In Duval, FL, as in the rest of the state, when children are involved in a divorce proceeding the court will set an amount of child support. In Florida, this amount is based on a table of income levels.
The table is designed to provide the minimum child support payment based on the qualifying income of the parents as well as the number of children. Other factors are also considered as part of the income used in the table. These include: health insurance, daycare costs, and other child support payments or spousal support to allow parents to continue employment as well as taxes.
In general, other expenses cannot be used to reduce the amount of support paid. However, in some cases, parents can be ordered to pay over the minimum required, which can occur with high-income earning families.
In these cases, a child support lawyer will be required to correct issues through the court in situations where a parent is not paying support or in cases where there are specific changes in financial issues.
Specialization
When hiring a child support lawyer, it is critical to ensure the attorney specializes in this specific type of practice. There are different forms and requirements based on the level of income. Additionally, it will be essential to know what is considered as income and what must be filed on the affidavits that will be presented before the court.
An experienced child support lawyer can also dispute cases where a parent may choose to remain unemployed, or work only part-time, to decrease the amount of child support ordered by the court.
The lawyer can provide documentation to the court as evidence this behavior, if the parent is found to be willfully reducing employment to avoid responsibility for child support payments, the court may redetermine the value of the full-employment income.
Talk to a Duval, FL child support attorney if there are any questions about your child support amounts. This can occur at any time before, during or after the divorce.
