Under Florida family law, parents must pay child support to support their children’s needs. At Peak Legal, we help parents dealing with child support issues navigate and settle their legal concerns. Our experienced family law team understands the complexity of legal issues arising from an upcoming separation or divorce, including child support. Our Miami divorce attorneys handle all child support matters and custody issues for our clients, from the establishment of child support payments to modifying child support orders.
How Does Child Support Work in Miami?
Child support is a payment made from one parent to the other parent who is supporting their minor child. The court can order the parent to make child support payments whether the separating parents are divorcing or never married. However, paternity must be established and can be ordered by the court in the case of unmarried parents.
Child support and other related expenses cover the costs of raising the minor child and may include:
- Childcare
- Healthcare
- Food, shelter and clothing
- Education
- Extracurricular activities
Parents still need the court’s approval to make child support arrangements legal, even if both parties agree during negotiations. In the judge’s eye, the child’s quality of life is the most important factor, and the child support agreement terms should be appropriate for the paying parent’s ability to pay.
How Is the Parent Responsible for Paying Child Support Determined?
The court has some flexibility in setting the child support amount in each case. When evaluating and determining the noncustodial parent’s child support obligation, family court judges typically consider these factors:
- The number of children eligible for and in need of child support
- Each parent’s monthly income
- Childcare costs covered by each parent
Health and dental/vision insurance expenses of each parent - Other support obligations ordered by the court
There’s never a perfect right or wrong method of determining child support arrangements. The divorcing parents should work together to find common ground and what works best for their kids and themselves. This can be difficult without legal representation.
What Happens If Child Support Isn’t Paid?
Parents sometimes provide false information or hide income to avoid paying child support. Our legal representatives at Peak Legal can investigate your ex-partner’s financial circumstances to ensure the court has the information it needs to properly determine child support in your case.
Parents who fail to pay child support as ordered by the court are subject to child support enforcement mechanisms as directed by the court. The noncustodial parent may be held in contempt of court and have their driver’s license suspended, tax refunds intercepted, bank accounts seized, passports suspended, or liens placed on their property.
There’s no statute of limitations on making child support payments. Therefore, the court may enforce the same limitations on the non-paying parent even after the child reaches the age of maturity. If the non-paying parent dies, the court may enforce child support payments against the deceased’s estate.
Can Child Support Be Modified?
Parents can request modification of a child support order after it has been established. Our child support attorneys help parents request child support modifications and prove that their circumstances have changed significantly since the original order.
Instances where the parent may apply for child support modifications include the following:
- Increase or decrease of income of the receiving or custodial parent
- Increase or decrease of the child’s or parent’s health insurance expenses
- Medical emergencies of the minor child or either parent that results in the capacity to make child support payments
- Increase in the cost of living
Our child support attorneys at Peak Legal help divorcing parents determine whether pursuing child support modification is appropriate. We help parents make their cases before the family court with the relevant supporting documents to justify child support modification.
How Can a Child Support Lawyer Help With a Child Support Case?
Hiring a family lawyer familiar with current laws, court proceedings and child support guidelines increases your chances of successfully presenting your case. Our clients receive critical legal advice from our knowledgeable family law attorneys.
Hiring an experienced family law attorney can help with your child support case. The attorney will:
- Explain the child support process
- Negotiate child support payments
- Help with child support implementation
- Protect your legal rights
- Cover complicated cases and modification proceedings
Our knowledgeable child support attorneys at Peak Legal will organize your child support case while protecting your rights. We also clarify and determine the terms of the child support orders and help our clients enforce custody agreements.
Work with Peak Legal for Your Child Support Case
Our family law attorneys at Peak Legal help clients looking to request, modify, or enforce their child support arrangements. Our core objective is to make the child support proceedings easier to navigate. We provide each of our clients with personalized, effective representation.
Our in-depth knowledge and extensive experience handling family law cases allow us to utilize efficient legal solutions and give each client the most favorable results. We understand the unique challenges parents face during this trying time and work to make the process as smooth and easy as possible while remaining thorough. Our team handles the legal paperwork to ensure our clients achieve a fair and just resolution to their child support case.
Contact Us Today to Get Started
With an experienced team of family law attorneys, Peak Legal is well-versed in Miami’s child support cases and legal landscape. We’ll help ensure your child’s financial needs are met while protecting your legal rights. Contact Peak Legal today or request a strategic consultation, and we can help you with your child support case in Miami.