Child Support Modification In Orlando Florida; Attorney Sean Smallwood
How Can I Modify My Child Support Payment?
There are many ways in Florida to modify a child support order whether you are the parent receiving support or the parent paying the support. In this blog post Sean Smallwood, ESQ. our Orlando family law attorney offers some information on this topic.
Any time there is what the courts consider to be a substantial change in circumstances then either parent may ask the court for an increase or reduction in child support payments. This means that is one parent gets a higher paying position, if a parent loses employment, or if a parent is not following their child custody schedule then there may be a change in support amounts available. Of course, the list of possible changes is much larger than just these three factors.
How Do I Know If My Child Support Can Be Modified By An Attorney?
Normally as long as the change fits the term of “substantial” to the satisfaction of the judge then a request for modification may proceed. When it comes to income, if there is a change in income of plus or minus 15% then child support may be recalculated. As always, the courts are on the lookout for parents who intentionally cause a decrease in their income and if this intentional underemployment is proven to the court then the requested change will not take effect.
In the event that one parent makes the claim that the other is intentionally underemployed then there are certain tools that the attorneys and judges have to get to the truth. These include getting employment records from employers, requesting bank records for past years, and conducting sworn depositions to name only a few. When all is said and done most Florida family law judges are good at noticing when a parent is trying to manipulate the system.
Resources:
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.30.html
Sean Smallwood is an Orlando divorce attorney for the law firm Sean Smallwood, Orlando Divorce & Family Law P.A. where he represents clients in all areas of family law and divorce. 100% of the practice is devoted to family law. As an attorney in Orlando, he has helped many families with a wide variety of family law cases including Divorce, Child Custody, Child Support, and many other issues.
