Jacksonville Paternity Lawyer Proudly Serving the Citizens of Florida
The Florida Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement office, can establish paternity and child support administratively with little or no input from either parent. The state of Florida can acquire an interest in your child support obligation when a parent receives benefits from the state. Without regular and ongoing child support payments, children would become a public charge.
Aid to families with dependent children such as cash assistance, TANF, subsidized housing and food stamps are payable from the state’s funds. If the state pays benefits in a case then the law allows the state the opportunity to recover some of those benefits from the other parent. But if the state establishes and enforces child support, then it can limit exposure to paying benefits from its own funds. A Jacksonville Administrative Paternity Attorney will be able to help you each step along the way.
Child Support Guidelines
Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act the state can establish child support pursuant to the guidelines provided for under Florida law. The state can also enforce child support payments and retroactive past-due child support obligations. The problem is when the State administratively establishes child support there is no opportunity to present evidence. The state cannot establish or enforce time-sharing, but the state can establish and enforce child support. The state cannot even give you credit for any overnight time-sharing or visitation without a court order establishing time-sharing. Failure to consider overnight time-sharing in the child support worksheet usually results in a higher child support obligation. In this situation, you pay more child support than would be the case if time-sharing were considered in the calculation. When possible, you should keep the state of Florida from becoming a party to your case by being proactive and establishing and maintaining regular child support payments. Contact our Jacksonville lawyers at The Law Office of A. Sam Jubran, P.A. immediately if you receive a notice from the State of Florida, Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement.
How The State of Florida Administers Child Support
In Florida, parents pay their child support obligation to the depository. The depository maintains records of all payments and disburses the funds to the parent receiving support. If the obligor parent fails to pay and the other parent files an affidavit of non-compliance, then the payee may initiate contempt/enforcement proceedings. The court is authorized to enforce payments and to punish willful non-payment of child support through incarceration. The Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement office can suspend driving privileges, vehicle registrations, and passport services to enforce child support payments. Call your Jacksonville Administrative Paternity Attorney today if you have questions about paternity or child support.
There are ways to avoid the involvement of the State of Florida Child Support Enforcement agency in your case. You should immediately take action to protect your rights. You should take immediate action and retain an an attorney. Your attorney should file an immediate petition to establish your rights as a father. In these cases, the proverbial “race to the courthouse” to file a petition is on. The person who files first gets the choice of venue. Venue can be proper in more than one place.
To take no action would be to give up your fundamental rights to rear and to parent your own child. If you don’t act to protect your rights, it will most likely wind up costing you more money in the long run and will compromise the relationship you hope to have with your child. A Jacksonville Administrative Paternity Attorney can help keep you from losing your privileges.
Contact Jacksonville Administrative Paternity Attorney Sam Jubran for Experienced Help
If you receive a “notice of administrative paternity” from the State of Florida, you should immediately contact an experienced child support lawyer who specializes in handling administrative paternity cases. You should contact your Jacksonville child support lawyer today at (904) 360-6100. Remember: for Family Law, choose Family Values.