Lakeland, Florida Man Indicted For Failing To Pay Child Support

Earlier this year, the state of Florida indicted 31-year-old Jaime L. Warrenburg  for failing to pay more than $23,000 in past due child support. Warrenburg is scheduled for a federal grand jury trial in late 2013, where, if convicted, he could face penalties as serious as a maximum of two years in prison, fines as high as $250,000, probation terms and other penalties. Warrenburg’s case serves as an example of the judicial system’s intervention in child support delinquency cases.

Calculating child support in Florida

Florida law bases the initial calculation of child support on guidelines that take both parents’ combined monthly net income and the number of children affected into account. Adjustments can then be made based on several additional factors, such as:

• Child’s age
• Medical, psychological and other care costs
• Cost of extracurricular activities
• Division of time under the parenting plan
• Daycare costs
• School tuition fees

What steps can I take to enforce a child support order?

If your child’s parent is not making payments and is in violation of an existing child support order, there are certain tools that may be used to make them comply with the order and provide any past due payments. These tools include:

• Suspension of driver’s, hunting, professional or other license
• Income withholding: Automatic deductions made from the delinquent parent’s paycheck by their employer
• Fund interception: Including lottery winnings, tax refunds, unemployment or other benefits
• Property liens
• Judicial intervention
  

Florida law provides for strict penalties for delinquency on child support payments. If your child’s parent is not complying with a child support order, a Florida child support attorney can help secure this income and protect your child’s rights.