Legal Question in Family Law in Florida

Re: child support

Always look to the Final Judgment FIRST. What does it say regarding when the support should end? Usually, it will say something like... "until the child reaches age 18, graduates from high school, dies, marries or becomes emancipated." If your daughter truly does not live at home and If she is self supporting then one could argue that she is emancipated and therefore you do not have to pay support. But if she simply "runs away" now and then and generally returns home then she is unlikely to be considered emancipated. Note also that it is risky for you to make this determination on your own. You may believe your daughter is emancipated but a Court may see it differently. I would obtain a Court order before unilaterally reducing support based on emancipation of the child.

The amount of support you must pay for one child will most likely be based on current FL child support guidelines. However, again, you should review your Final Judgment to see if there is anything specific regarding how to calculate support once there is only one child remaining to support.

In order to modify child support you will likely need to file a Petition to Modify Support. However, there is no reason why you can't discuss the issue with your ex and agree that you will both disclose current financial info and complete a guidelines worksheet to determine what the support should be...then you can have an agreement drafted and file it with the court to obtain an order reflecting your agreement. Mediation is another low cost alternative.

I would have to review the entire Final Judgment to be sure...but based on what you've stated...I would assume that you have correctly been paying the $1800 per month to your ex and the additional $78 for insurance. THe guidelines generally factor in each parties percentage of responsibility for payment of the insurance. Then, on the guidelines worksheet, the payor is credited with the amount of insurance he/she is paying.

Hope some of this helps. NOte that all statements I make are made to be general in nature. If you need a legal opinion regarding the specifics of your case then you should consult with an attorney.