In these situations, a lawsuit can be filed by the mother or the Florida Department of Revenue.
When a paternity lawsuit is filed, the court will require an alleged father to take a DNA test to either confirm or disprove that they are the biological father of the child(ren) in question. If paternity is established, the father can then be required to pay child support. If paternity is disproved, there would be no basis for requiring the man to pay to support the children.
Contact an Experienced Orlando Child Support Lawyer Today
Child support can be necessary to ensure that children are able to maintain a certain quality of life–especially when their parents split up. Unfortunately, disputes over child support, including who should pay and how much, are common. There are times when a parent might try to hide their income, reduce their earnings, or take other actions to reduce their child support obligations. Other times, a parent might intentionally refuse to pay support for their children.
When you’re the custodial parent, it’s important to fight for your child’s best interests. If they’re owed support from their other parent, the Law Office Of Paulette Hamilton Divorce Lawyers wants to help you make sure you get every cent you deserve.
Our Orlando child support lawyers have over 15 years of experience helping parents navigate complex and emotionally charged family law disputes. We invest our extensive experience and law firm’s resources behind our clients’ cases and do everything in our power to help them achieve the best results for their families.
If you’re navigating a complex child support case, don’t hesitate to reach out to our Orlando, FL, law office for help. We’re available to take your call right now.
Orlando Child Support Resources
- Florida Department of Revenue – Resources and services related to child support payments and parental support.
- Florida Department of Children and Families – A directory and information hub for family-related services in Florida.
- Child Support Guidelines Sheet – Guidance on completing Florida’s family law rules of procedure form.
- Women’s Institute for Financial Education – A resource offering financial literacy and planning advice tailored to women.
