CHILD SUPPORT
A Question of Income and Need
By K. Dean Kantaras and Grace M. Samarkos
Child support is a frequent issue in
many family law cases. Parents
often need clarification on how
much child support they can
obtain from the opposing party. When
determining child support amounts, a
trial court is required to make findings of
fact regarding the income of each parent,
and determine the actual need for child
support.
Income can be imputed to a parent if
that parent is voluntarily unemployed or
underemployed. For example, in the case
of Department of Revenue ex. rel. Marquette
v. Hennessey, the mother was voluntarily
unemployed in choosing to remain home
with her second child, so it was appropriate
for the court to impute income to the
mother to support her first child, who
was living with the father. 812 So.2d 442
(Fla. 2nd DCA 2001). Second, the trial
court must determine that any subsequent
unemployment or underemployment must
have resulted from less than diligent efforts
to find employment at an equal or better
level than formerly received.
Income is not limited to a parent’s salary
or wages. Other sources of income include
regular bonuses, tips, overtime, disability
LAARWT
K. Dean Kantaras, Esq.
142 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2020
needs of the child, the child’s age, stage in
life, and standard of living. Other deviation
factors include special needs such as
extraordinary medical expenses, or, as in
the case of Koslowski v. Koslowski, the court
may deviate from the guideline amount
and include the costs of alternate child
caregiver expenses for a disabled child.
78 So.3d 642 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). Child
support amounts are an important factor
to many parents becoming divorced. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: K. Dean Kantaras is
the managing partner of K. Dean Kantaras,
P.A., a firm handling cases in family law and
immigration. Mr. Kantaras is board certified
in marital and family law by the Florida Bar.
He has been practicing for over 25 years
and is “AV” rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Grace M. Samarkos is a graduate of Stetson
University College of Law. She was admitted
to the Florida Bar in 2019. Their offices are
located at 3531 Alternate 19, Palm Harbor,
34683, (727) 781-0000 and 1930 East Bay
Drive, Largo, 33771, kantaraslaw.com.
benefits, veteran’s benefits, Social Security
benefits, and even gift income if the gift
amounts are substantial and regular over
a long period of time.
After the net income of each parent is
determined, the child support amount
is calculated pursuant to Florida Statutes
§ 61.30. Both parents’ net incomes are
combined to determine the total available
net income, then a child support guideline
schedule is calculated by the court to
determine the minimum child support
need. Another factor in determining
child support is the number of overnights
each parent has with the child. Even if
a parent has a timesharing schedule in
place where they see the child for dinner
one or two nights per week, if that day is
not an overnight with the child, that time
does not count towards the child support
calculation.
Florida Statutes § 61.30 recognizes ways to
deviate from the child support guidelines.
The amount may vary depending on the