Miami family law attorney blog
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Child Support
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a person receives notice that a Florida administrative child support proceeding has been filed against them, what are their options? This was an issue in the case Wilson v. DOR, 1D2025-0894 (Fla. 1st DCA October 22, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
If paternity is contested in a Florida child support case that is being heard by a hearing officer, can the hearing officer rule on this disputed issue? According to Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.491(e), “A support enforcement hearing officer does not have the authority to hear contested paternity cases.” This was an issue in the case DOR v. Harris, 1D2025-0809 (Fla. 1st DCA October 15, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When the Department of Revenue (DOR) is involved in a Florida child support case, can the parties privately resolve their child support dispute without involving DOR? Sometimes, DOR is owed retroactive support due to the obligee parent receiving public benefits, so it may not always be possible to leave DOR out of agreements or other resolutions. This was an issue in the case DOR v. Serwe, 6D2025-0892 (Fla. 6th DCA October 3, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
How are social security disability dependent benefits treated in calculating Florida child support? In a recent case, the court credited these payments to the mother’s income, and the father appealed. The case is Cruz v. DOR, 4D2024-2179 (Fla. 4th DCA October 8, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
As we have seen in many types of Florida family law cases, the lack of a transcript on appeal can be fatal what may be an otherwise valid claim. This was an issue in the child support case Jackson v. Lawrence, 3D25-0342 (Fla. 3d DCA September 17, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a request to determine child support is made at trial, can the judge refer the matter to a hearing officer during the trial for final resolution? Although trial judges are permitted to refer child support matters to hearing officers, a recent case underscores that this cannot happen during a trial. The case is Bui v. Panzardi, 4D2024-1867 (Fla. 4th DCA April 20, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When determining income for purposes of a Florida child support calculation, there are special considerations when a parent is a business owner or shareholder of a corporate entity. Depending on the type of entity, there are different ways of viewing income received by the parent. This was an issue in the case J.E.B. v. S.A.B., 6D2023-0839 (Fla. 6th DCA July 11, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Once a child is emancipated (turns 18) in Florida, can a parent seek child support for that child? Once the child is emancipated, generally the child can seek support on his or her own under certain circumstances. A parent is limited to seeking retroactive support if no initial child support determination was previously made. This was an issue in the case Morrell v. Alsentzer, 4D2024-1148 (Fla. 4th DCA July 16, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a large sum of retroactive child support is ordered in Florida, how is the sum paid? Typically, a court will order that it be paid monthly, as an additional sum paid on top of the ongoing child support. When determining the amount, the court must take into consideration the total sum owed and the time it will take to pay it off based on the monthly rate ordered. This was an issue in the case Lucombe v. Lucombe, 5D2023-3185 (Fla. 5th DCA May 23, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
What is laches in a Florida family law case? This is a defense asserted by a party that means the other party waited so long to assert his or her claim, that the party asserting laches cannot adequately prepare a defense because, for example, evidence has been lost or is no longer available. This was an issue in the case Phanord v. Phanord, 3D24-0818 (Fla. 3d DCA May 14, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When calculating child support in Florida, it is possible for courts to make mistakes in calculating the numbers. This can be remedied, if necessary, via an appeal. But what if a party does not have a transcript of the trial at which the child support was calculated? This was an issue in the case Garwood v. Garwood, 6D2023-1793 (Fla. 6th DCA April 25, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
In an administrative child support proceeding, income can be attributed to a parent by subpoenaing bank records. This occurred in the case Antoine v. DOR, 4D2024-0360 (Fla. 4th DCA April 30, 2025), but the father alleged he was not the owner of the bank account funds.
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
In a Florida child support case, the court may assign the tax dependency exemption to one parent or the other. The court can also order that the dependency exemption be alternated between the parties, with one claiming the exemption one year, and the other claiming the exemption the next year. Modification of the tax dependency exemption was an issue in the case Dorsett v. Ferguson, 2D2024-0917 (Fla. 2d DCA April 23, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Sometimes, the wording of a Florida marital settlement agreement can be ambiguous or open to different interpretations. When this happens, the court may be tasked with deciding what the parties meant by specific phrases in the agreement. This was an issue in the case Stamler v. Stamler, 2D2023-2339 (Fla. 2d DCA April 11, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Child support in Florida is calculated using the net incomes of the parents, rather than gross income. This is because net income is the income truly available to a parent for payment of support. Use of gross income was an issue in the case Hunter v. Hunter, 5D2023-1818 (Fla. 5th DCA March 28, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Can you object to having a hearing officer preside over your Florida child support case and instead request that a judge hear the case? This was an issue in Smith v. Smith, 3D24-0687 (Fla. 3d DCA March 5, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
The standard of review for a child support award in a Florida family law case is abuse of discretion. This means the appellate court will review the trial court record to determine if the trial court abused its discretion in how it calculated child support. This was an issue in the case Phara v. Robert, 3D24-1237 (Fla. 3d DCA February 26, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a party fails to provide a transcript of his or her Florida family law hearing that was the basis of an appeal, the appellate court may not be able to grant relief. This is because the transcript is needed to review what happened at the trial or hearing. The appellate court is restricted to reviewing obvious errors in the order being appealed. This was an issue in the case Aguirre v. Andrukiebich, 3D24-0614 (Fla. 3d DCA February 26. 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Retroactive child support in Florida may be awarded to compensate a parent who was not receiving adequate support from the other parent before a case was initiated. Under Florida law, the court may award retroactive support dating back up to two years prior to the date of filing the petition for support. Such support was an issue in the case Ramirez v. Gregory, 5D2022-2659 (Fla. 5th DCA February 14, 2025).
Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When a parent is ordered to pay child support for multiple children in different cases, the Florida Statutes allow essentially for a credit to be given to that parent in calculating child support. For example, if a parent pays $500 per month for one child by court order, and is subsequently sued for child support for another child, the $500 paid for the first child will be deducted from the parent’s gross income when child support is calculated for the other child. Does this include retroactive child support that is paid? This was an issue in the case Williams v. DOR, 1D2023-3086 (Fla. 1st DCA February 12, 2025).
