Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

Can child support be ordered past age 18 in Florida? The Florida Supreme Court has held “Generally, the obligation of a parent to support a child ceases when the child reaches majority, but an exception arises when the child is, from physical or mental deficiencies, unable to support [herself].” Perla v. Perla, 58 So. 2d 689, 690 (Fla. 1952). In the recent case Fernandez v. Fernandez, 3D20-104 (Fla. 3d DCA August 5, 2020), an adult dependent child petitioned the court for support from her father.

In September 2019, an adult daughter petitioned for financial support from her father, and the case was assigned to the family division of the circuit court in Miami-Dade County. The daughter stated in her petition that she was born with down syndrome, is missing fingers, and at age 27 is unable to work and is dependent upon her mother for daily financial and physical support. The father moved to dismiss the petition, contending the marital settlement agreement he entered when he divorced the mother did not provide for support for the daughter past age 18. The father further contended the mother made no effort to modify the child support before the daughter turned 18. The trial court agreed with the father and dismissed the petition, granting the father his requested attorney’s fees and costs. The daughter appealed.

The appellate court agreed with the daughter and reversed the dismissal and the granting of attorney’s fees. The court concluded “Section 743.07(2) preserves the common law right to seek adult dependent support from a parent in a court of competent jurisdiction when such dependency is the result of a mental or physical incapacity which began prior to such person reaching majority. The circuit court is a court of competent jurisdiction for such a cause of action and the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction to adjudicate the petition filed by [the daughter] seeking adult dependent support. The trial court erred in dismissing this petition for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, in denying rehearing, and in awarding attorney’s fees to Adolph under section 57.105 upon a finding that the petition was frivolous.”

Establishing child support in Florida for an adult dependent child is important to pursue as soon as possible. Schedule a consultation with a Miami child support lawyer to go over your options in your case.