Child Support

December 29, 2011

Child Support Guidelines

The State of Florida has child support guidelines that must be followed when calculating child support in a divorce or paternity case. Generally speaking, the parties’ combined net income, the percentage of time each party spends with the children, and the number of children involved are used in determining the amount of child support. Child care costs and health insurance costs are also added into the equation when determining child support.

It is important to note that child support cannot be waived by the parents. Child support is considered a right of the child not of the parent. Therefore, parents cannot bargain away their duty to support their child(ren).

Contact a Jacksonville Child Support Lawyer for further information of Florida’s Child Support laws.

December 19, 2011

Millionaire Dead-Beat Dad in Sunshine State

by David M. Goldman

Not far from Jacksonville, Hillsborough County Judge Caroline Tesche is dealing with a “dead-beat dad” who owes approximately $10 million in child and spousal support. ABC News is reporting that Judge Tesche sentenced, “dead beat dad”, John Stanton to five months and 29 days in jail. However, Mr. Stanton avoided arrest yesterday, Thursday, December 15, 2011, because he did not appear in court. Yet, there is a warrant out for his arrest.

Jacksonville has its own plethora of “dead-beat dads” and the Duval County Court Family Law Judges deal with them on a daily basis. A Jacksonville Family Law Lawyer, takes “dead-beat dads” to court regularly and knows how to have them found in contempt.

If you live in the Jacksonville area and are not receiving your court ordered child support or alimony contact a Jacksonville Family Law Lawyer to schedule a free consultation.

November 22, 2011

Retroactive Child Support

by David M. Goldman

It’s not uncommon for parents to decide to part ways and raise their children separately. Some parents are able to work things out without going to court, but oftentimes the court needs to step in and help determine each parent’s rights.

Child support payments are often contested in these situations. Your former spouse may think you owe more than you think you do. If you go to court, you may find the court is on your side. If the court orders child support payments, however, you may find yourself owing more than you originally thought.

In fact, in paternity actions, dissolution of marriages, or petitions for support during marriage, the court has the discretion to award child support retroactive to the date when the parents did not reside together. The court can order payments from up to 24 months in the past.

November 3, 2011

Modification of Past Due Child Support

by David M. Goldman

During a Jacksonville divorce, many facets of a couple’s life are controlled by an order of the court. Things like time-sharing for the kids, alimony for a spouse, and distribution of assets. Something the court cannot control is the way a father chooses to live his life, even if he is making choices that sacrifice the life of you and your child after the divorce is finalized. Take the following as an example.

Wife gets pregnant and shortly after goes through a dissolution of marriage with her husband. Wife has been raising her child for the last 2 years with her child’s father paying support. Lately, husband has been missing his payments and is about $5,000 behind in child support payments. He has been out of rehab and spent some time in jail, for which he also lost his job. Since that is the case, husband is petitioning the court to lower or reduce the amount of child support he owes.

A situation like this raises a few questions: will the court not enforce the arrearages of $5,000 because he can’t pay? The answer most likely not. A court will not usually reduce past due support payments unless the husband is able to show he is entitled to a reduction for a compelling reason, such as lack of capacity to enter the marital settlement agreement, which prevented him from filing a motion prior to the support payments due date.

November 2, 2011

Reports Suggest Terrell Owens Is Not Paying Child Support

by David M. Goldman

New reports suggest football and reality tv star Terrell Owens has not been making court ordered child support payments. Apparently, the mother of Mr. Owen’s child filed a contempt action against him in a Georgia Court.

Many reports have been quick to label Mr. Owens as a dead beat dad, however; it is important to remember there are always two sides to a story.

Mr. Owens publicist sent out a press release which stated the following:

October 21, 2011

Support Arguments that Don’t Matter

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Divorce Attorney I am all to familiar with the topics discussed in Georgialee Lang’s article, 5 Support Arguments That Don’t Matter in Divorce Court. In the article, Ms. Lang lists and describes what she deems to be the five most common complaints in divorce cases. Ms. Lang lists the complaints as follows:

(1) My wife left me to move in with her boyfriend, why do I have to pay her spousal support?

(2) My ex spouse has remarried, why do I still have to pay spousal support?

October 19, 2011

Don’t Rely on a Verbal Child Support Agreement

by David M. Goldman

Let’s say you and your ex divorced several years ago. It was somewhat contentious but the two of you try to maintain some contact because you have children. As part of your divorce, your spouse retained custody of the kids and you have to pay $500 a month in child support. But after a while you got a different job and could no longer afford the $500 a month. You spoke with your ex and she agreed to accept $300 a month instead. You have been paying the $300 a month like clockwork for the past 20 months, but now your ex says you owe her the difference — $4000. Do you have to pay?

Unfortunately, you may have to. You and your wife may have made an oral agreement, but the court might not give that agreement any effect because the only agreement on record is the one that said you pay $500 a month. That oral agreement — though made with the best of intentions — could end up costing you thousands of dollars.

Instead, you should attempt to modify your custody arrangement in court. This can be done, and is easier when your spouse agrees to the change. Speak with a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney to discuss your options.

October 1, 2011

Paternity: Who are the legal parents?

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Paternity Lawyer, I often have cases where the parties are not married but they have a child in common. In my experience many men falsely believe simply because their name is on the birth certificate that they are legally the fathers. In Florida this is simply not the case!

Under Florida law, until a Judge signs an Order which determines you are the father, then the child is NOT legally yours. As such, you have no legal rights to the child for timesharing or parental rights of any kind.

In order to be recognized as the legal father in Florida it is necessary to file what is called a Petition for Determination of Paternity. Paternity actions are brought before the court in order to assist a parent in acknowledging and protecting important time-sharing and child support rights and/or obligations.

September 29, 2011

What Happens if I Can’t Pay My Child Support?

by David M. Goldman

In Florida, if a parent does not pay their court ordered child support they could likely find themselves behind bars. However, it has been my experience, as a Jacksonville Child Support Lawyer, that the court sees imprisonment for non-payment of child support as the last alternative.

For instance, to put a non-paying parent in jail the court must:(1) Find that the parent is willfully failing to pay the ordered child support amounts, (2) make the affirmative finding that the non-paying parent possesses the ability to comply with the purge amount and (3) put the above two requirements in a written order.

You may ask what exactly is a purge amount. Well, A purge amount is an amount of money that must be paid toward child support arrearages in order to avoid going to jail for contempt of a support order. Because punishment is not the purpose of civil contempt proceedings, a court must allow the contemnor (person in arrears of ordered support) an opportunity to “purge” himself or herself of contempt.

September 19, 2011

What Should I Do If the Father of My Child is Not Paying His Child Support?

by David M. Goldman

As a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney, I see Fathers habitually and often times Mothers as well, not paying child support ordered by the court. I receive numerous inquires from parents wondering what they can and should do when the other parent is doing just that, not supporting their child or children.

Depending on the situation I recommend filing a Motion for Contempt and/or a Motion to Enforce. However, Motions for Contempt and Motions to Enforce are not easy undertakings. There are certain issues and evidence that a Judge needs to see in order to find a party in contempt or to enforce an order or judgment. I have experience in both drafting these Motions and arguing them in front of a Judge.

I recommend contacting a Jacksonville Family Law Attorney that can help assist you in receiving the child support both you and your children are owed. Contact Law Office of David M. Goldman at (904) 685-1200 for a free consultation at your convenience, including nights and weekends.