Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
I am currently 21 and a child to divorced parents. I had always perfered to live with my mother, but the court gave my father full custody and ordered my mother to pay him child support. After my 7th grade year, my father left on business trips more and more and my mother ended up taking care of me while still paying him child support. When I was in 9th grade, she stopped paying because she was taking care of me more than he was since he was out on business trips all the time, and my school even had her primary address as where I was living as well as lease papers to prove I was living with her. Now that I am 21, my father took my mom to court and demanded the child support he owes her, even though he did not take care of me during that time. He won the case and now my mother owes $11,000 in child support to him. Shouldn't that money be hers since she took care of me during that time, or at least go to me (the child the support should be going towards)? Our lawer said that since it was a court order that there was nothing we could do, but I don't believe it. I still live with my mother now, and my father is technically making me pay for my own child support since my mother and I help eachother to make payments and get by.
1 Answer from Attorneys
It is unfortunate that this happened to you and your mother. However, your attorney is correct. Unless there was a subsequent order that changed the custody, your father is entitled to the child support. Sometimes people are unaware that if an unanticipated substantial change in circumstances occurs (such as your mother taking care of you in lieu of your father as ordered by the court), the parties must go back to court so that it can be changed officially and other matters (such as child support) can be addressed accordingly.
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