Good Fortune Child Support Attorney Miami
Child support guidelines were put in place with the idea that parents have an obligation to support their children. In cases where one parent is extremely wealthy, the wealthy parent can be required to pay more than what the child support guidelines require. This is called “good fortune” child support. The court will take into account the needs of the child or children, age, station in life, standard of living, and the financial status and ability of each parent.
The Florida Supreme Court in the case of Miller v. Schou, 616 So.2d 436, 438 (Fla.1993) stated:
While technically the child’s basic survival needs would be the same [regardless of the parents’ income], the determination of “need” in awarding child support takes into account more than just the basic necessities of survival. The child of a multimillionaire would be entitled to share in that standard of living-for example to attend private school or to participate in expensive extracurricular activities-and would accordingly be entitled to a greater award of child support to provide for these items, even though provisions for such items would not be ordered in a different case.
However, courts are mindful that wealthy parents can be used as a conduit for the other parent to live lavishly rather than spending the money on their children. In Florida, some courts will allow the wealthy spouse to obtain a guardian of the child’s property and request that any amounts over and above the present demonstrated needs of the child be placed in a separate account managed by a court appointed guardian. The appointment of a guardian requires the filing of a petition in probate court which is a different court than the family court which establishes the child support amount. By appointing a guardian of the child’s property, the child is protected and the wealthy parent will not be paying to support a lavish lifestyle for the other parent.
The Miami divorce attorney Catherine Rodriguez can handle the child support issues as well as the guardianship issues. If you have an issue with good fortune child support call the attorneys at Filler Rodriguez.
