Child Support in FL: How It Works and What You Need to Know
Understand how Florida's child support system balances parental responsibilities, legal procedures, and changing family circumstances.
Child support is a critical component of ensuring children’s financial stability when parents live apart. Florida’s system aims to meet the child’s needs while fairly distributing responsibility between parents. Understanding the state’s approach to establishing, calculating, and enforcing support is essential for navigating the process effectively.
Eligibility for Filing
Eligibility to request child support in Florida primarily depends on who has custody of the child and whether legal parentage has been established. Typically, the parent with whom the child lives most of the time files for support from the other parent, reflecting the shared legal duty to financially support their children.
Others may also file for support. A court-appointed legal guardian or custodian can seek support from the parents. The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR), the state agency handling child support services, can also initiate cases. This often happens when a child receives public assistance, as the state seeks reimbursement from the noncustodial parent. Parents not receiving public assistance can also apply for DOR services, which include locating parents, establishing parentage, and obtaining support orders, usually for a small fee.
Establishing legal parentage is crucial, especially if the parents were unmarried when the child was born. Florida Statutes Chapter 742 governs parentage determination.1Florida Legislature. Chapter 742 – Determination of Parentage Paternity can be acknowledged voluntarily through a signed, legally binding form, often at the hospital or later. If disputed, either parent, the child, or the DOR can file a court action under Section 742.011 to establish paternity, potentially involving genetic testing. Once paternity is legally confirmed, the court can issue orders for child support, parental responsibility, and time-sharing arrangements as outlined in Chapter 61 of the Florida Statutes.
Calculation Method
Florida uses the “Income Shares Model” to calculate child support, as specified in Florida Statute Section 61.30.2Florida Legislature. Section 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines This model estimates the amount parents would spend on their children if living together and divides this amount based on their incomes.
The process starts by determining each parent’s monthly gross income, which includes most types of earnings and benefits, such as wages, bonuses, business income, disability payments, and retirement income. Public assistance is excluded. If a court finds a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it can impute income based on potential earning capacity according to Section 61.30(2)(b).
Allowable deductions are then subtracted from gross income to find each parent’s net income. These deductions, listed in Section 61.30(3), include income taxes, mandatory retirement contributions, health insurance premiums (excluding the child’s portion), and court-ordered support for other children or a former spouse.
The parents’ individual net monthly incomes are added together. This combined net income is then applied to the Child Support Guidelines Schedule in Section 61.30(6), which provides a basic monthly support obligation based on income and the number of children.
Additional expenses are added to this basic obligation, primarily the monthly costs for child care needed for work or education (Section 61.30(7)) and the child’s health insurance premiums. The sum represents the total minimum child support need. Each parent’s share of this total is determined by dividing their individual net income by the combined net income, establishing their percentage of responsibility.
The calculation changes significantly if each parent has the child for at least 20% of the overnights annually (73 nights), as defined in Section 61.30(11)(b). In these “substantial time-sharing” situations, the basic support obligation is increased by 50% to account for duplicated costs in maintaining two households. Each parent’s share of this increased amount is calculated based on their income percentage and then adjusted based on the percentage of overnights the child spends with the other parent. The difference between these adjusted amounts is typically the sum paid by the parent with the higher obligation. Child care and health insurance costs are still allocated, often credited to the parent making the payment. Courts may deviate from the guideline amount by up to 5% without specific findings, or more with written justification if the guideline amount is deemed unjust, per Section 61.30(1)(a).
Filing Process
Starting a child support case involves filing a formal request, or petition, with the circuit court. If parents are divorcing, child support is addressed in the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage. If unmarried, a Petition to Establish Paternity and for Related Relief is typically used, covering parentage, time-sharing, and support. If parentage and time-sharing are settled, a Petition for Support Unconnected with Dissolution of Marriage may be filed. The DOR can also initiate cases through its administrative process or by filing in court.
Several key documents must accompany the petition. A Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) Affidavit provides information on the child’s residency history to establish court jurisdiction. Each parent must also file a Family Law Financial Affidavit (Short Form for incomes under $50,000 annually, Long Form for $50,000 or more), detailing their financial situation. A Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, showing the calculation based on the financial affidavits, must also be filed. A Civil Cover Sheet provides basic case information for the court clerk.
After filing, the other parent (the respondent) must be formally notified through service of process, usually involving personal delivery of the summons and petition documents by a sheriff or process server. If the respondent lives out of state or cannot be located, alternative service methods like long-arm service or constructive service (publication) may be used, though personal service is generally needed for financial orders.
The respondent typically has 20 days to file a written response (Answer) and may file a Counterpetition. Both parties must exchange detailed financial documents under mandatory disclosure rules. If the respondent fails to answer, the petitioner can seek a default judgment. Depending on whether the case is uncontested, contested, or proceeds by default, the next steps may include mediation, hearings, and ultimately a final judgment establishing the child support order.
Enforcement Options
When a parent fails to pay court-ordered child support, Florida offers several enforcement tools to collect current payments and overdue amounts (arrears). The DOR Child Support Program often handles enforcement, but parents can also pursue action privately through the courts.3Florida Department of Revenue. Child Support Compliance and Enforcement
An Income Withholding Order (IWO), under Florida Statute Section 61.1301, is a common first step. It requires the paying parent’s employer to deduct support payments from wages and send them to the Florida State Disbursement Unit for processing. IWOs can also apply to other income sources like unemployment benefits.
If payments remain delinquent, the state can suspend various licenses. Under Sections 61.13016 and 322.245, proceedings can begin to suspend the non-paying parent’s driver’s license and vehicle registration after notice and an opportunity to comply. Section 409.2598 allows the DOR to initiate suspension of professional, business, and recreational licenses following similar procedures.
Financial assets can also be targeted. The DOR can intercept federal tax refunds and state lottery winnings over $600. Liens can be placed on personal property, like cars or boats, preventing their sale until the support debt is paid. Funds can be seized directly from bank accounts (levy). Delinquencies can also be reported to credit bureaus. For parents outside Florida, the state collaborates with other states’ agencies under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), codified in Florida Statutes Chapter 88, to enforce orders across state lines.
If administrative methods are insufficient or non-payment is willful, court action may be necessary. The DOR or the receiving parent can file a Motion for Civil Contempt/Enforcement. If the court finds the parent willfully disobeyed the support order despite having the ability to pay, it can hold the parent in contempt. Sanctions aim to compel payment and may include setting up a payment plan, ordering a job search, imposing fines, awarding attorney’s fees, or, as a last resort, ordering incarceration until a specific “purge amount” is paid. Failure to appear for a contempt hearing can result in a warrant for arrest (writ of bodily attachment).
Modification Requests
Child support orders can be changed if circumstances change significantly after the order is established. Florida law allows for modification when there has been a “substantial change in circumstances,” as stated in Florida Statute Section 61.14(1)(a). This change typically must be significant, material, permanent, and often involuntary.
Common grounds for modification include a long-term increase or decrease in a parent’s income, changes in the child’s financial needs (like health or education costs), or a significant shift in the time-sharing schedule. Section 61.30(11)(c) notes that a parent’s consistent failure to exercise their court-ordered time-sharing can qualify as a substantial change.
Section 61.30(1)(b) provides a guideline: a substantial change might exist if recalculating support under current guidelines results in an amount differing from the existing order by at least 15% or $50 per month, whichever is greater. This threshold serves as guidance for the court, which still must determine if the underlying change warrants modification. For certain DOR-involved cases (Title IV-D), a lower threshold might apply for the Department to seek modification under Section 61.14(1)(d).
To request a change, a parent files a Supplemental Petition for Modification of Child Support, detailing the substantial change. An updated Financial Affidavit and a new Child Support Guidelines Worksheet must accompany the petition. The other parent must be served and will also need to provide updated financial information.
Crucially, any modification generally applies retroactively only to the date the supplemental petition was filed, per Section 61.14(1)(a). Informal agreements between parents to change the support amount are not legally binding; only a court order can modify the obligation. The existing order remains enforceable until a new one is issued.
Terminating Support
In Florida, the obligation to pay child support typically ends when the child turns 18, the age of majority. Florida Statute Section 61.13(1)(a)1.a. mandates that support orders specify termination on the child’s 18th birthday.4Florida Legislature. Section 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court For orders covering multiple children, a schedule must detail how support adjusts as each child reaches 18.
Exceptions exist that can extend support beyond age 18. If a child turns 18 but is still attending high school and reasonably expected to graduate before age 19, support continues until graduation, as outlined in Sections 61.13(1)(a)1.a. and 743.07(2). If graduation isn’t expected before 19, support ends at 18.
Another major exception applies to children with disabilities. Section 743.07(2) allows a court to order continued support for a dependent adult child if a mental or physical incapacity began before age 18 and prevents self-support. This support can potentially continue indefinitely, as long as the dependency persists.
Support can also terminate before age 18 under certain conditions. If a child becomes legally emancipated through marriage or court order (per Section 743.015), joins the military, or is legally adopted by someone else, the parent’s support obligation ends. The death of the child also terminates support. While the death of the paying parent ends the ongoing obligation, their estate may still owe any unpaid arrears accrued before death.
Termination of the current support obligation does not erase past-due amounts (arrears). These remain legally enforceable debts. Sections 61.14(10)(a) and 61.1301(3)(b) clarify that even after current support ends, payments must continue at the ordered rate until all arrears and associated costs are fully paid, unless modified by the court. Enforcement actions can continue until the debt is settled.
