Florida Alimony and Child Support Must Be Determined Separately

Written By: Lenorae C. Atter, Attorney
Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A.

Child support and alimony laws of Florida often go hand-in-hand. In Florida, child support is calculated based on the income of both parties. In Florida, alimony is considered income to the party receiving the funds, including the person having to pay taxes on the alimony. As such, Florida requires that alimony be determined separately from child support and the order reflect said division to be certain that child support is properly calculated.
Florid child support is based on the income of the parties, their pro-rata share of their combined incomes, daycare expense, child insurance expense, whether there are mandatory union dues, a few other factors. Basically, the idea is to keep the child in the same financial position s/he would have been in without the parents living in separate homes.
Alimony is designed to help keep the spouse in a lifestyle similar to that in the marriage and is based on the length of the marriage, contribution to the marriage, educational sacrifices, and other factors. It is determined based on the need for alimony and the ability for the other party to pay alimony.
According to the Court, both must be determined separately to assure that calculations are correct for each need.