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Divorce
Child Support
Time Sharing / Parenting Plans
Divorce
- How much child support can I expect to receive or pay?
- How much alimony are you entitled to receive or obligated to pay?
- What effect will a divorce have on your business and investment portfolio?
- How will your divorce affect custody of your child?
- How do you begin or defend against a modification of an original court divorce decree?
- How can you force your ex-spouse to pay child support or spousal support or hold them in contempt of court for not abiding by the divorce decree?
These cases frequently address issues regarding shared or sole parental responsibility, child custody, child support and visitation, relocation of residency out-of-state, alimony, equitable distribution of property, and attorney's fees and costs associated with the litigation.
We handle high asset cases. With over 17 years of experience, The Law Office of Edward J Chandler, P.A. has the ability to handle complex high income and large asset cases. The firm consults with experienced forensic accountants as well as other experts who advise our clients about the value of their assets and extent of their liabilities, tax implications of alimony and other family-law related decisions, and document or impute the income of those parties.
We also handle post-divorce modification. Once the divorce is final, if there is a need to change the terms of the final judgment, we can assist in changes, such as the following:
- Change of custody
- Relocation
- Increase or decrease child support
- Increase, decrease, or terminate alimony
- Domestic violence injunctions
- Child support matters
- Income deduction orders
- Joint custody/rotating custody/equal time sharing
- Custody and visitation matters
- Paternity determinations and DNA testing
Child Support and Alimony Calculations:
Florida statutes set mandatory child support guidelines applicable to all divorce and paternity cases involving minor children. The accuracy of the child support guideline calculations depends on the accuracy of the information put into the formula. For instance, alimony is usually tax deductible to the paying spouse and taxable to the receiving spouse. The amount of alimony and the corresponding amount of taxes have a direct impact on the amount of child support paid and received. Under Florida's child support statutory guidelines, support is determined by examining both parents' income. When a parent is a business owner or possesses an investment property, determining income can become complicated. At The Law Office of Edward J. Chandler, P.A. the attorney will examine all aspects of compensation to determine actual income, including travel, meal, and auto allowances; bonuses; retirement contributions; commissions; and payment of personal expenses. When necessary, we will employ a forensic accountant to accurately determine your spouse's income.
There are many ways a spouse can hide income to minimize the exposure to child support or alimony awards. To determine an appropriate alimony or child support award, your attorney must consider the following:
- Determining the income of a self-employed parent
- Imputing the true earning capacity of your spouse through the use of vocational assessments
- Whether a spouse has diverted or purposefully concealed income in order to avoid paying support
- Determining child support from business owners and investors, whose income is not easily determined
- Determining the income for stay-at-home mothers and under-employed spouses
Determining Child Custody And Visitation
Under Florida law, child custody and visitation is to be based on your child's best interests, and not the parent's emotional or financial concerns. The custodial parent receives child support, and the non-custodial parent must make payments.
In determining whether parental custody is sole, joint, split or rotating, the court will consider the statutory factors affecting the welfare and interests of the child, including, but not limited to:
- The parent who is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the non-custodial parent
- The love, affection, and other emotional ties existing between the parents and the child
- The capacity and disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, and other material needs
- The length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment, and the desirability of maintaining continuity
- The permanence as a family unit of the existing or proposed custodial home
- The moral fitness of the parents
- The home, school, and community record of the child
- The reasonable preference of the child as to custody, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference
- The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuous parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent
- Evidence that any party has knowingly provided false information to the court regarding a domestic violence proceeding
- Evidence of domestic violence or child abuse
- Any other fact not specifically expressed in these laws that the court considers to be relevant