Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

Does a parent get a reduction for child support in Florida for child support paid for other children? The answer depends on many factors such as whether or not the support for the other children is court ordered, whether the other children are older are younger and whether a proceeding is for establishment versus modification of support. A father sought credit for two older children of whom he had custody when child support was calculated for his younger child in the case Robbins v. Kerns, 1D20-1310 (Fla. 1st DCA December 10, 2020).

The parties to the case were the parents of a preschool-aged child. The trial court ordered that until the child began kindergarten, the mother would have 60% time-sharing. Thereafter, the parties would have equal time-sharing. The court calculated child support by reducing from the father’s gross income child support he would have to pay if there were a child support order in place for his two older children over whom he had custody. The mother appealed both the time-sharing determination and the child support calculation.

With regard to the time-sharing issue, the appellate court agreed with the mother and reversed, holding it was error for the trial court to make a prospective determination of the best interest of the child. The court held “Courts must determine a child's best interests based on circumstances that exist at the final hearing; 'i.e., a present-based analysis.' [internal citation omitted] A court cannot assume that present circumstances will continue to persist, much less for two years.”

Turning to the child support calculation, the court found it was error for the trial court to deduct imagined child support for the father’s two older children from his gross income for purposes of calculating child support. The appellate court held “The Speed deduction from gross income was not available here, because the father has custody of his two other children and is not paying court-ordered support for them. The trial court had no authority to reduce the father's gross income for hypothetical child support of his two older children.”

However, the appellate court held the father was entitled to a deviation from the child support guidelines based on his support of his two older children. The court held “In contrast to the deduction from gross income under Speed, the Smith credit is a true credit because it is deducted from the basic support obligation. See Smith, 716 So. 2d at 335 (distinguishing between a deduction from gross income of amounts actually spent and an equitable adjustment of child support based on amounts that would hypothetically be spent). While the trial court incorrectly reduced the father's gross income by a hypothetical amount, the court was within its discretion to recognize these expenses, and it has discretion to credit them to the father's basic support obligation as a ‘Credit for Child Care.’ See Cochran, 253 So. 3d at 734-35.”

Calculating child support in Florida can be complicated when a party is not aware of all credits that can and should be applied to the calculation. Contact a Miami child support lawyer for a consultation to have Florida child support guidelines calculated in your case.