Category: Child Support

Many parents these days find it difficult to find that right life-balance when it comes to juggling career, child support, and shared custody after divorce. Recently, CNN ran an interesting piece focusing on some perspectives of fathers, in particular, who feel that the system has let them down. Some of these fathers have spent time in jail because they were unable to pay court-ordered child support; gone bankrupt; or even been altogether barred from seeing their children due to civil protection orders. And not all of them ended up in custody battles due to divorce: some learned all too late that they had fathered children but were excluded from the child’s birth certificate.

According to the statistics, even today, more than 80 percent of custodial parents are mothers. Does this mean that men automatically do not get a fair shake when it comes to custody cases? Laws in states like Florida and elsewhere were supposed to prevent this phenomenon by focusing on what is in the best interests of the child. Still, that doesn’t mean that men do not sometimes get the short end of the stick due to judges’ traditional perspectives. Below, we offer some insight on how fathers can avoid acrimonious outcomes in circumstances like these.

According to data from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, more than $100 billion is currently pending in back payments owed to parents with custody of their children. In 2011 alone, unpaid child support totaled more than $14 billion.

Many people do not realize just how big of an issue failure to pay child support actually is, and this issue is only compounded when your child’s parent not only fails to pay child support, but also is also unemployed, untraceable, and/or has additional children from a separate marriage. In circumstances like these, working with an experienced family law attorney is the best way to ensure that you remain protected. Below, we discuss some steps you can take if you are owed child support:

Know Your Rights

You and your attorney should discuss your legal rights and responsibilities, as well as the pros and cons of going to court or entering into a settlement. One thing that you absolutely cannot do is prevent your ex from seeing your child in retaliation for failing to pay child support.

One of the biggest concerns that many couples who share children have is how divorce could possibly affect their children; specifically, whether pursuing a divorce could interfere with their child’s ability to afford a college education. Below, we discuss how you can prevent your divorce from interfering with this important aspect of your family’s life.

Everyone Should Have a Plan

According to a recent study by Ameritrade, two-thirds of married couples do not have a financial plan in place, even in the event of a spouse’s death. With college costs increasing approximately three percent per year and four out of 10 marriages ending in divorce, this is beyond shocking. The average cost to attend a public, in-state school is $20,770 per year, and a private college costs approximately $46,950. Thus, even without the prospect of divorce, parents need to plan in order to afford college, especially because immediate family costs usually trump saving funds for a college education.

The payment of child support after divorce is very important to families for a variety of reasons, the most obvious being that the monies are used in furtherance of the child’s well being and to establish an appropriate quality of life for the child.

Unfortunately, Florida ranks fairly poor among U.S. states, as it relates to social and economic conditions for children, making child support payments that much more important in our state. For example, in 2016, Florida was ranked 39^th in the nation in the Best & Worst States for Underprivileged Children report.  

Child Support Guidelines in Florida

Florida, like other states, has a set formula (or guidelines) for determining child support. Under Florida state law, the judge may vary this plus or minus five percent from the guideline amount after considering all relevant factors, including the needs of the child, age, standard of living, and the financial status and ability of each parent. If the amount varies more than five percent, there must be a written finding explaining why staying within the five percent guideline would be unjust or inappropriate. This can also be the case whenever the child spends a substantial amount of time with either parent, whether temporary or permanent.