The first step in the calculation of child support in Florida is to figure out the mother and father's respective monthly net income. This is done by taking monthly gross income and subtracting certain allowable deductions. The needs of the children are derived by taking the parties combined net amount along with the number of children and looking up the corresponding amount from a child support table. The children's health and dental insurance cost plus 75% of the children's daycare cost are then added to this amount to calculate the total need.

Each party's obligation is then derived by taking the total need and multiplying it by each party's percentage of the net amount. As an example, if the father's net income is $4,000.00 and the mother's net income is $2,000.00 then the father would pay 66.67% of the total need of the children and the mother would pay 33.33%. However, the cost that either party actually pays for the children's daycare cost and/or the children's health and dental insurance costs is deducted from his or her respective share.

The amount of child support ordered by the court can be influenced by the particular time sharing arrangement of the parties as well as other considerations suggesting a deviation from the child support amount. There are of course many factors that go into the calculation so consultation with an attorney is always advised. More detailed information about the calculation of child support in Florida will be presented in future articles.