Unmarried Parents And Child Support

Child support issues are often discussed in terms of divorce, where two parents were legally married, but are now ending their marriage and are grappling with dividing financial responsibility for their children. The reality, however, is that two parents don’t have to be married for a court to issue a child support award. In fact, this is relatively common in Florida, where unmarried parents may be seeking clarity on their financial rights and obligations regarding their children once they are no longer in a committed or romantic relationship.

Establishing Paternity in Florida 

When two parents are unmarried and are seeking to clarify their child support obligations, they’ll first need to establish paternity of their child. This doesn’t, however, need to be as complicated as it sounds. In these situations, many couples voluntarily acknowledge paternity of the child, so that there are no additional hurdles to obtaining financial support besides calculating the amount. If, on the other hand, one parent is denying paternity, the parties will need to obtain an administrative or court order requiring genetic testing and a clear result regarding the identity of the child’s father.

Determining Child Support 

Once paternity of a child has been established, parents can move forward with a parenting plan, which will in turn, include a child support order. To determine how financial responsibility for the child of unmarried parents will be divided, courts use a specific standard, known as the Income Shares Model that takes into account:

• Each parent’s income;
• The number of children being supported;
• Who provides coverage of the child’s health insurance and medical care; and
• How much time the child spends with each parent.

Basically, courts attempt to ensure that a child receives the same proportion of parental income that he or she would have received if the parents were still together. Once put in place, a child support order is legally binding, which means that a parent who doesn’t pay the requisite amount every month could face significant legal repercussions. It is possible, however, for a parent who has undergone a significant change in circumstances to request a temporary or permanent change to the amount of a child support award. A parent who lost his or her job, for instance, could obtain a temporary lowering of the child support award. A parent who is merely refusing to pay child support, on the other hand, will be denied such a modification and could be required to pay hefty fines, could lose his or her driver’s license, and could even be held in contempt of court.

Contact a Florida Child Support Lawyer for Assistance 

Unmarried parents often face additional legal hurdles when grappling with custody and child support issues. Dedicated Florida child support lawyer Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. has over 20 years of experience helping clients resolve these issues in as cost-effective and as speedy a manner as possible. Let us put our skills and resources to work in your own case. Call our office at

954-945-7591 to get started.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.30.html

floridarevenue.com/childsupport/child_support_amounts/Pages/child_support_amounts.aspx