How Does a Judge Calculate Child Support in Florida Divorce Case?

Serving as a Divorce Attorney in Jacksonville for nearly 20 years, I have always gone extra lengths to keep my clients as informed as possible. Over the next several blog posts, I’m going to be answering some specific questions clients have raised regarding there family law cases.

In Florida, when a couple divorces and there are minor children involved, the judge will enter an order directing the parents to pay child support for the benefit of the minor children.

The Florida Statute drives the calculation of child support which is based on the net income of both parents. The net income is derived from the parties gross income less deductions for federal taxes, the parent’s health care costs and even support paid to a child of another relationship. The judge will also take into consideration the total number of overnights a parent spends with the minor children. So child custody is an important consideration the judge will use in calculating the support due the minor children.

Child custody should only be based on the best interest of the minor children; however, in calculating child support the more overnights awarded a parent the greater the fluctuation in that parent’s child support obligation.

For questions concerning the calculation of child support and timesharing with your children, please contact my Jacksonville office to setup a free consultation.