Florida calculates child support under the guidelines in section 61.30. The formula is fixed; the inputs are not. What each parent really earns, how many overnights each has, what health insurance and child care cost: each one can move the result by hundreds of dollars a month. Reyes Miller Law Group represents parents who pay support and parents who receive it in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, Orange, Hillsborough and Leon counties.
How Reyes Miller Law Group handles child support cases
Setting support
We gather the financial affidavits, pay records and tax returns and run the guideline calculation the court will use, so you know what to expect at the hearing.
Self-employed and hidden income
When a parent is self-employed, paid in cash or suddenly earning less, we trace the real income and ask the court to impute income where the law allows it.
Modifying support
When income or timesharing changes, we pursue or defend a modification of the existing order.
Collecting unpaid support
We pursue unpaid support through income deduction orders, contempt and the other enforcement tools Florida law provides.
Retroactive support
In paternity and support cases, we calculate and request support going back as far as the law allows.
What Florida law says
The income shares model
Florida adds both parents' net incomes, finds the total support for that income and number of children in the schedule in section 61.30, Florida Statutes, and divides it by each parent's share of the combined income.
Overnights change the math
When each parent has the child for at least 20 percent of the overnights in a year (73 overnights), the calculation is adjusted to account for the time each parent spends with the child (section 61.30(11)(b)).
Health insurance and child care
The child's health insurance premiums, uncovered medical costs and reasonable child care costs are added to the basic obligation and shared in proportion to income.
Imputed income
If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court can calculate support as if that parent earned what they are able to earn (section 61.30(2)(b)).
Leaving the guidelines
A judge can order more than 5 percent above or below the guideline amount only with written findings explaining why the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.
How long support lasts
Support generally continues until the child turns 18. It can continue past 18 while the child is still in high school and expected to graduate before turning 19, or longer for a child who is dependent because of a disability that began before 18 (section 743.07).
What happens after you reach out
- 1
A free consultation
Call or send the form. You talk with the firm about what is happening, in English or Spanish, at no cost.
- 2
We review your papers
Bring any petition, order, agreement or letter you have received. Family court deadlines are short, so we look for those first.
- 3
An honest plan
You get a straight assessment of your options and what each one is likely to cost in time and money.
- 4
We handle the case
If you hire the firm, we prepare and file the papers, deal with the other side, and represent you at mediation and in court.
Where we handle child support cases
Reyes Miller Law Group takes cases in these seven Florida counties. Each county's family cases are heard in its own judicial circuit.
- Palm Beach County
15th Judicial Circuit
Main Judicial Center (Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley Courthouse)
- Miami-Dade County
11th Judicial Circuit
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
- Broward County
17th Judicial Circuit
Broward County Central Courthouse, Judicial Complex West Building
- Monroe County
16th Judicial Circuit
- Orange County
9th Judicial Circuit
Orange County Courthouse
- Hillsborough County
13th Judicial Circuit
George E. Edgecomb Courthouse
- Leon County
2nd Judicial Circuit
Leon County Courthouse
Our offices
THE FIRM
The sword and the shield.
Reyes Miller Law Group is built for clients who cannot afford a poor outcome. The firm combines strategic litigation, negotiation, mediation, and practical family-law guidance.
WHAT WE DO
- Divorce, custody & family law litigation
- Uncontested & simplified divorce
- Paternity, petitions, counter-petitions & responses
- Child support, alimony & modifications
- Parenting plans, timesharing & parental responsibility
- Equitable distribution of marital assets & debts
- Prenuptial & postnuptial agreements
- Name changes & legal document preparation
- Aggressive negotiation & skilled mediation
- High-conflict divorce, custody & parental alienation
- Child abduction & wrongful retention (Hague Convention)
- Domestic violence injunctions — petitioners & respondents
- Complex, high-asset & high-net-worth divorce
- Emergency motions, ex parte relief & contempt
- Relocation disputes — in-state & out-of-state
Frequently asked questions
How is child support calculated in Florida?
Under the income shares model in section 61.30: both parents' net incomes, the number of children, the overnights each parent has, health insurance and child care costs. Our free child support calculator gives a starting estimate; the final number depends on the evidence.
Can child support be changed?
Yes, when there is a substantial change in circumstances. For the guidelines alone to show a substantial change, the new guideline amount must differ from the current order by at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater.
What if the other parent does not pay?
Florida can enforce support through income deduction, suspension of driver's and professional licenses, liens, interception of tax refunds and contempt of court, which can include jail.
Does equal timesharing mean no child support?
Not necessarily. Even with equal overnights, the parent with the higher income often pays support to the other parent.
Can support be ordered for time before we filed?
Often, yes. Florida allows retroactive child support, generally limited to up to 24 months before the petition was filed.
Other cases we handle
Related articles
- Florida Child Support Basics: How It's Calculated and What to Expect
- Modifying Child Support in Florida: When and How to File
Managing partner
Yvette B. Reyes, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 53510 · Practicing in Florida since 1995 · Read her profile
Page updated September 2026. This page describes the services of Reyes Miller Law Group and general Florida law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship. Full disclaimer.
