How Collaborative Divorce Can Determine Child Support
Florida child support is calculated using a formula based on income, health insurance costs, and parenting overnights, but that guideline amount does not always reflect your child’s real needs. In a Collaborative Divorce, parents can move beyond the standard formula to create flexible, customized support arrangements that better match their finances and provide greater stability for their children.
How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?
When you and your spouse decide to divorce and you have minor or dependent children, you must decide how financial support for the children will be handled. In Florida, child support is calculated using a formula based on your net monthly income, health insurance costs, and the number of overnights your children will spend with each parent. This formula creates a baseline amount meant to cover everyday expenses like housing, food, clothing, and transportation.
The formula does not always reflect what is actually happening in your child’s life. One of the key factors in the formula is overnight time-sharing. While that number affects the calculation, it does not fully show how each parent is caring for the child. What matters most is what happens when your child is awake and how each of you are supporting their daily needs.
Child support typically continues until your child turns 18, or until high school graduation if that occurs before age 19. It is not taxable to the receiving parent and is not deductible for the paying parent. It is also always modifiable if circumstances change.
Why Child Support Guidelines Do Not Always Fit
The child support guidelines are based on a statistical calculation that reflects average expenses across the state of Florida. Because of that, the guidelines do not account for differences in cost of living from one area to another or for the specific needs of your children.
In some areas, the guideline amount may be more than what is needed. In others, especially in higher-cost areas, it may not come close to covering real expenses.
Because of this, the guideline number does not always match what your children actually need.
Working Through Child Support in a Collaborative Divorce
In a Collaborative Divorce, you and your spouse work together with a divorce team that includes your attorneys, a financial professional, and a mental health professional who serves as a facilitator. Instead of a judge deciding for you, you discuss your options and mutually reach an agreement that makes sense for your family.
This process gives you the opportunity to look beyond the guideline amount and focus on what will actually financially support your children.
Creating a Support Plan That Works for Your Children
When you are not limited to a strict formula, you can consider options that best reflect your financial situation.
For example, a parent can choose to provide more financial support than the guideline requires. This could include paying for education, activities, or other expenses that directly benefit your children.
In some situations, a parent with greater financial resources may provide more than the guideline amount. This can create more stability for the children and reduce the financial strain on the other parent.
When Creative Agreements Are Approved
If your children are financially protected, a different approach to child support can be accepted. In most cases, these types of agreements result in better outcomes because they are based on your family’s actual needs rather than a general formula that is meant to apply to all families in Florida.
Contact the Law Offices of Robert J. Merlin
If you are considering Collaborative Divorce and want to create a child support arrangement that reflects your children’s true needs, the Law Offices of Robert J. Merlin can help. We help you work through your options, understand what is possible, and build an agreement that fits your family. To schedule a consultation, call Robert J. Merlin at 305-448-1555 or contact us online.
The Law Office of Robert J. Merlin, P.A. is located at 250 Catalonia Avenue, Suite 706, Coral Gables, FL 33134.
FAQs
1. Can we agree to something different than the child support guideline amount?
Yes. You can agree on a different arrangement if it is better for your children.
2. Will a judge approve a different support agreement?
In most cases, yes, especially if your agreement provides strong financial support for your children.
3. Can child support change later?
Yes. Child support in Florida is always modifiable if circumstances change.
Bob Merlin is a Florida Bar Board Certified Family Law Specialist, he practices in the areas of divorce, time-sharing of children and parenting plans, child support, alimony, paternity, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, and cohabitation/partnership agreements.
As an experienced Collaborative attorney, Bob continually hones his skills in the Collaborative Process and trains other professionals how to become a Collaborative professional as he is.
“My goal is to help divorcing and other family law clients make well-informed decisions so they experience a more efficient process and feel more in control over their futures.”
