Are you looking for a child support in Florida calculator? We have an attorney that can help you calculate the amount of child support you need to pay, or should receive, in Florida.

What do you do if your former husband moves to Florida and has not paid child support? Regardless of the reason for the move, it is possible to enforce a foreign order in Florida to seek enforcement of child support payments.

Florida allows for the domestication of foreign orders wherein a Judge recognizes the foreign order as if the order was obtained by the Florida court.

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There are a few ways to domesticate a foreign order in Florida depending on the type of order involved, however, the process remains the same. An out-of-country judgment must meet the principles of equity and comity.

Equity requires that the Order to be enforced has a quality of fairness and impartiality.

Comity, on the other hand, is a legal principle wherein the Courts are honouring the out-of-country orders based on mutual respect, rather than an obligation of law.

The final judgment from the country

To begin the process, a certified copy of the final judgment from the country of origination must be obtained. If the order is not in English, a certified translation of the order must also be obtained.

Once those documents are obtained a petition for domestication, along with a notarized affidavit can be filed with the Court.

The filing fee does vary depending upon which county in Florida you are filing in. After filing the petition, the filed documents must be sent to the other party and a certified copy of the mailing must be returned to the Court.

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In some Florida counties, the Clerk of Courts handles the official notice of domestication, while other Florida counties require the initiating party to handle the service.

After the service of the petition, the other party will have 20 days to file an action challenging the validity of the judgment. If domestication is proceeding on the Foreign Out of State Money Act, the Defendant will have 30 days to file a response.

There are a limited number of challenges for the domestication of a foreign order.

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While not an exhaustive list, a party is able to challenge the validity of an out-of-country foreign judgment if the judgment was rendered by a non-impartial tribunal, the Court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant, or there was no subject matter jurisdiction.

There are also a few situations wherein a Florida Court does not need to recognize a foreign money-judgment, based on the court’s discretion.

These discretionary factors involve fairness in the foreign court’s process.

This includes insufficient notice to the other party to effectively participate. It also includes judgments obtained through fraud.

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If the opposing party fails to file an objection or challenge to the validity of the judgment, within the appropriate timeframe, the judgment is recorded by the Clerk’s certificate.

The Judgment can be enforced in the same manner as a judgment in the State of Florida.

If, on the other hand, a party does challenge the domestication, the matter will proceed in front of the Judge wherein the opposing party will have to prove to the Court their cited opposition.

A judge will then render a ruling on the domestication as opposed to the Clerk’s Certificate of Recording.

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Once the order is recorded, there are several options to collect monies due in the State of Florida. If known, the person’s bank account or place of employment is the most common manner for collections.

This is followed by a writ of levy for their personal assets such as a vehicle.

Generally, a Writ for garnishment is filed with the Clerk of Court without a motion to the Court.

However, in some counties, a Motion and Order for the Clerk to issue a Writ is required.

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Once the Writ is served upon the person or entity to be “garnished” called the Garnishee (such as an employer or bank), they will have 20 days to file an answer.

The answer should state whether the garnishee has any property or money belonging to the Defendant (non-paying parent).

The Garnishee may also file an objection to the Writ or challenge the Writ, basically stating that they do not believe the information contained within the Writ.

If the Answer states that the Garnishee holds no money or property, a hearing will be conducted.

This is done to determine where the answer is factually correct.

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Florida law requires that the creditor provide the debtor with a copy of the creditor’s motion.

You must also provide a writ issued by the Clerk’s office and a Claim of Exemption form.

This must be done within 5 days.

The time starts from the clerk’s issuance of the writ. Or 3 days of service on the garnishee, whichever date is later.

There are several specific types of assets that are exempt from garnishments.

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These include retirement proceeds held in a bank account or head of household exception applicable to wage garnishments.

It is important to note, however, that exemptions are not automatic. Upon service of the Claim of Exemptions by the Debtor, the creditor has between 3 and 8 days.

This depends on the type of service. This time frame is to contest the debtor’s exemption claims under oath.

A hearing on the validity of the exemption or contests thereto can be expedited.

This article was written by Boyer Law Firm. Finding a child support in Florida calculator is difficult.

Would you like assistance domesticating your child support order for enforcement?

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Please call the attorneys at Boyer Law Firm, P.L., to receive a case evaluation. (407) 574-2573