What to Know About Unpaid Child Support
Are you currently planning for a divorce in Florida with minor children from your marriage? If so, you may have many questions about child support, including who will pay child support, how the amount of child support will be calculated, and what you will need to do in the event that your ex-spouse does not provide the child support payments ordered by the court. Florida is an income shares state, which means that the court uses an income shares model to calculate child support. That model operates from the premise that both parents are responsible for contributing financially to the support of their children, with the court taking into account each parent’s income and the number of overnights with the child or children. But what happens if one parent does not pay?
Our Port St. Lucie family lawyers can provide you with more information about child support, and child support arrears issues in Florida.
How Child Support is Ordered in Florida
Florida courts calculate child support and create child support orders when parents are divorcing and have minor children from their marriage, as well as in circumstances where parents are not married but share minor children — regardless of whether the parents have ever been in a relationship with one another.
When courts calculate child support, as we noted above, the court presumes that both parents will be providing financial support for their shared children. Using the income shares model, the court looks at both parents’ incomes and the amount of time-sharing, and then calculates a total child support amount that is then divided between the parents based on their earnings and number of overnights.
Seeking Unpaid Child Support and Retroactive Child Support Under Florida Law
When one parent does not make their child support payments, Florida law has provisions for calculating unpaid support and for the other parent to seek unpaid child support (known as arrears) and retroactive child support.
The court will first calculate arrears, meaning the accumulated amount of unpaid child support based on the court order. The court will identify all missed payments and the unpaid amount. Florida law also calculates an interest rate on child support arrears, which will start to accrue as soon as the parent misses the child support payment.
Then, Florida law has enforcement mechanisms. When a parent owes child support arrears, Florida law allows for their wages to be garnished, as well as for tax refunds to be intercepted in order to pay unpaid child support. In addition, in certain cases, the nonpaying parent can be subject to a driver’s license suspension or to the suspension of other types of professional licenses until unpaid or retroactive child support is paid.
Contact Our Port St. Lucie Family Law Attorneys Today for
Do you have questions about child support in a divorce with minor children from the marriage, or concerns about child support in general or child support arrears? If so, you should seek advice from an experienced Port St. Lucie family law attorney at Baginski Brandt & Brandt today. We can answer any questions you have about child support and unpaid child support, and we can assist you with your child support case — whether child support is connected to a divorce case or arising out of another type of family situation. Contact our firm for help with your case today.
Source:
flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/61.30
