Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
When I was divorced , we had a 50/50 agreement , meaning no child support ,we would split all costs down the middle and we would alternate claiming the child on our taxes. We have been divorced 4 years and I have not received half of anything. He does not pay for half of food or school clothes or supplies , exactly zero dollars have Been paid for my daughter. I want to know if I can claim my daughter on my taxes even though it's his year? He hasn't paid anything , my daughter has spent 30 days total with my ex all 2014.
2 Answers from Attorneys
If the other party is not complying with the existing Parenting Plan, you can file a motion for enforcement. However, in this case, you may be better off modifying it based on his non-performance.
If the original child support was based on the fact that you would each have the child for 50% of the time, and you now have her more than 90% of the time, it would be appropriate to modify the Final Judgment and Parenting Plan and re-calculate the child support obligation.
You should contact a family law attorney in your area to discuss your options.
You can file a Motion for Enforcement and ask the judge for relief but based on this limited information you probably need to file a Petition for Modification of the final Judgment. As an aside I never recommend a 50/50 Parenting Plan; 20 years experience shows me they never work out. Florida legislators are pushing this for political reasons, judges comply and approve; only result is a return to court. I personally am surprised it took four years for you to realize the unfairness of the situation. Good luck.