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Child Support

Florida support follows the § 61.30 guideline schedule from combined net income, overnights, health insurance, and child care — presumptive, with bounded deviation.

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The calculation: both parents' net incomes combine, the statutory schedule sets the basic obligation, add-ons (children's insurance, work-related child care) get shared by income percentage, and substantial time-sharing (at least 20% of overnights each) switches to the gross-up method.

The real fights are the inputs: what counts as income, imputed income for voluntary underemployment, self-employment accounting, and the actual overnight count.

Support runs until 18 (or high-school graduation within limits) and can extend for dependent adult children. Enforcement runs through income withholding, the depository system, license suspension, and civil contempt.

Frequently asked — Florida answers

Can we agree to no child support?

Child support belongs to the child; courts are not bound by parents' waivers, and the guidelines worksheet requirement cannot be waived (Rule 12.285). Agreements below the guideline amount need justification the court accepts.

What if the other parent quits their job to avoid support?

Courts commonly impute income based on earning capacity for voluntary unemployment or underemployment (§ 61.30). Quitting is not an escape hatch.

How do I change an existing support amount?

Modification generally requires a substantial change — commonly framed as at least a 15% or $50 difference in the guideline result (§ 61.30) — via supplemental petition, not motion (Rule 12.110). Run the before/after in the scenario engine.

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