Jacksonville Child Support Lawyer
Matt Hunt is a Board Certified Marital & Family Law attorney at Phillips, Hunt & Walker — one of the rarest credentials in Florida family law. The Florida Bar independently tested and certified his expertise through examination and peer review. AV-Preeminent (Martindale-Hubbell). Florida Super Lawyers. Among the youngest attorneys in Florida to achieve Board Certification in his specialty.
Child support isn’t optional, and the stakes are high — underpayment shortchanges your children’s wellbeing, while overstatement creates financial pressure that affects your livelihood and your ability to be present in your children’s lives. Getting child support right requires understanding Florida’s calculation methodology, knowing how courts deviate from the guidelines, and fighting when the other side is gaming the numbers.
Free consultation. No copy costs charged to clients. Call (904) 444-4444.
How Florida Calculates Child Support
Florida uses an income shares model under Fla. Stat. § 61.30. Both parents’ net incomes are combined, a support amount is determined from a statutory guideline table, and each parent pays their proportionate share of the combined income.
Net income includes all income from all sources — wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, business income, rental income, dividends, Social Security, disability. Permitted deductions include mandatory deductions from existing court orders and certain other adjustments.
Timesharing adjustment: If the child spends at least 20% of overnight time with the paying parent (73+ overnights per year), the court must apply a timesharing adjustment under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(11)(b) that reduces the paying parent’s obligation proportionate to their timesharing.
Healthcare and childcare costs — health insurance premiums for the children and work-related childcare costs — are added to the base guideline and prorated between parents.
Deviating from the Guidelines
Florida’s guidelines are presumptive — courts can deviate for “good cause shown” where the guideline amount is “unjust or inappropriate.” Fla. Stat. § 61.30(1)(a). Reasons for deviation include: extraordinary medical, educational, or psychological needs of the child; significant assets or income of the child; agreement of the parties if in the child’s best interests; seasonal variations in income; and extraordinary expenses borne by one parent.
Deviations beyond 5% of the guideline require written findings in the court order. Knowing when to fight for a deviation — and how to support that argument with evidence — requires experience. Board Certified attorneys have it.
Imputed Income: Addressing Deliberate Underemployment
Florida courts can impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2)(b). A self-employed parent, business owner, or cash-based worker can underreport income by disguising personal expenses as business expenses, paying themselves artificially low salaries, or working off the books. Discovery — bank records, business tax returns, financial statements, and forensic accountants — exposes these tactics.
Modification of Child Support
Child support is modifiable under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(1)(b) when there has been a substantial change in circumstances, OR when applying the guidelines to current income would result in at least a 15% difference from the existing order.
Grounds that typically qualify: loss of employment or significant income reduction (involuntary); significant increase in either parent’s income; substantial change in timesharing; child’s significant new medical, educational, or disability-related expenses.
Critical: Modification is prospective. Courts modify support from the date of the modification order, not from when circumstances changed. If you lost your job six months ago, you may have accumulated arrears that cannot be retroactively eliminated. Act immediately when circumstances change significantly.
Enforcement of Child Support Orders
When a parent fails to pay court-ordered child support, Florida provides powerful enforcement tools: income deduction orders served on the employer; contempt of court with sanctions including fines and in egregious cases incarceration; driver’s and professional license suspension; tax refund interception; passport denial for arrears exceeding $2,500; and credit reporting.
If your co-parent owes arrears, enforcement is available. If you are in arrears due to job loss or financial hardship, address it immediately through a modification request — contempt proceedings are far more damaging than a properly filed modification.
Why Phillips, Hunt & Walker
Matt Hunt — Board Certified in Marital & Family Law by the Florida Bar. AV-Preeminent (Martindale-Hubbell). Florida Super Lawyers. Among the youngest attorneys in Florida to achieve Board Certification. He handles child support calculations, deviations, modifications, and enforcement every day — and he knows the numbers cold.
John M. Phillips — Board Certified in Civil Trial Law. Forbes Top 200 Lawyer in America (2025) and Top 20 in Florida. Florida Trend Legal Elite (top 1% of Florida attorneys). Contested support hearings backed by attorneys with real hearing and trial experience.
No copy costs. No interest on litigation expenses. Competitors charge LIBOR + 8% interest. We don’t. Zero.
660 Park Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204. Serving clients throughout Northeast Florida.
Child Support FAQs
Q: Can child support be changed if I lose my job?
A: Yes — but you must file for modification immediately. Support orders don’t automatically decrease when your income drops. Until a court modifies the order, you owe the existing amount. Arrears accumulate and cannot be retroactively reduced.
Q: My co-parent is hiding income through their business. What can I do?
A: Discovery. We subpoena business tax returns, bank statements, QuickBooks records, and credit card statements. We depose the business’s accountant. In complex cases, we retain a forensic CPA.
Q: Does timesharing affect child support?
A: Yes. If you have at least 73 overnights per year (20%), the guidelines require a timesharing adjustment that reduces the support obligation proportionate to the increased timesharing.
Q: Do I still owe child support if my ex won’t let me see the children?
A: Yes. Timesharing and child support are separate legal obligations. You cannot withhold support because your co-parent is withholding timesharing. The remedy for timesharing violations is contempt — not stopping payments.
Q: What happens to child support arrears if I can’t pay?
A: Arrears accumulate interest, can be collected through enforcement tools, and follow you indefinitely. If you genuinely cannot pay, file for modification immediately based on changed circumstances.
Contact Phillips, Hunt & Walker
Your children deserve the right support. So do you.
Free consultation. No copy costs. No interest on litigation expenses.
Call (904) 444-4444 today.
Phillips, Hunt & Walker
660 Park Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204
(904) 444-4444 | floridajustice.com
Board Certified Marital & Family Law Attorney. Serving Jacksonville and Northeast Florida.