Articles Posted in Child Support

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In a recent Broward divorce case, the former husband appealed the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. He claimed that Broward Circuit Judge Alfred J. Horowitz entered a final judgment of dissolution of marriage that did not reflect a settlement agreement that was reached by the parties and subsequently announced on the record.

During the trial, the parties reached a settlement agreement which was announced on the record by the former wife’s counsel. The trial court ensured that both parties had discussed the terms and conditions with their lawyer, had their respective questions answered and were entering into the agreement freely and voluntarily. Next, the trial court instructed the lawyers to submit a proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage reflecting the agreement announced in open court. Counsel for the former wife moved for the entry of a final judgment of dissolution of marriage when the former husband had retained new counsel, Sandy T. Fox, Esquire, who objected to the former wife’s proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage.

At the hearing several weeks later, the former husband’s new Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney, Sandy T. Fox, Esquire, argued that the former wife’s proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage did not reflect to the oral stipulation announced on the record. Specifically, Mr. Fox disagreed with the proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage as it related to the duration of alimony, child support award, equitable distribution of the marital residence and the payment of attorney’s fees and costs. Judge Horowitz instructed the Broward divorce attorneys to submit a proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage in accordance with the settlement agreement that was announced in open court.

After receiving a letter from Mr. Fox that objected to the former wife’s proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage along with the former husband’s proposed final judgment of dissolution of marriage, the trial court adopted the former wife’s proposed final judgment of dissolution without any changes whatsoever.

The settlement agreement provided for durational alimony of $1,000 per month but did not specify that it would continue for ten years, a period of time unilaterally selected by the former wife. As such, the final judgment of dissolution of marriage was remanded for the trial court to consider the duration of alimony and make findings consistent with section 61.08, Florida Statutes (2009).
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Last month, a Hillsborough County Circuit judge ordered the arrest of a successful Tampa area businessman, after he was found guilty of five counts of criminal contempt of court for failure to pay his child support and alimony obligations. The man reportedly failed to attend the contempt hearing where Judge Caroline Tesche sentenced him to almost six months in jail for repeatedly refusing to pay more than $6 million in alimony and child support.

The man’s ex-wife initiated divorce proceedings in 2009 and the former couple reached a final settlement agreement in July 2011. Although the couple has a 12-year-old son together, she stated her former husband has not supported them for several years. According to her attorney, the man now owes his ex-wife $10 million.

The man in this case is reportedly a decorated Vietnam veteran, a former president of a company, and previously ran a building materials business which allegedly reported profits of more than $4 million per month at its height. At one point, he reportedly owned a mansion and regularly drove several high end sports cars. Now, the man claims he is financially insolvent. In fact, he allegedly filed for bankruptcy just three days prior to the contempt hearing. Still, Judge Tesche believes the father has the ability to pay.

This man reportedly owns stock in several large companies as well as other assets. His attorney has argued that the man’s hands are tied as the former couple’s settlement agreement prohibits him from selling his stock in order to generate cash. He also claims the man is unable to liquidate any of his assets and lives off of loans and a small monthly Department of Veterans Affairs disability check.

According to the former wife, her ex-husband has the money and is merely hiding millions of dollars in assets from her. In November 2010, he spent more than two weeks in jail for refusing to produce documents during the couple’s divorce proceedings. When he filed for bankruptcy, the man reportedly estimated his assets as being in the range of $100 to $500 million and his liabilities at no more than $50 million. To further complicate the case, the Internal Revenue Service is also allegedly performing a criminal investigation into his affairs. His attorney has stated he is not aware of the man’s current location.

Each year many Florida residents find themselves in the midst of a less than amicable divorce. Understandably, the host of emotions associated with the end of a marriage can be overwhelming. The financial damage can oftentimes make a bad situation even worse. If you are contemplating divorce, you need an experienced family law attorney to help you protect your financial interests.
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A 30-year-old Opa-locka mother of three was arrested last weekend for allegedly attempting to sell her infant son for $7,000. She was charged with a felony adoption violation after she reportedly called an acquaintance and offered to sell him her 8-month-old son. The man, a confidential police informant, immediately alerted Monroe County authorities and assisted police by recording conversations with the woman regarding the planned sale. After she reportedly failed to meet the man and an undercover officer from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, she was taken into custody at her apartment. An outraged Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge ordered her bail set at $25,000.

The woman allegedly chose to sell her child due to financial strain. She had reportedly sought assistance from the Florida Department of Children and Families and the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust. According to her neighbors, she was also struggling to pay the monthly rent on a one bedroom apartment. The woman told the judge presiding over her bond hearing she only received $650 per month in child support from her estranged husband.

A Miami-Dade juvenile court judge, María Sampedro-Iglesia, placed temporary custody of all three of the woman’s children with her estranged husband. According to her husband, the infant the woman allegedly attempted to sell is not his child. Because he is currently unemployed, the judge also ordered him to seek food stamp assistance.

Another man attended the temporary custody hearing and stated he may be the father of the infant allegedly put up for sale. He stated he would seek custody of the child if a paternity test revealed he is in fact the boy’s father. According to Sampedro-Iglesia, the law views the woman’s husband as the child’s father and the other man currently has no paternal rights.

In Florida, parents are obligated to provide support for their children. A child support award is determined using established statutory guidelines. The award will take into account costs related to medical and dental care, day care, and the amount of time each parent is awarded according to their time sharing plan. If a child suffers from any disabilities, it may also factor into an award of support. If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or under-employed, a court may award child support based on imputed income. Imputed income is determined using a parent’s job qualifications, past employment record, and community pay rates.
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The Sun Sentinel is reporting that a Florida woman who was killed in her Tallahassee home had recently been awarded child support by a Florida marital and family law judge. Last Tuesday, Brandi Peters was awarded $307 per month in child support and retroactive child support in the amount of $22,925. The father of the twins, Antonio L. Anthony, had requested a paternity test which was denied by the court. Peters, her 3 year old son and 6 year old twins were all found dead on Saturday.

Law enforcement is treating the deaths as a homicide. They have spoken with the father of the twins and the father of the 3 year old son. The father of the twins has served three prior prison terms, was recently arrested in May, 2009 after serving a four year prison sentence and has prior offenses for aggravated assault with a weapon and armed burglary.

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Parents filing to establish or modify child support has increased the burden on Florida’s marital and family law court system. Child support hearing offices have been working overtime. Unfortunately, the court system can not deal with the increased demand without more employees. However, this seems unlikely given budget cuts in the state of Florida.

A parent in Broward that is trying to establish child support may have to wait up to six months for a hearing. In addition, parents requesting a modification of child support because of wage cuts or unemployment may have to wait up to three months for a hearing. In Florida, child support modification cases, specifically downward modifications, have increased by 50% since 2006. Broward Circuit Court Judge Susan Greenhawt who hears marital and family law cases including, but not limited to, divorce and paternity, believes that these type of cases really need to be heard since generally there is a contempt motion pending at the same time.

In some cases, individuals are unable to afford to hire a child support lawyer in Fort Lauderdale and proceed on their own. They use online forms, question the clerks and often forget important documents at their hearing. At the hearing, they often ask the court to appoint a lawyer since they can not afford one. Unfortunately, they have to do the best they can and often have their cases dismissed until they can present their case properly.

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You may be required to hire a Fort Lauderdale divorce lawyer to enforce your child support award through civil contempt. Civil contempt sanctions are utilized by the marital and family law court to compel compliance with a court order and used to compensate the moving party for losses sustained by the contemnor’s willful failure to comply with a divorce court order or judgment that requires him or her to pay child support.

One of the sanctions that a Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney may request is to revoke a delinquent obligors drivers license and motor vehicle registration as a sanction in order to compel payment of your child support. If the court orders incarceration, a coercive fine or any other coercive sanction for failing to pay child support, it is required that conditions be set to purge the contempt, based upon the obligors present ability to pay or comply. Accordingly, the sanction of a driver’s license suspension requires the Florida marital and family law court to find a present ability to pay any purge amount set by the court.

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When your Broward divorce lawyer files a petition for dissolution of marriage or paternity, there will be a request for child support in their are child related issues such as shared parental responsibility, time-sharing, a parenting plan and child custody involved. A divorce lawyer in Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Weston or Cooper City can request that the court award health insurance for your child, life insurance to secure the child support award, child support pursuant to the child support guidelines, out-of-pocket and uncovered medical expenses and the cost of private school.

In order to for the Broward marital and family law court to require the payment for the cost of private school expenses as part of the child support award, this must be plead in your petition by your Fort Lauderdale divorce attorney. The court may order the payment for private educational expenses if it finds that a parent has the ability to pay for private school. In addition, private school must be an expense that is in accordance with the family’s customary standard of living and in the child’s best interest.

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Peter Loftin, owner of the former Gianni Versace mansion on South Beach, Casa Casuarina, has been served with a paternity lawsuit by a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader. The lawsuit was filed on June 5, 2009 in the Miami-Dade county marital and family law court. The case is assigned to Miami-Dade Circuit Court Chief Judge Joel H. Brown, who presides over child support, divorce, alimony and paternity cases south of Fort Lauderdale.

Any woman who is pregnant or who has a child, any man who has reason to believe that he is the father of a child or any child may file a paternity action in circuit court to determine the paternity of a child when paternity has not previously been established. The court can require the child, mother and alleged fathers to submit to DNA testing that are generally acceptable within the scientific community to show a probability of paternity. The DNA test is conducted by a qualified technical laboratory.

A Final Judgment of Paternity generally will address child support, including but not limited to, a monthly amount, uncovered and out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses, hospital and medical expenses, costs of confinement, bills for pregnancy and child birth and any other expenses incident to birth. In addition, a Final Judgment of Paternity may also address shared parental responsibility, time-sharing schedules and a parenting plan so that both parents can have a meaningful relationship with the minor child.

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What happens if the Fort Lauderdale divorce judge has ordered you to make alimony or child support payments and you no longer can pay the amount? Do not neglect your payment obligation. Go back to the Broward County divorce court and file a petition for a downward modification of your child support and/or alimony. Whether you are paying child support or temporary, rehabilitative or permanent alimony, if you stop making payments, the marital and family law judge in Fort Lauderdale may hold you in contempt of court which means you could end up behind bars at the Broward County jail.

With the economy the way it is today, a number of spouses are finding it exceedingly difficult to make their payments. If you are the payor spouse and you are making less money than you were at the time of your support determination, you may have legal grounds to petition the court for a downward modification. If you are the receiving spouse it is wise to draft a new agreement with your ex detailing the percentage of downward modification and the length of time this modification will be in effect. Both parties should consult their attorneys and come up with a modification agreement so that the children and the parents are financially stable.

The statutory grounds for modification of alimony are found in section 61.14(1) of the Florida Statutes. When the parties enter into an agreement or the court orders alimony payments, and sometime later the financial ability or the circumstances change then either spouse may request the court for modification of alimony or child support payments. The party who petitions for a change in alimony must show that a substantial change has occurred. Showing a reduction in the payor’s income alone will not justify modification. The change must be involuntary and there must be no other funds in the payor spouse’s possession that could be used to keep current with the alimony obligation

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In Anderson v. Department of Revenue, the Fourth District Court of Appeals reversed a Broward County, Florida divorce court decision holding an indigent father in contempt of court for his failure to pay child support and for setting a purge of $5,000.00. Judge Alfred J. Horowitz, a divorce judge in Fort Lauderdale, Florida ordered Mr. Anderson to pay $5,000 in child support arrears within 48 hours to avoid jail time. Mr. Anderson timely appealed Judge Horowitz’s order to the Fourth District Court of Appeals because he was indigent; and therefore, would not be able to make the immediate $5,000 payment. The trial court determined that Mr. Anderson was indigent purposes of his appeal.

Mr. Anderson was in child support arrears over $50,000. Even though he owed a substantial amount of money, the Fourth District Court of Appeals held that the trial court committed reversible error in finding Mr. Anderson in contempt of court and thereafter determining that he was indigent for the purposes of the appeal. The Court reasoned that the finding of indigent status evidenced an inability to pay the $5,000.00 purge.

When a party is requesting that a court find an obligor in indirect civil contempt of court, incarceration cannot be used as a means to seek compliance with the court order when the contemnor does not have the present ability to purge himself of contempt. The contemnor must have the key to the jailhouse door.