Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

Is rental income included for purposes of calculating Florida child support? The general answer is yes. Florida Statutes Chp. 61.30 define what should be considered income in determining a parent’s child support obligation. In the case Marenco v. Marenco, 2D18-1664 (Fla. 2d DCA July 29, 2020), the former wife appealed the trial court’s calculation of her rental income.

The former wife owned a pre-marital property which she was renting to a tenant. The former wife presented evidence at trial that she was not earning any money from this property and in fact was losing money since the mortgage, taxes and other costs associated with maintaining the property exceeded the rental income received. She further testified that the home was “underwater” and that she could only sell it at a loss. The trial court calculated the former wife’s gross income without including this negative income from the rental property, and based its child support ruling on this calculation. The former wife appealed.

The appellate court agreed with the former wife that the negative income should have been accounted for in the former wife’s gross income. The court determined that the issue should be remanded to the trial court for it to make findings as to why the negative income was not included. The court also addressed the former wife’s arguments that the trial court failed to address all matters which were pled, specifically that (1) a parenting coordinator should be appointed, (2) the parties should undergo counseling, and (3) life insurance should be required as security for the child support. The case was remanded for the trial court to make determinations on these issues.

A Florida divorce can involve complicated matters which are best approached with the assistance of a Florida divorce lawyer. Schedule your consultation to discuss your case.