At a Glance

Florida calculates child support using a guideline formula inFlorida Statutes § 61.30 that looks mainly at both parents’ income, the number of overnights each parent has with the children, and specific expenses like health insurance and daycare.

• The formula combines both parents’ income, overnights, and certain expenses to set a presumptive support amount.
• Florida’s default time-sharing starting point is fifty percent with each parent, though parents can agree to something different.
• Child support is considered the right of the child, so parents generally cannot agree to waive it entirely.
• Families can still build flexibility into their plan, including how expenses like college or extracurriculars are shared.

Whether you are a physician, business owner, or executive facing a divorce, the child support formula can feel like a black box, especially when your income is not a simple paycheck. Understanding how the numbers actually work is the first step toward a private, informed resolution rather than a public fight over a spreadsheet.

In the video below, Adam B. Cordover, a leading Florida Collaborative Divorce attorney, walks through how Florida calculates child support and where families have room to make their own decisions.

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