West Palm Beach Child Support Attorney

What should you know before hiring a Child Support Attorney?

Child support and child support modification can be an intimidating undertaking. Family attorney Steve Winig is experienced in child support cases and can get you on the right track to settling your case and achieving the best solution possible for your children. Contact Winig Law to schedule a consultation to begin the process.

Child support is calculated pursuant to the guidelines set forth in Florida Statute 61.30. These guidelines take into account: each parent’s monthly income, child care costs, medical insurance and expenses, and the child custody terms that define the amount of time the minor child(ren) spends with each parent (overnights).

Can child support deviate from the child support guidelines calculation?

Pursuant to Florida Statute 61.30, The Court may deviate from the child support guidelines based upon the following factors:

• “Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses.
• Independent income of the child, not to include sums of money received by a child from supplemental security income.
• The payment of support for a parent has been regularly paid and for which there is a demonstrated need.
• Seasonal variations in one or both parents’ incomes or expenses.
• The age of the child, taking into account the more significant needs of older children.
• Special needs, such as costs that may be associated with the disability of a child, have traditionally been met within the family budget even though fulfilling those needs will cause the support to exceed the presumptive amount established by the guidelines.
• Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and child.
• The impact of the Internal Revenue Service Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and dependency exemption and waiver of that exemption. The court may order a parent to execute a waiver of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption if the paying parent is current in support payments.
• An application of the child support guidelines schedule requires a person to pay another person more than 55 percent of his or her gross income for a child support obligation for current support resulting from a single support order.
• The particular parenting plan, a court-ordered time-sharing schedule, or a time-sharing arrangement exercised by agreement of the parties, such as where the child spends a significant amount of time, but less than 20 percent of the overnights, with one parent, thereby reducing the financial expenditures incurred by the other parent; or the refusal of a parent to become involved in the activities of the child.
• Any other adjustment that is needed to achieve an equitable result which may include, but not be limited to, a reasonable and necessary existing expense or debt. Such expense or debt may include, but is not limited to, a reasonable and necessary expense or debt that the parties jointly incurred during the marriage.”

Retroactive Child Support:

Once the Court decides on child support, it may award retroactive child support at its own discretion. Retroactive support can be ordered as far back as when the parties were no longer living in the same household with the minor child(ren), not to exceed 24 months before the filing of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.

Child support can be an intimidating undertaking. Contact Winig Law to schedule a consultation with an attorney experienced in child support cases that will get you on the right track to settling your case and achieving the best solution possible for your child(ren).