Quote:
Originally Posted by Maurobej
I live in Florida.
If someone can please help me with this....
I got divorced in 2004 and left my son (his mother) the equity from the sale of the house totaled about $70K+, she divorced me when I was out of the city (the summons were delivered to my little brother). Now, she wants to retroactive child support since the divorce. she got full custody and final judgment states she did not want child support, then she modified in 2006 stating she wanted child support but I was never served. I modified the final judgment for visitation rights and shared parental responsibility and I just started making child support payments last ($700.00 not including arrears) month and I need to know if the money I left her can go towards the arrear child support payments or how many years back I have to pay at what rate (income now or income in those years).
Also, Is there a minimum of income in the child support guidelines? Should her husbands income be formulated in the guidelines?
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Are you leaving out the fact that when she said she didn't want child support, you also said you didn't want visitation, or want to exercise your half of the parental controls over the childs life?
I am not sure how she said you don't have to pay child support. Child support isn't necessarily because the child "needs" it---look at rich actors and actresses who divorce---she gets child support when she has millions in her own right. Child support is also an exercise in moral responsibility, not just financial.
I would ask the attorney the questions you have asked here. I suspect the arrearage would be calculated on todays income, etc. But I don't know how she can decline for child support in arrearage and then come back later and ask for it unless it was stipulated for exigent circumstances in the original agreement (such as you were out of work and she had sufficient income, and didn't want you to go to jail for FTP, for example). Was she allowed to do that because you changed your position on seeing the child ( i.e. visitation)?
Her husbands income doesn't go to support the child ( obviously, in real time, it does) but HIS isn't calculated into a consideration of how much YOU have to pay. It may be, however, calculated into how much income SHE has if they are legally and lawfully married and how much ( what percentage ) she is responsible for.
And no, I don't suspect you can consider that money in the past as child support any more than you could consider the Christmas gifts that year, or a car you may have left behind as child support. But, the whole situation seems bizarre anyway. You need to consult with an attorney--she may not have legal grounds to seek arrearage, and is only doing so because you don't "know better"----you need an attorney.
Do answer the question about the visitation/child support issue, please? How is it that a court allowed you to NOT pay child support? Were you more or less abdicating your parental rights without actually doing so on paper, so to speak? And then reversed that and started paying/visitation?
Divorce Source: FLORIDA CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES UPDATE AND CURRENT TRENDS 2004