Yes, it is.

Although deviating from child support guidelines is not easy, it is possible. If you are a parent who is struggling financially because your monthly child support award is minimal or you are paying so much child support that you cannot pay for your own basic monthly expenses, Florida Law may permit you to deviate from the child support guidelines amount.

Florida has specific guidelines in place to determine child support payments that are largely based on the income of each parent. However, in certain special circumstances, the court may deviate from these guidelines. Specifically, the court may adjust the total minimum child support award based upon the following deviations:

  1. Extraordinary medical, psychological, education, or dental expenses.
  2. Independent income of the child, not to include moneys received by a child from supplemental security income.
  3. The payment of support for a parent which has been regularly paid and for which there is a demonstrated need.
  4. Seasonal variations in or both parents’ incomes or expenses.
  5. The age of the child, taking into account the greater needs of older children.
  6. Special needs, such as costs that may be associated with the disability of a child, that have traditionally been met within the family budget even though fulfilling those needs will cause the support to exceed the presumptive amount established by the guidelines.
  7. Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and the child.
  8. The impact of the Internal Revenue Service’s Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, and dependency exemption and waiver of that exemption. The court may order a parent to execute a waiver of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption if they paying parent is current in support payments.
  9. An application of the child support guidelines schedule that requires a person to pay another person more than 55 percent of his or her gross income for a child support obligation for current support resulting from a single support order.
  10. The particular parenting plan, a court-ordered time-sharing schedule, or a time-sharing arrangement exercised by agreement of the parties, such as where the child spends a significant amount of time, but less than 20 percent of the overnights, with one parent, thereby the financial expenditures incurred by the other parent; or the refusal of a parent to become involved in the activities of the child.

Contact a dedicated Tampa child support lawyer to schedule an appointment

If you may be considering filing for divorce in Florida or require legal assistance with your child support case feel free to Patricia Palma, owner of The Law Offices of Patricia Palma, P.A. to discuss the details of your case. Ms. Palma can be reached by phone at 813-258-3211 or by email at [email protected].

The information in this blog is not legal advice. Legal advice is dependent upon the specific circumstances of each situation. Therefore, the information in this blog cannot replace the advice of competent legal counsel licensed in your state. 

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Palma Family Law, P.A.

Address

610 W Horatio St,
Suite 5,
Tampa, Florida 33606

Phone

813-258-3211