On behalf of The Law Office of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A.
Florida child custody laws may be difficult to understand not only because they were written in legalese, but also because these laws do not really work in the way it was intended.
If you are not represented by a Fort Lauderdale child support attorney, you may want to learn what legal issues may arise during your child custody battle and why it is important to understand the Florida family law legislature.
Please note that, since 2008, the official terms relating to child custody in Florida have been changed from custodial parent, non-custodial parent, and primary residential parent, to sole parental responsibility, shared parental responsibility, and similar. However, as the previous terms are still used interchangeably in everyday language, they are used here for easy understanding.
If you would like to clarify any of the points, please get in touch with a Fort Lauderdale child support lawyer.
What Do Florida Child Support Laws Say?
In a nutshell, Florida’s child custody laws can be summarized as follows:
- The primary obligation of every parent in Fort Lauderdale and elsewhere in Florida is to support their child;
- When it comes to determining child custody and child support, courts base their decisions on the best interests of the child;
- Child support must be mutual and based on each parent’s ability to earn a living and provide for their child;
- A child is supposed to share in the standard living of both parents;
- Child support is intended to reduce the gap in the standard of living between both parents (therefore, Florida laws allow a custodial parent to improve his/her standard of living because it improves their child’s standard of living);
- Under Florida’s child support laws, the custodial parent – or the parent who has the primary parenting time – contributes a large amount of his/her financial resources for the child, which means the non-custodial parent – or the parent with the non-primary parenting time – will be legally required to financially support their child;
- Florida laws are intended to reduce any legal issues and conflicts that may arise between parents in and outside of court after enforcing a child support order.
Legal Issues With Florida’s Child Support Laws
But do Florida’s child support laws really work in the way it is intended? Far from it. Our Fort Lauderdale child support lawyer from The Law Office Of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A. warns that the existing family law legislature in Florida is complicated and far from perfect.
If you are not legally represented by a skilled child support attorney, you may encounter a plethora of legal issues, pitfalls, and obstacles along the way. To name a few, the following issues may arise in the process of a child support battle or after an order has been put into place:
- Custodial parents who interfere with the other parent’s time with the children in violation of the child support order. Why? Because the parent is trying to limit the other parent’s time with the child in order to increase his/her own time (and therefore increase child support);
- Non-custodial parents seek more parenting time with the child even though they are not interested in spending more time with their children or have no time for it. Why? Because they want to decrease their child support;
- Both custodial and non-custodial parents who maliciously and deliberately refuse to find a job, accept a promotion, or even voluntarily take a pay cut only to increase or decrease child support;
- Parents who provide inaccurate information about their income decrease child support.
Needless to say, there are specific laws that punish parents for such things. If you believe that the other parent is engaging in any of the above-mentioned practices, speak to a Fort Lauderdale child support attorney immediately.
Contact The Law Office Of Gustavo E. Frances, P.A. for a free case evaluation today. Learn about your rights as a parent by calling our offices at 954-533-2756 or complete our contact form to get a free consultation.
