Can a Florida Court Decline to Decide Child Support?

Child support is often a contested issue in Florida divorce cases. Fortunately, there are state-mandated child support guidelines that courts must follow when determining how much one parent must pay. These guidelines require both parents to submit financial affidavits detailing their respective monthly income and expenses. While the parents can negotiate a child support agreement on their own, the final settlement is still subject to court approval based on the best interests of the child.

Child Support Decision Not Optional

When parents cannot agree on child support and submit the issue to the court, the judge must make a determination. It is not optional. Indeed, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal recently addressed a case where this actually proved to be a problem.

In Bui v. Panzardi, a mother and father divorced. Both parties were able to resolve their outstanding issues except for timesharing (child custody) and child support. The parents subsequently submitted the required financial affidavits to the court. But for some reason, the judge issued a final divorce judgment without making any findings regarding child support. Instead, the court simply referred the matter to a hearing officer.

On appeal, the Fourth District said that was not the proper procedure. The issue of child support was properly before the circuit court. The circuit court therefore had a duty to issue a final decision on child support as part of the divorce judgment. The appellate court therefore returned the case to the trial judge for further proceedings.

Can Parents Agree to Waive Child Support?

A related question some people have on this topic is, “Can my spouse and I agree to waive child support?” For instance, in many high net worth divorce cases, both parents earn substantial incomes, so the parents may feel that child support is unnecessary. Is it therefore possible for the parties to sign a marital settlement agreement waiving any right to seek or collect child support?

The answer is no. Child support is a right that belongs to the child. As the Florida Supreme Court explained in a 1979 decision, Armour v. Allen, “The law is clear that the parents may not contract away the rights of the child for support.” This is because child support is an obligation imposed on both parents by the State of Florida, not an obligation that one parent imposes on the other through contract.

That said, if there is a sudden change in either party’s financial circumstances, such as the parent paying support losing their job, both parents can jointly petition the court to waive or stop support payments. But the key  is that the court must sign off (adopt and ratify) on such an agreement. The parent receiving support may not simply agree to let the other parent stop making payments.  There are many instances wherein parents agree to such an arrangement and later the issue of child  support is brought before the court and the parents’ agreement is not recognized by the court.

Contact a Miami Child Support Lawyer Today

All parents strive to do what is best for their children. This can, however, lead to conflicts between parents over the best ways of resolving questions like child support. This is where an experienced Miami child support lawyer can help. Contact Hamilton O’Neill today at 305-371-3788 to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4686668103701035272

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