On behalf of The Law Office of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A.
When you are going through a divorce and there are minor children involved, the process can be wrought back and forth. Whether you are supposed to be receiving child support or paying, you need to ensure you are being treated fairly. At The Law Office Of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A., our Fort Lauderdale child support lawyer is ready to help you get through this process. Today, we want to talk about how child support calculations are affected by continuous and regular gifts from another party to a child or their parents.
How Is Florida Child Support Calculated?
Asking this question is bound to make a person unfamiliar with the system go crazy. Calculating child support in this state can seem incredibly complex. No two situations are the same, so there can never be a definite answer to “What is my child support payment going to be?”
In Florida, both parents are obligated to continue to support their children after a divorce. This state follows an “Income Shares Model” for determining the exact monthly amount. This means that the family court will look at a variety of factors, including the amount the parents would have spent on their child if they had remained together. Then, based on the parents’ income, this amount is divided between the two.
However, the court has some flexibility when it comes to making final child support amount decisions. They can set an amount that is five percent above or below the calculations model.
What About “Regular And Continual Gifts?”
Many Florida couples receive regular money from other parties outside of their jobs. In many cases, this comes from their parents. In the Florida case, Ordini v Ordini, the Fourth District Court of Appeal examined how a divorcing couple’s situation changed when taking into account the money the husband’s parents paid them in support each month. They found that the husband’s parents completely supported the parties and their child to a sum of about $6,500 monthly.
When the court made its initial decision, they did not include this amount, even though it was sustained during the course of the marriage and the parents said they would continue to pay it after the divorce. Florida law defines income in these instances as “payments, made by any person.”
Because this would be a continual and regular gift from the husband’s parents, it was included as income and made a significant difference in the amount of child support and alimony owed to the wife.
Let Us Get To Work On Your Case Today
There is nothing easy about going through a divorce. If there are minor children involved, an already contentious situation can become much more complex. At The Law Office Of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A., you can count on having skilled representation by your side. Our knowledgeable and experienced team will get to work on arranging the best possible outcome for you by properly calculating your income. Let our Fort Lauderdale child support attorney make sure you are being treated fairly. You can contact us by calling at 954-533-2756 for a free consultation.
