How long does child support take in florida
Frequently Asked Questions for Child Support Enforcement Division
Monday, October 17, 2022
Related Information
- QHow can the Child Support Program help me and my children?
- A
- They can:
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- Locate missing parents for child support purposes
- Establish paternity when needed
- Establish medical and financial support orders
- Enforce support orders
- Modify support orders
- QWhat are the address, telephone number and hours of operation?
- AChild Support Program
Overtown Transit Village, South Tower
601 NW 1ST COURT, 12th FLOOR
MIAMI, FLORIDA 33136
(786) 530-2600 - Child Support Program - Office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle (miamisao.com)
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The hours of operation are 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday.
- QWhat is a "parent who owes support"?
- A parent who owes support is the parent who does not live with the child and is ordered to provide support.
According to Florida law, every child under the age of 18 has the right to the support of both parents, including the parent who owes support.
- QCan the Child Support Program help locate the parent who owes support?
- A
Yes. They must know where to find the parent responsible for support. If this is not known, the Child Support Program will search for him or her through a variety of local, state, and federal location resources. It is very important for you to provide any information about the parent who owes support, so that he or she can be located. Otherwise, your case cannot move forward.
- QWhat is the application process and how much does it cost?
- A
There is no fee for this service.
If you are a parent receiving public assistance, you are automatically referred to the Child Support Program and you must cooperate with efforts to obtain support.Failure to respond to requests for information, or missing appointments and court hearings may result in sanctions being imposed, causing your benefits to be reduced or canceled.
If you do not receive public assistance, you need to complete an application for services.
To apply for the services of the Child Support Program, please do so online at Florida Dept. of Revenue - Apply For Child Support Services (floridarevenue.com)
- QHow is a child support order obtained?
- A
- If the location of the parent who owes support is not known, the Child Support Program will first need to find him or her before your case can be processed.
Once he or she has been located, the Child Support Program will send you correspondence to obtain preliminary information needed to begin processing your case.
Once the Child Support Program has obtained all the necessary information from you, your case will be referred to the Legal Department. The parent who owes support must then be served (notified of the action against him/her). The service process includes providing the parent who owes support with copies of the documents you have signed.
Once he or she is served, a court date can be scheduled.
- QHow long does it take to obtain an order?
- A
- The time it takes to obtain a child support order varies depending on the facts in your case, how much information you can provide, and other factors. These factors, which include successfully locating and then serving the parent who owes support with the case documents, actions taken by the opposing attorney, requests for paternity tests, the need for certified copies of existing support orders, etc., may delay the results. You can help speed the process by cooperating fully.
- QHow are support orders enforced?
- A
- The Enforcement Unit works hard to ensure you receive child support payments on a regular basis. Some methods used are:
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- Income Deductions - Payments are deducted from the non-custodial parent's paycheck.
- IRS Intercepts - Tax refunds can be intercepted to collect delinquent child support.
- Freezing Bank Accounts – A computer search is done for non-custodial parents who have bank accounts with participating financial institutions. If a match is found, the bank account may be frozen.
- Lottery Intercepts - Winnings of $600 or more from the Florida Lottery can be intercepted to pay delinquent child support.
- Liens - In certain cases, courts can place liens on real estate and personal property for non-payment of child support.
- Consumer Reporting Agencies - Information about delinquent child support is given to credit reporting agencies, possibly affecting the non-custodial parent's credit rating.
- Suspension of Licenses - Driver's license, vehicle registration, and professional licenses can be suspended or denied for not complying with a court order for child support.
- Referral for Contempt - Court action can be taken if the non-custodial parent does not pay the child support as ordered by the court. He/she could face potential penalties, such as jail time.
- Passport Denial – NCPs can be denied U.S. passports if their certified past due amount exceeds $2,500.
- QHow are the support payments processed?
- A
- All child support payments must be sent to the State of Florida Disbursement Unit, PO Box 8500, Tallahassee, Florida, 32314-8500. Official court records are created of payments and disbursements to allow accurate enforcement and monitoring of your child support case. For this reason, you must not take payments directly from the parent who owes support.
If you do not receive public assistance, a check will normally be mailed from Tallahassee within two working days of receipt of the payment. If you do receive public assistance, support payments may be kept by the State of Florida as reimbursement for the public assistance you are receiving from the state.
- QHow is paternity (fatherhood) established?
- A
- When a child is born to parents who are not married, fatherhood must be determined before any other action can take place.
The alleged father may voluntarily admit that he is the father of the child(ren). In cases where he does not admit paternity, a court hearing and/or paternity test is scheduled. When a paternity test is necessary, the child's mother, the alleged father and the child are tested.
- QHow much child support will be ordered?
- A
- The amount ordered is based on guidelines set by Florida law which take into account the children's needs and the income of both parents. Childcare costs, health insurance costs, and other children are also considered.
- QI already have a child support order, but I am having problems with the payments. Can the Child Support Program help me?
- A
- Yes. If you already have an order for child support and/or medical insurance, the full force of the law will be used to enforce that order so that you can receive regular payments.
- QCan I get help if I don't have a child support order?
- A
- Yes.
If you don't have a court order, legal proceedings will be used to establish child support and medical support obligations so that you can begin to receive payments from the parent who owes support.
- QCan the Child Support Program help me with visitation, custody or alimony matters?
- A
- The Child Support Program does not enforce visitation or custody rights. Nor does it enforce alimony obligations, unless there is an ongoing child support enforcement matter which is being handled by the Child Support Program.
- QHow can I modify the amount of child support?
- A
- Once the support order is established, it may be modified if there is a significant change in your financial situation or that of the parent who owes support. If you request a modification, the amount will be recalculated based upon guidelines set by Florida law. Normally, a modification petition is filed with the court only if the guidelines show the amount should change by at least 15% or $50 monthly, whichever is greater.
If this is an interstate case (involving another state), there may be additional restrictions. Once the process is started, we are required to pursue it to completion even if it means the parent who owes support will pay less.
- QWhat happens if the parent who owes support lives in another state?
- A
- When the parent due support and parent who owes support s live in different states, the Child Support Program works with child support offices in other states. When this type of case is referred to another state, that state's child support enforcement office and court system must be allowed to process the case within their applicable time frame.
The United State and the State of Florida have also entered into international agreements with various foreign countries for the establishment and enforcement of child support obligations.
The State of Florida has also entered into international agreements with various foreign countries for the establishment and enforcement of child support obligations.
- QHow can I find out the status of my case?
- A
- You can check on the status of your case by registering for eServices at https://childsupport.floridarevenue.com
You may also contact our Call Center at (305) 530-2600
- QWho do I contact if I am a person with a disability who has been noticed, and needs assistance, to participate in a court hearing?
- A
- Please contact ADA Coordinator, at:
Voice Mail: (305) 349-7175
TDD: (305) 349-7174
Fax No:. (305) 349-7355
Email:. [email protected]
Florida Child Support (2022): Florida Family Law
Child support is a court-ordered obligation of the financial responsibilities for a child’s care, maintenance, training, and education. See Florida child support law 39.01. It is the responsibility of every parent, regardless of whether the two parents are married, divorced, or single. Under the state’s child support law, parents cannot waive child support payment obligations.
See Finn v. Finn. Parents of a minor child have a legal and moral duty to aid and maintain their child.
The amount of child support will be based on Florida’s Child Support Guidelines. The Guidelines outline the amount of assistance to be paid for each specific case. The payment amount is based primarily on the parents’ income, custody rights, and the number of children involved. The court will strictly enforce the Florida Child Support Guidelines in most instances. However, in some circumstances, the judge can deviate from the Guidelines. A family law attorney in Tampa can help provide examples of when a judge may alter from the Guidelines.
What Does Child Support Cover?
The child support process intends to ensure the child continues to be provided with an acceptable standard of living.
All child support payments are meant for the benefit of the child. However, some benefits may incidentally accrue to the non-paying parent. For example, child support payments may include the following items.
- Food and Clothing. In addition to weekly groceries, account for eating out and school meals and; regularly shopping for clothes.
- Educational Expenses. – Tuition, uniforms, books, supplies, and activities (after-school sports, music lessons, etc.) may be covered.
- Medical Costs. Out-of-pocket medical expenses (deductibles, uncovered services, etc.) required to maintain a child in good health may be included.
- Hobbies, Activities, and Entertainment. There is more to life than good food, education, and health. Remember to include expenses for summer camps, swimming lessons, and movies.
How To Determine The Amount Of Child Support In Florida
The amount of payments will be based on the Florida Child Support Guidelines.
The Guidelines outline the financial responsibilities required based on the parent’s net income and the number of children involved. The amount and duration of child support payments will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case. For information about your specific case, seek the advice of a child custody lawyer in Tampa.
The main factors determining the amount of support payments are the combined monthly incomes of both parents and the number of children they share. The number of overnight stays each parent has with the children will also impact the amount of support payment required. Additional factors such as the child’s medical, dental, psychological, and educational needs will also be a note for consideration.
Child support will likely be paid even if the children spend equal time with each parent. It is a rare case when neither parent is responsible for support payments. For instance, if there is equal timesharing, but the mother earns more money, she may be required to pay child support.
Generally, support will be provided unless both parents earn the same income and have equal custody.
Child Support With Shared Custody
In cases involving joint custody, the court will typically apply a four-step analysis to determine the amount of child support. The first step is to calculate the total amount of child support payments required by reviewing the Guidelines. Next, the court will determine each parent’s share under the Guidelines. Each parent’s share is determined by dividing their monthly income by the combined monthly of both parents. Next, the court will determine the amount of time each parent has custody of the child as a percentage. For instance, if the parents have 50/50 custody, their responsibility will be 50%.
The fourth step is to review the Child Support Guidelines to determine each parent’s share of the support. The court will proportion the complete support responsibilities on the percentage of time each parent has custody of the child. See Jaworski v.
Jaworski. If the combined monthly net income exceeds the $10,000 listed in the Guidelines, additional calculations will be needed. The amount over $10,000 will be based on the number of children and income above $10,000. See Florida child support law 61.30.
How To Deviate from The Florida Child Support Guidelines
The judge will often follow the state’s Child Support Guidelines when deciding the amount of support. However, the court does have the discretion to deviate from the Guidelines if the facts warrant it. Regardless, child support must be reasonable and not require the other parent to pay more than they can afford. See Marsh v. Marsh. When deciding whether to deviate from the Guidelines, the court will consider all relevant factors. These factors include but are not limited to: the child’s needs, the standard of living, each parent’s age, and the financial status of each parent. See Finley v. Scott. A written explanation will be required if the Court deviates from the Child Support Guidelines by more than 5%.
Parents of a minor child have a legal and moral duty to support and maintain their child. See Martland v. Arabia. Under Florida’s child support law, parents cannot waive child support obligations. Parents are allowed to stipulate and agree to the amount of payments; however, the amount of aid must be in the child’s best interests. Support agreements are subject to approval by the state’s family law court. The agreements will only be approved if the benefits provide for the proper care and maintenance of the child. See Wendel v. Wendel.
Back Owed Child Support In Florida
Under Florida child support law, a parent has the right to seek retroactively (back owed) child support. Generally, retroactive child support will date back to when the parents stopped residing together in the same home. Regardless, the period for retroactive child support in Florida cannot exceed 24 months.
The Florida statute on retroactive child support was enacted in 1998. Before the retroactive child support law was passed, back-owed support for paternity cases was not limited to 24 months and could go as far back as the child’s birth.
Therefore, if a child was born before 1998, the amount of back owed payments will not be limited to just 24 months. In these cases, the mother may seek child support dating back to the date the child was born. Additionally, a parent may be able to sue for retroactive child support even after the child turns 18. See Campagna v. Cope.
The Amount Of Retroactive Child Support
The amount of child support will be paid based primarily on the Florida Child Support Guidelines. This can be very difficult in retroactive child support cases because the parent’s income may have fluctuated during the period child support should have been paid. For instance, if the parent’s income varied weekly, the court may have to make individual determinations for each week during the 24 months.
Usually, retroactive support will be added to the monthly payment of future child support. All payments made by the father to benefit the child throughout the retroactive period can be considered. Additionally, the court must consider allowing a payment plan for the total amount of retroactive child support in a timely manner.
Later Born Children
If a parent is ordered to pay child support, it can affect the amount of support required for subsequent children. The amount paid can be deducted from the parent’s gross income used for Florida child support payment calculations. See Child Support Law 61.30(3)(f). Keep in mind; this only applies to a child support order. Thus, if a parent voluntarily provides support without a court order, the deduction will not apply under this Florida statute.
Under Florida statutes regarding child support law, adjustments to the Guidelines may be premised on a parent’s reasonable and necessary expenses. Providing support for other children can potentially be classified as a reasonable and necessary expense under the law. See Flanagan v. Flanagan. These cases can be complicated and require thorough Florida child support law knowledge. Therefore, if you need help, contact a Tampa child custody attorney.
Child Support When Parents Live In Different States
When parents live in different states, it can create jurisdictional issues with the court.
If the case is not filed correctly, the court may not have jurisdiction (authority) to enforce the support. Therefore, it is essential to reference the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) for such cases. Under federal law, each state must have the UIFSA in effect to enforce child support orders. The UIFSA provides uniformity amongst the states for child support processes and procedures. Additionally, it provides for enforcement of support orders from foreign states. Thus, under the UIFSA, a Tampa child support attorney can take legal action to enforce a child support order on a resident of another state.
The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
The UIFSA can also be utilized in Florida to secure child support when parents live in different states. Thus, a Florida court can establish a child support case, regardless of the parent seeking payments is residing outside of Florida. Conversely, Florida can also assist with enforcing a support order from another state.
See Florida Child Support Law 88.4011.
Under the UIFSA, all states must recognize and enforce support obligations from other states. Therefore, a Florida attorney can help with child support when parents live in different states. For instance, if a Florida family law court issues a child support order and the father subsequently moves to Georgia, the UIFSA will assist in enforcing the order in Georgia. Without the UIFSA, Florida may not have jurisdiction to enforce child support when parents live in different states.
The Florida Department of Revenue can also assist in collecting child support. The Florida Department of Revenue can garnish wages, suspend a driver’s license, and withhold federal income tax refunds. If the party obligated to pay is not a Florida resident, the Department can also assist in working with states with jurisdiction. Additionally, the enforcement action will not be barred simply because the adolescent is over the age of 18. See Florida v. Vorac. The Florida Department of Revenue can be a great resource, but they are no substitute for a custody attorney. If you need legal advice, consider contacting a child custody law firm in your area.
Hiding Income For Child Support
Unfortunately, many individuals will underreport their income to avoid or lower the child support payment. In cases such as these, the imputation of income may be a valuable tool to secure. If the other party is hiding income, the court can impute a salary on that parent. The court can also impute income if the other party is unemployed or underemployed. If proven, the parent will be obligated to pay support based on the imputed salary,
Under Florida law, when a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court shall impute income. The income should be based on the parent’s employment potential and probable earning capacity. In imputation cases, the court will consider the parent’s work history, qualifications, and prevailing income level in the community. See Florida child support case Guard v. Guard.
The family law judge must make specific factual findings based on evidence relating to the current job market, the parent’s employment history, and the prevailing salary in the local community to impute income. If there is sufficient evidence to support the court’s imputation of income, it will not be reversed on appeal request without a finding that the court abused its discretion. See Rojas v. Rojas.
How To Impute Income
The court will usually apply a two-part test for alleged imputation of income cases. First, it must be determined that the lack of employment or reduction in income was voluntary. Second, the court must have determined that the loss of income resulting from the parent’s pursuit of their own interest is due to a less than diligent and bona fide effort to obtain employment at an income level equal to what the parent could earn. See Schram v. Schram.
Typically, Florida courts won’t focus on if the parent left their previous employment voluntarily or involuntarily. Instead, the focus is on what the parent has done since the prior employment. For instance, has the parent remained unemployed voluntarily or made a bona fide good faith effort to find employment.
The child support lawyer seeking to impute income will have the burden of proof. Based on the two-part test above, the lawyer must show that income should be imputed to the other parent.
Modifying Child Support In Florida
If there has been a substantial change in circumstances, support may be modified. The judge will only be concerned with changes that occurred after the prior case. Issues that arose before the initial case will usually not be considered for modifications. This is true even if there are facts that were not discussed in the prior case. Typically, judges will only be interested in changes since the last order was issued.
For instance, if a parent has encountered an increase or decrease in income, support may be modified. Generally, there will need to be at least a 10% change in income to qualify as a substantial change. Even if you had a decrease in income, that does not automatically mean support payments will decrease. For instance, the opposing party may have also had a reduction in income, and that decrease may be more significant.
Thus, it is recommended to discuss all the case facts with an attorney before filing for a modification. A thorough review will likely be necessary to develop a successful plan to lower child support payments.
Generally, the more time a parent spends with the child, the lower their support payments. Therefore, if the amount of overnight stays with the children is modified, support may need to be adjusted accordingly. Support may also need to be modified if the timesharing arrangement has changed. See Bloom v. Panchysyn.
Enforcement Of Child Support Payments
Florida has stringent child support laws to ensure that a parent is paying their required amount of support. A parent may seek assistance from Florida’s Department of Revenue or a private child support law firm.
A parent also has many different types of sanctions when enforcing a child support program.
Under Florida child support law, a court is authorized to garnish wages to enforce child support payment. A wage garnishment automatically deducts the funds from the payor’s paycheck. The garnishment can occur periodically and continue for as long as the court deems necessary. Further, orders for child support payments are not susceptible to the head of household defense to garnishments. See Waddell v. Schwarz.
Tax refunds may be garnished to satisfy the Florida child support program. Further, the court can order the exemption to be allocated to the payee on a permanent or rotating basis. The dependent tax exemption can be a substantial amount of money. Therefore, this can be a significant penalty for failure to comply with a support order in some cases.
Failure to pay support can result in a driver’s license suspension. See Florida family law 61.13016. Further, under Florida Statute 61.
13015, the payor’s professional license can be suspended as well. However, the suspension can be stopped if it would result in irreparable harm to the payor and not help collect payment. Additionally, the court may refuse to suspend a license if there is a good faith effort to make payments.
Contempt For Failure To Pay Child Support
Either civil or criminal contempt can enforce failure to comply with a court order of support. However, civil contempt is used much more frequently than criminal contempt. To convict a person of criminal contempt, the evidence must prove the defendant can pay, and the failure to pay is willful and intentional. Further, since it is a criminal prosecution, it must comply with Rule 3.840 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
See Bowen v. Bowen.
If convicted of criminal contempt for failure to pay, the incarceration must not exceed 180 days. The incarceration is designed to encourage payment of the due funds rather than as punishment. Therefore, often a court will purge the contempt if the defendant pays a specified amount.
On the other hand, the burden of civil contempt is much easier to satisfy. Civil contempt only requires there to be an existing order of support that has not been paid timely. Even though the burden is lower, there may still be defenses to contempt. For instance, showing that due to circumstances beyond their control, they no longer have the ability to tender the payments may avoid contempt. For this defense to apply, the defendant must prove the failure to pay is unintentional. Further, the payor must also prove that the inability to pay is due to an intervening circumstance not contemplated at the time of the original order.
Consult a 5-Star Family Law Firm in Tampa
The attorneys at Florida Law Advisers, P.
A. have years of experience advocating for and against child support. We understand how important these matters are and fight hard for our clients. If you need help with a child support program, call us at 844 698 3765 to request a free consultation with a Tampa family attorney over the phone for your convenience.
American divorce. How is the issue of alimony resolved in the States? | Psychology of life | Health
And how is the issue of alimony resolved in the States?
Good reason
For a few more years in New York State, for example, in order to get a divorce, you had to admit one party was guilty and the other was offended. One of the spouses had to confess to treason, drunkenness, beatings...
When nothing of the kind really happened, someone alone had to take responsibility for the crime against the family. And only in 2010 there was adopted a law on the possibility of divorce "without anyone's fault", although the rest of America had already done this a long time ago.
Divorce, where both parties are not to blame, is based on two main reasons: people “have not lived together for a hundred years” (in fact, they have not lived for at least a year and a half) or they are separated by irreconcilable differences.
The first progressive "no fault" divorce law was passed in Oklahoma in 1953, and 17 years later California did the same feat. Then the governor there was Ronald Reagan - the future president of America. It is no coincidence that it was he who had a hand in the liberalization of family law. Reagan is the only one of all 44 US presidents who had a divorce in his biography, which did not prevent him from making his second wife the first lady of the country - Nancy .
Emancipation, however!
I am not a feminist, so I am not horrified when a woman receives alimony from her ex-husband after a divorce. But the way men fight for their wives' money is amazing. The client of a lawyer friend of mine, an engineer by profession, pays her husband three thousand dollars a month, literally half of what she earns.
They didn’t make children, and the engineer doesn’t understand why she should feed someone else’s grown-up child - her ex, who doesn’t work and is just going to study design or business, what exactly, he hasn’t decided yet. But recently the engineer got lucky: she unearthed a terrible secret. It turns out that a 22-year-old girl, an aspiring fashion designer, has been living in the house of her ex-husband for four months now.
This became the reason for a new trial: the ex-wife was spotted and, turning to the judge, said that she did not have the strength to feed two creative people. The husband justified himself that the designer girl was like a daughter to him, but the judge did not heed this argument and the amount of alimony decreased, however, insignificantly. The ex-husband was also recommended to look for a job, bring documentary evidence of mailing his resume to employers and attending an interview. The man left the courtroom gloomy and "robbed".
Still, on an all-American scale, female alimony is still not common, in 2010 only 3% of all divorcing husbands received payments from ex-wives, although, according to experts, the number of such men is growing rapidly.
Is money more precious than love?
In most states, child support is paid until the ex-spouse marries or remarries. But in the state of Florida, for example, the terms of payments were limited not so long ago. The judge sets a time limit, let's say 2 years, since he believes that this time is enough for a woman who did not work in marriage after a divorce to learn how to earn her own bread. The amount of alimony depends on how the marriage was - long or not very long. If you have been married for less than 11 years, this is not considered a long time in Florida. Supporters of a limited period of alimony payments are sure that these payments are “harmful” and often slow down the start of a new life: women do not remarry and even maintain their lonely state in every possible way, because money is more precious than love.
And the financially more prosperous half, in order not to pay alimony, goes to deceit and sometimes to the complete collapse of their career.
In general, it is enough to go to the site of divorced and divorced people once and read their stories to understand that all these people are unhappy.
In seven US states, a husband or wife can sue the lover or mistress who caused the divorce. And the "razluchnikov" will answer according to the law for invading foreign territory.
Men also cry
One pensioner, 67 years old, left the state of Massachusetts, according to the laws of which he had to pay his ex-wife, with whom he had been married for 34 years, large alimony. In 2009he lost his job as a pharmacist, and never found a new one, owed his wife 20,000, for which he served four days in prison, until friends and relatives made up the shortfall for him.
After that, the ex-husband went to live on an Indian reservation, since he was a quarter of the Cherokee.
Now he is sitting there and saying: I am already old, release me from lifelong alimony to my ex-wife, but we are in a completely equal position.
But in Massachusetts there is no such law that the old ex-husband can not pay alimony to the ex-wife. And in some others, laws have already been passed, according to which the payment of alimony is suspended after reaching retirement age.
In the meantime, the 67-year-old American sits on the reservation, receives a pension of $ 800 a month, most of which goes to pay alimony to his ex-wife.
Who is in profit
The longer a divorce lasts, the more expensive it is. Half of the spouses during this time unite in a common feeling of dislike for lawyers. Lawyers here are called bees who collect honey from divorce flowers, and the longer they collect, the better for them.
The average time for which you will be divorced is from one to three years. The lawyer takes for such cases as for heart surgery, if the case is complex, and if it is simple, then as for appendicitis, which is also a lot.
An amazing coincidence: of the four female divorce lawyers I know, three are single and have never been and never intend to. And I don’t even mentally ask them why…
You might be interested: How to survive a divorce from your husband, advice from psychologists →
Peculiarities of paying alimony in the USA - who pays whom and how much? Everything you need to know about divorce in the US
Contents
- Divorce with minor children in America0064
- Alimony in Russia and the USA: who pays whom and how much?
- American divorce. How is child support dealt with in the states?
- Procedure for collecting child support in the USA
- Amount of maintenance payments in the USA
- How is alimony paid to a wife in the USA?
- Income
- Deductions
- Childcare expense
- Healthcare expense
- Other expenses
- 0064
- Good reason
- Emancipation, however!
- Is money more valuable than love?
- Men also cry
- Who is in profit
- Recovery problems
- Which law should be applied?
- Naughty Parents
- Imprisonment
- U.
S. Dependent Recovery Features - Paternity Fraud, Non-Adopted, Non-Biological Children
- Fines
- Final Judgment
- Uniform Desertion and Withdrawal of Support Act
- Uniform Reciprocal Support Act (URESA)
Divorce with Minor Children in America
Divorce is almost always a negative experience, because divorce is almost always a negative experience accompanied by stress, depression, waste of money, nerves and time. And of course the United States is no exception.
Here the average duration of marriage is 18 years, and the divorce rate is 53%, which is 2% more than in Russia. The number of divorced in different states of America is somewhat different.
Thus, in Nevada the largest percentage (14.7) was recorded, and in New York the smallest (7%), most likely due to the fact that here citizens decide to marry at a more conscious age. Despite the unpleasant procedure of divorce, it often turns out that discord occurs in the family due to misunderstanding, lack of money, bored life, betrayal and many other reasons.
Then the spouses see only the dissolution of the marriage as a constructive way out.
Dissolution of a marriage must take place in court. The party applying for a divorce must state in court the good reasons for their decision and present facts that prove that the marriage no longer makes sense and it would be better to dissolve it.
The court then notifies the other party of the motion. If there is no response after 30 days, the court will consider that both parties agree to a divorce. The divorce period becomes much more difficult and unpleasant if there are children in the family, especially minors.
Then you need to decide with whom the child will live after the divorce. If the spouses cannot resolve the issue on their own, then they deal with the court.
Usually preference is given to those who spent more time with the child, took better care of him, with whom a closer relationship was established. If the child is over 12 years old, then he has the right to choose a parent.
In the United States, divorce proceedings are a very expensive “pleasure”.
Lawyers here value their services at a tidy sum, besides, divorces usually drag on for a long time. And this entails significant additional costs. Therefore, when entering into marriage, it is recommended to conclude a contract, where all the conditions will be specified to the smallest detail.
If the ex-wife of an American citizen was a foreigner, she can file for alimony both at her place of registration and her husband. But due to the possibility of non-enforcement of foreign laws in the United States, lawyers advise choosing the latter option.
Alimony in Russia and the USA: who pays whom and how much?
Moreover, it is established for a sufficiently long period. Usually, the termination of the obligation occurs after the former spouse remarries.
Women often take advantage of this, slowly formalizing new family relationships officially.
There are cases when husbands manage to claim funds for their maintenance from ex-wives. But the percentage of such cases is small.
More often, men literally beg competent officials to release them from the need to allocate money in the interests of their ex-wife, they try to prove that the spouse is well enough provided for and simply enriches herself at the expense of her ex-husband. Summing up all the above, we can say that alimony legal relations in the United States are based on fairly understandable and logical principles that are typical for alimony obligations in many countries of the world.
American divorce. How is child support dealt with in the states?
Despite the fact that the plaintiff in the case will not be a resident of the state under whose law the issue is being considered. But in relation to the defendant, "native" laws will be applied. Nevertheless, it is easier to apply local law to the debtor than foreign law.
Thus, answering the question of how to obtain legal alimony from a US citizen, we can identify the most potentially successful option:
- Find a legal specialist working in America with Russian-speaking citizens who specializes in family matters.
- Entrust him with the authority to collect funds, based on US law.
About the features of collecting money for dependents in the USA As already mentioned, case law is strong in America. Free in lawmaking and individual states. And they use it. Alimony laws, for example, Florida and Texas will be different.
US child support procedures
About 25% of children in the US live in single parent families. The spouse who lives alone with the child (in the overwhelming majority of cases, this is the wife) has the right to collect alimony from the former spouse.
Child benefits until age 21, although in some states up to age 18.
The procedure for collecting alimony takes place in court.
The alimony applicant submits a statement of claim to the court, then a decision is made according to which the defendant becomes officially obliged to financially help his former family.
Amount of maintenance payments in the USA
On average, a US citizen is assigned maintenance in the amount of 10-30% of income. They vary depending on the defendant's income, the more they are, the greater the percentage charged, as well as the state, because each of them has its own laws.
However, there is a general rule that says that alimony depends on the total income of the spouses. The lower the wife's income, the greater the amount recovered from the defendant.
If the child alternately lives with his mother and then with his father, the child who spends less time with him pays the alimony. For example, with a father, a son and / or daughter are 30%, and with a mother, 70%. Then alimony is collected from the father, but the amount of payments is assigned much less than if he did not live with his children at all.
In the United States, as in many other countries, including Russia, there are bodies that monitor the execution of a court decision on the recovery of alimony. But there is also a peculiarity in this country, it consists in covering the wages of alimony by employers, because. the collection of alimony spoils the reputation of the employee and, accordingly, the organization.
Here you can find many examples when a citizen who did not want to pay alimony hid his income (not without the help of the employer).
However, in America, tough measures are provided to combat alimony: from deprivation of the right to drive a car to imprisonment. For example, in 2013, about 20 thousand American citizens were imprisoned here for non-payment of alimony.
It follows that the benefit received as a result of evading maintenance obligations is not comparable with the punishment. Therefore, it is better to conscientiously fulfill your duties before the law, your ex-wife and child.
How is alimony paid to a wife in the USA?
In the USA, the ex-spouse is obliged to pay maintenance not only for the child, but also for his mother. The amount and timing of payments depends on a number of circumstances.
Let's take a closer look at the possible circumstances:
- the duration of a broken marriage. The longer the marriage lasted, the longer the period of payments the ex-wife can count on. For example, if the family broke up no earlier than 10 years later, then payments can be assigned for life;
- if the former spouse earned more, and the wife got used to the level of family income established in the marriage, then the alimony will be appropriate;
- if the wife had a disease, the treatment of which was paid for by the husband, being married to her, then even after the divorce he is obliged to allocate material resources to her for this;
- the ex-wife ran the household and took care of the children, not being able to work, and the only breadwinner in the family was the man.
Perhaps during the time spent in marriage, he was able to increase his level of income. In this case, the former spouse will also receive alimony. She is given some time until she gets a job and can earn on her own. This may go on for a year or two. But do not forget about the duration of the marriage, if it was quite long, then the alimony payments can be for life; - also, a spouse who paid for his wife's studies during family life is not released from this responsibility until the end of his studies and after the dissolution of the marriage.
Many women in the US after a divorce are in no hurry to re-tie themselves to family ties. The fact is that the ex-wife marries another person, the obligations of the alimony are terminated. The only exceptions are those cases when he must pay alimony for life. For example, if the marriage lasted a very long time.
Alimony payments are also mandatory for the following circumstances:
- if the ex-wife is disabled or pregnant;
- raises a child up to 3 years old or a disabled child.
Of course, if after a divorce the children stay with their father, then on the contrary, alimony can be collected from the wife for his maintenance. But in practice, such situations rarely occur.
Thus, in the US, the alimony is obliged to support his former family in full, paying money to support not only the child, but also his wife. And for non-fulfillment of their duties, the law provides for various penalties, up to imprisonment.
Income
One of the main guidelines for determining child support is income. This takes into account the gross or net income of both parents, and from the percentage is calculated the amount that each parent must pay as alimony.
Deductions
If one of the parents has already been ordered by the court to pay child support and pays it regularly, then the amount of this child support is subject to deduction when determining his income for the purposes of determining the amount of new support.
However, this rule is valid only for the establishment of new alimony, it is not possible to revise the previous established amount of alimony taking into account new alimony.
Childcare expense
The government also determines the amount that parents must spend on childcare. Usually, this amount is calculated taking into account the mandatory taxes that the parent pays. However, some states provide benefits to parents who pay child support and exempt them from taxes on their income.
Health care expense
Among other things, when determining the amount of child support, much attention is paid to the coverage of the child's health insurance. When support is approved, the amount needed to pay off health insurance is included in the main amount of support. Some states also account for emergency medical expenses as well as incidental medical expenses.
Other expenses
The amount of support can also be increased taking into account other expenses.
Other expenses usually include specific expenses that are specific to each individual case. Such expenses include the cost of educating children with disabilities or gifted children. Usually such expenses are divided between the parents proportionally and are included in the amount of alimony.
Shared Custody and Visitation
The judge tries to take into account the amount of time the child spends with either parent when setting child support. The more a parent is allowed to spend with a child, the more child support is assigned. For example, if a child is assigned joint custody, the amount of child support will be significantly less than if the child has a single guardian for short visits.
The use of guidelines in determining the amount of alimony is not only aimed at protecting the rights and interests of children, but also calculated on the fair distribution of material responsibilities between parents. However, there are situations in which the amount of child support established is greater than or less than the amount determined by the guidelines.
In this case, litigation is required to establish mitigating factors.
Good reason
For a few more years in New York State, for example, in order to get a divorce, you had to admit one party was guilty and the other was offended. One of the spouses had to confess to treason, drunkenness, beatings ...
When nothing like that really happened, someone had to take the crime against the family. And only in 2010 there was adopted a law on the possibility of divorce "without anyone's fault", although the rest of America has long done it.
Divorce, where both parties are not to blame, is based on two main reasons: people “have not lived together for a hundred years” (in fact, they have not lived for at least a year and a half) or they are separated by irreconcilable contradictions.
The first progressive "no fault" divorce law was passed in Oklahoma in 1953, and 17 years later the State of California performed the same feat. Then the governor there was Ronald Reagan - the future president of America.
It is no coincidence that it was he who had a hand in the liberalization of family law. Reagan is the only one of all 44 US presidents who had a divorce in his biography, which did not prevent him from making his second wife, Nancy , the first lady of the country.
Emancipation, however!
I am not a feminist, so I am not horrified when a woman after a divorce receives alimony from her ex-husband. But the way men fight for their wives' money is amazing. The client of a lawyer friend of mine, an engineer by profession, pays her husband three thousand dollars a month, literally half of what she earns.
They haven't made any children, and the engineer doesn't understand why she has to feed someone else's grown-up child - her ex, who doesn't work and is just going to study design or business, what exactly, he hasn't decided yet. But recently the engineer was lucky: she unearthed a terrible secret. It turns out that a 22-year-old girl, an aspiring fashion designer, has been living in the house of her ex-husband for four months now.
This became the reason for a new trial: the ex-wife was spotted and, turning to the judge, said that she did not have the strength to feed two creative people. The husband justified himself that the designer girl was like a daughter to him, but the judge did not heed this argument and the amount of alimony decreased, however, not significantly. The ex-husband was also advised to look for work, bring documentary evidence of mailing his resume to employers and attending interviews. The man left the courtroom gloomy and "robbed."
Still, on a nationwide scale, women who pay child support are not yet common, in 2010 only 3% of all divorcing husbands received payments from ex-wives, although, according to experts, the number of such men is growing rapidly.
Is money more precious than love?
In most states, child support is paid until the former spouse marries or remarries. But in the state of Florida, for example, not so long ago they limited the terms of payments.
The judge sets a time limit, let's say 2 years, since he believes that this time is enough for a woman who did not work in marriage after a divorce to learn how to get her own bread. The amount of alimony depends on how long the marriage was or not. If you have been married for less than 11 years, this is not considered a long time in Florida. Supporters of a limited period of alimony payments are sure that these payments are “harmful” and often slow down the start of a new life: women do not remarry and even support their lonely state in every possible way, because money is more precious than love. And the financially more prosperous half, in order not to pay alimony, goes to deceit and sometimes to the complete collapse of their career.
In general, it is enough to go to the site of divorced and divorced people once and read their stories to understand that all these people are unhappy.
In seven US states, a husband or wife can sue a lover or mistress who caused a divorce.
And the “razluchniki” will answer according to the law for invading someone else's territory.
Men also cry
One pensioner, 67 years old, left the state of Massachusetts, according to the laws of which he had to pay large alimony to his ex-wife, with whom he had been married for 34 years. In 2009he lost his job as a pharmacist, and never found a new one, owed his wife 20 thousand, for which he served four days in prison, until friends and relatives made up the shortfall for him.
After that, the ex-husband went to live on an Indian reservation, since he was a quarter of the Cherokee. Now he sits there and says: I'm already old, release me from lifelong alimony to my ex-wife, but we are completely on an equal footing with her.
But in Massachusetts there is no such law that the old ex-husband can not pay alimony to the ex-wife. And in some others, laws have already been passed under which the payment of alimony is suspended after reaching retirement age.
Who is in profit
The longer the divorce lasts, the more expensive it is. Half of the spouses during this time are united in a common feeling of dislike for lawyers. Lawyers here are called bees that collect honey from divorce flowers, and the longer they collect, the better for them.
The average time for which you will be divorced is from one to three years. The lawyer takes for such cases as for heart surgery, if the case is complex, and if it is simple, then as for appendicitis, which is also a lot.
An amazing coincidence: of the four female divorce lawyers I know, three are not married and never have been and never intend to. And I don’t even mentally ask them why…
Collection problems
There are quite a lot of such problems:
- Search for the defendant in the case. A US citizen can easily move around the territory of his native state, hiding from the claimant. For the plaintiff, the mother of the child, it is quite difficult to enter the country.
There is a visa regime between Russia and America, and not everyone is allowed to enter the States. Solving the problem at a distance is extremely difficult. Finding a competent representative in a foreign country is also not easy. - Language barrier. Ideally, if you can find a Russian-speaking representative. Because to understand an already complicated matter without knowing the language is doubly difficult.
- Competition Norm. Under what legislation is alimony collected in America?
Which law to apply?
Note that the family and civil legislation of the Russian Federation allows the claimant for alimony to independently determine the jurisdiction of the case. That is:
- you can apply to a Russian court;
- can be contacted by the US courts.
It would seem that the choice is obvious. It is quite simple to file a claim with the Russian judicial authority. You can even do without the help of a lawyer. A sample application can be found on the Internet, “spy” in the reception of the court building, where similar samples are hung out.
You can also contact a child support specialist.
But there is a problem with the execution of the Russian judicial act in the United States. The thing is, there is no money back guarantee. It may take a long time to prove that the decision of the Russian court is completely legal in America.
Meanwhile, lawyers specializing in international law note that in most cases Russian decisions are recognized in the United States. Moreover, in a number of states there are local statutes, we would call them regional, which establish that a foreign judgment may well be enforced in America.
It seems that it is not worth the risk, relying on Russian legislation, it is better to resolve the issue according to local laws. Despite the fact that the plaintiff in the case will not be a resident of the state under whose legislation the issue is being considered.
On the other hand, “native” laws will apply to the defendant. Nevertheless, it is easier to apply local law to the debtor than foreign law.
Thus, answering the question of how to get legal alimony from a US citizen, you can identify the most potentially successful option:
- Find a legal specialist who works in America with Russian-speaking citizens, specializing in family matters.
- Entrust him with the authority to collect funds, based on US law.
Rebellious Parents
Non-custodial parents who evade their child support obligations are sometimes called rebellious parents. Parents who share an equal role in raising children are much more likely to comply as support compliance exceeds 90% when the payer states that he (or he) believes he (or he) has a relatively equal role in raising children .
The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 68% of child support cases were in arrears in 2003, up 15% from 53% in 1999. Some of these cases of debt are said to be related to administrative practices such as income imputation.
parents where none exist and issuing support orders by default.
According to one study, the reasons for not paying child support were as follows:
child. 
Some consider such punishments to be unconstitutional. 4 September 19In 1998, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a law allowing government agencies to revoke driver's licenses from parents who are in serious violation of child support obligations. And in United States of America v. Sage , US Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit, 1996), the court upheld the constitutionality of a law allowing federal fines and imprisonment of up to two years for a person who willfully fails to pay more. $5,000 in child support for a year or more if said child resides in a state other than that of the noncustodial parent. 
The lender can forgive such debts. 
" URESA sought to enforce these provisions in two ways: criminal and civil. Criminal authorities relied on the creditor state to demand extradition from the debtor, or the debtor to surrender. Civil law enforcement relied on the creditor to bring proceedings in his/her state. The originating State will determine whether the debtor had a support obligation. If the initiating court granted the claim, the initiating court referred the case to the state of the debtor. The respondent State, which has personal jurisdiction over the debtor, will provide notice and hearing to the debtor. After this hearing, the court that responded to this request must enforce the support order. 
