Child support

[Verika018]

Jurisdiction

Florida

Hello everyone,

I am currently debating wether or not to take my children's father to court over child support and visitation. The father currently sees the children twice a month and pays $1,000.00 to cover expenses. However, in the past two months he has begun to backtrack on said payments. I'd like to mention that he owns his own business and I suspect he is trying to hide his lavish lifestyle in order to evade child support payments.

We have 2 children together

 

[army judge]

Hello everyone,

I am currently debating wether or not to take my children's father to court over child support and visitation. The father currently sees the children twice a month and pays $1,000.00 to cover expenses. However, in the past two months he has begun to backtrack on said payments. I'd like to mention that he owns his own business and I suspect he is trying to hide his lavish lifestyle in order to evade child support payments.

We have 2 children together

There are HIDDEN problems with taking any payments, CHILD SUPPORT included, absent a court order.

One of the biggest problems is the tax man (federal and state) doesn't get HIS cut.

That said, its always best to take ALL child support, visitation, and custody matters to court.

If you and he were never married, PATERNITY (as in LEGAL PATERNITY) must first be established.

The state will take care of ALL of this for you, for a small cut, of course.


In Florida, this is where YOU start the process and get the state to make sure he pays YOU for the kids:

FL Dept Rev - Establishing Orders for Child Support and Medical Support

 

[Verika018]

Thanks for your response. The main problem I'm having with the father is that I've explained to him many times before that I would prefer if the courts determined how much child support the kids are entitled to. However, he responds by telling me that if I want it that way he will make sure I receive way less than the $1,000 he's giving me monthly. Being that he's a business owner I know there's ways he can manipulate the situation to make it look like he earns way less than he actually is. So, I'd like to know if I would benefit at all by hiring a private investigator or a forensic accountant in addition to a family lawyer to ensure that no foul play is involved when push comes to shove.

 

[ElleMD]

9 times in 10, they are going to look at his tax returns to determine income, not just ask him to pick a number and hope he doesn't lie. A forensic accountant you hire has no right to go into his business records absent court order or his permission. Save the money. Talk to a family law lawyer and get an idea what might be ordered based on his income. You can get a general estimate here FL Dept Rev - Child Support Amounts