Will the Florida court consider high living expenses, such as loan payments and income taxes, when determining my ability to pay child support?

In general, child support in Florida is determined by a formula, which has a variety of inputs. Of which, typical living expenses, even if they are high, are not part of the analysis. The courts don’t really care if you want to drive a corvette that has a huge monthly obligation payment or a 20 year old chevette. That is a standard of living issue that you have to determine on your own, but your child through your child support is not going to be affected by that decision.

That does not mean if you have unique and difficult expenses, such as cancer drug payments, former child support for children born prior to this child in question, that those can’t be considered through the formula. Either through the actually formula itself or through an adjustment to the outcome, which the court is permitted to make under some certain circumstances, but in general, the life style of the payer or the recipient of child support is irrelevant. It’s what they earn.