Child Support

April 11, 2011

What Florida Courts Can Consider In Calculating Florida Child Support

As a Florida child support lawyer, many people ask me if their new spouse’s income can be used in calculating a child support obligation or in increasing a child support obligation in Florida. The answer is no. The only factors the courts normally use in calculating child support obligations in Florida is the gross income of the mother and the father as well as any employment related daycare expenses, insurance payments for the child, insurance payments for each parent and how much time each party spends with the child. Sometimes a court will consider new children from a subsequent marriage, but the new spouse’s income is not used to calculate or to increase a child support obligation.

April 8, 2011

Florida Child Support Revisions: New Child Support Law In Florida As Of 2011

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida child support lawyer and a Florida child custody attorney, I deal with the percentages of overnights that a parent may spend with their child and how that effects Florida child support laws. The old law used to be that if a non majority time-sharing parent had 40% or more overnights with the child then the child support obligation for that parent would be reduced. Thus, this would lead to one parent fighting for more time with the child and the other parent fighting not to allow it. The true fight was over the money. Now, as of January 2011, the new Florida child support law states that if the non-majority time-sharing parent has 20% or more of the overnights with the child then that will qualify for an alternate child support calculation. The alternate child support calculation is called “Substantial Time Sharing”. Please contact a Florida child support attorney to correctly calculate the amount of support that the alternate support calculation may trigger.

April 5, 2011

Divorce and Taxes

by David M. Goldman

Tax day is right around the corner and as an Orange Park Family Law Attorney I tell my divorced clients that its important to be aware of the following things:

• Child support is not deductable.

• Child support is not income.

March 31, 2011

Divorce In Florida, Children and Taxes

by David M. Goldman

It’s tax season yet again and those who have experienced a divorce in Florida may wonder which party can claim the child on the tax exemption in Florida after a divorce. Florida divorce lawyers in Jacksonville, Florida can create an agreement whereby the parents agree to rotate the tax dependency exemption after a divorce wherein one parent claims the child(ren) in odd numbered years and the other parent gets the exemption in even numbered years. Without an agreement, however, the primary residential parent will get the exemption. Please contact a Jacksonville Florida Divorce Lawyer today to create an agreement to best maximize your dependency tax exemption after divorce.

March 26, 2011

How to Establish Paternity in Florida

by David M. Goldman

The issue of paternity is something I see all the time as a Jacksonville Child Custody and Child Support Lawyer. In Florida a child does not have a legal father if the mother was not married when the child was born. Legal paternity must be established for the child in order for the child and father to get all of their legal rights and benefits.

In Florida, there are five ways to establish paternity:

Marriage: The parents are married to each other when the child is born.

March 25, 2011

Child Support In Florida: New Rules With Timesharing In Florida

by David M. Goldman

As a Florida child support attorney and a Florida divorce attorney, I regularly keep up with new laws effecting my clients. As such, there is a new child support law in Florida that states if the non-majority time-sharing parent spends more than twenty percent (20%) of overnights with the child then the Florida child support is drastically cut. This is a change from the old 40% of overnights standard that was previously the law. A Jacksonville child support attorney can assist you in calculating the correct amount of child support owed to you or by you.

March 16, 2011

Divorce Affected by the Economy

by David M. Goldman

An article titled, “Breaking up is hard to do because of the economy,” describes how many couples although wanting to file for divorce are stuck in their marriages because of financial woe’s. The article describes a couple who made the decision to end their marriage in the fall of 2008, but are still married and living under the same roof due to a combination of employment difficulties and the depressed housing market.

However, Linda Lea Viken, a family law lawyer in South Dakota and president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers stated, “the backlog is starting to break free.” As a Florida Family Law Lawyer, I have seen the amount of divorces begin to rise again as the economy is slowly getting better. If you have held of filing for divorce because of the economy, but now find yourself in a better position to file, contact a Florida Family Law Lawyer today.

February 18, 2011

Mandatory Marriage Counseling in Divorce Proceedings

by David M. Goldman

A new North Dakota bill is getting a lot of attention in the North Dakota legislature, as it is proposing mandatory marriage counseling in all divorce cases. The drafters of the bill want all married couples, with the exemption of cases with substantiated allegations of domestic abuse, to wait one year to get a divorce while they attend mandatory marriage counseling.

Florida does not require mandatory marriage counseling when a married couple is seeking to obtain a divorce. Instead, in Florida the Court may refer parties to mediation in cases where parental responsibility, primary residence, timesharing, or child support are contested.

To find out more about what Florida courts require in regards to divorce proceedings contact a Neptune Beach Divorce Attorney.

February 17, 2011

Law Students Child Support Bill

by David M. Goldman

A group of FAMU Law students in Orlando have drafted a bold and innovative bill regarding child support. The bill focuses on parents whose children have been removed from their care and provides a form of accountability for the parents.

It is estimated that every year in Florida over 18,000 children are removed from their parent’s home, the costs of which falls directly on the state and on taxpayers.

The students’ bill proposes that the parents of children taken into the state’s care would be required to pay for the cost of such care. It is not yet known if the bill is ready to be presented to the state legislature. However, in a Florida Child Custody Lawyer’s opinion it looks like it’s a good start in the right direction.

February 15, 2011

Florida Child Support

by David M. Goldman

In a recent article posted on news-press.com, columnist Sam Cook inducts another man to the Deadbeat Dads Hall of Shame. The article titled, “Deadbeat dad easy to locate, loathe,” describes how Joseph K. Bocchino has evaded paying court ordered child support for the past 30 years.

A Jacksonville Child Support Lawyer has experiencing dealing with Deadbeat dads like Bocchino and is well aware of how to get the mothers and children the child support they are owed.

If you have been struggling with a Deadbeat dad and desperately need the child support you and your child are owed contact a Jacksonville Child Support Lawyer today.