In Florida, non-payment of child support is considered a contemptible offense. If a spouse should be receiving child support through the state of Florida and is not, then the state will schedule a hearing for child support. If the party is represented by a private attorney, a child support hearing should be scheduled either with the circuit court judge who is assigned to the case, or with the magistrate who is sitting as a hearing officer. At the hearing, the parent receiving child support should request that the child support order be enforced, and that contempt be found against the offending party who is not abiding by his or her child support order.

Income withholding orders should have been entered at the time the child support was ordered. By having income withholding order established, we can force parties to comply with child support orders. A number of scenarios may result in prevention of the entry of an income withholding order. For example, a party may be self- employed and therefore an income withholding order was not entered begin with. In other situations, an employer may not be fulfilling the obligation to withhold the income, or an employment change has occurred. In any case, the court should be asked to find the non-complying party in contempt.

A contempt order will afford the paying spouse an opportunity to rectify the situation and purge themselves of that contempt. If the party does not purge themselves of contempt in the time allowed by a contempt order, the court can be asked to incarcerate the non-paying spouse.

What Are The Common Issues That Arise In Child Support Cases?

One common issue in child support cases stems from the fact that the number of overnight visits allotted to each parent plays a determining role in the amount of child support owed; the more overnight visits, the lower the child support obligation. Many parents fight for more overnight visits with their child simply because they want to spend time with their child. However, some parents are motivated to gain more overnight visits because it will lower their child support obligation. While it is hard to determine the motivation behind a parent’s desire for more overnight visits, the statute itself is fair; the more overnights spent with the child, the more money spent on feeding, clothing and entertainment for the child and that should ease the financial on the parent who received child support.

Another common issue in child support cases arises when either parent is self-employed. In cases of self-employment, it is often difficult to determine that person’s actual income. This poses a complication, since a person’s true income is a necessary component of the calculation used to determine child support.

For more information on Non-Payment Of Child Support, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (954) 755-0126 today.