Last year the Florida Legislature made more changes to the child support statute. Among those changes was a change to the rules about imputed income. It seems many people out there are confused about when the Census data income kicks in.
Let's review what is the same, namely when income is imputed. That only happens when a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. If you can prove the voluntary nature of unemployment, that's only step one. The next step is to prove how much they should be making. That's done with expert testimony at a trial.
The new statute deals with a different situation - when the other parent refuses to participate in the proceedings. Since you need the income of both parents to compute child support, when one parent refuses to provide his or her income on a financial affidavit, the other parent was often stuck. Now when a parent refuses or fails to provide income information, the Census data for average income can be used to calculate support. That's the appropriate use of the average income part of the new Florida child support law.
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Sorry you are having trouble. But actually, imputation has been around for a long time in Florida case law. The changes made things more explicit and provided a procedure to use when those paying support don't cooperate in the discovery process.
Posted by: Pamela S. Wynn | January 22, 2013 at 08:44 AM
Florida has imputed my 2008-2009 income using a law written in 2010. The statute never said Florida DOR could backdate and retroactively modify figures or apply non existant laws just because they know the law is going to be written in the future.
Posted by: Drew | January 20, 2013 at 08:10 PM
John, your question calls for legal ADVICE (law applied to specific facts). This blog deals with legal information (what the law says).
When you have an order that has not properly applied the law, you can appeal it within 30 days of rendition, but you usually need a transcript.
Anytime a modification or enforcement action is filed, all the financial provisions kick in again. Crazy huh?
Your best bet is to find a competent family law attorney willing to provide unbundled legal services so you can have consultations and pay as you go.
Best wishes.
Posted by: Pamela S. Wynn | February 04, 2011 at 09:15 AM
My ex makes 55k a year and I am in paramedic school and got fired (forced to resign) from being a firefighter. The judge had me pay full child support up until I put in a modification to change support which was about 3 1/2 months worth. He lowered it so that it is based on minimum wage. I get the kids about 12 over nights a month and feel a child support calculator should be used to reflect her income and the amount of time we split the kids but both the judge and her attny did not comply. My ex has an attny and now they are also looking for me to pay her fees too! Her attny wants to see all my financials now. What can or should I do for all this.?I can not afford attny so I represent myself and seems that they are not going by Florida law and I am being treated different than if I had an attny?
Posted by: John | February 03, 2011 at 05:44 AM