Child Support

In family law and public policy, child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other relationship. Child support is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated or in some cases never even existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically the custodial parent, a caregiver, a guardian, or the state. The economic recession that has gripped the country has significantly affected families in many ways including the ability to financially support one's child. One of the biggest problems has been the drop in child support payments. Missed payments are no longer simply a case of 'deadbeat parents' who don't want to pay child support. Rather, many jobless parents are simply too poor to afford these support payments. When a parent continually misses child support payments for any reason he or she must face the consequences, usually by being brought into court by Department of Revenue/Child Support Enforcement (DOR). The delinquent parent may even end up incarcerated for failure to pay support. Florida's child support laws are unique in that Florida is only one of five states where as a "deadbeat" parent facing trial is not guaranteed access to court appointed counsel. Ultimately this means that a parent who is too poor to pay child support will likely go to jail because they are too poor to afford a lawyer. If you are in the process of setting up child support payments please call The Law Office of Samuel P Bennett, P.A. to find out how our office can help you through your stressful time.