Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Sometimes an employer pays living expenses for an employee such as cell phones, vehicles and even rent. The Florida child support guidelines include as a parent’s income in-kind reimbursements from employers insofar as these payments reduce living expenses. This was an issue in the case McDaniel v. McDaniel, 2D20-2845 (Fla. 2d DCA June 15, 2022).
As part of their divorce case, the court awarded child support to the former wife. The former husband’s job required him to travel to various office locations in Florida. His employer paid him a per diem expense to cover gas and hotel stays when he had to travel between offices. The trial court included this per diem payment in the former husband’s income when it calculated child support, and the former husband appealed arguing this was improper.
The appellate court agreed with the former husband and reversed, holding “The Father's testimony did not indicate that these amounts in any way reduced his normal living expenses. And there was no other evidence to support the inclusion of the per diem amount in the Father's income. Because no competent, substantial evidence was presented establishing that the per diem payments resulted in a reduction of his everyday living expenses, it was improper for the court to have included those amounts in the Father's 2018, 2019, and 2020 income.”
Contact a Miami child support lawyer to understand how the law may apply to the facts of your case.