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Child Support & Parenting Time: Different Questions
Paying child support does not automatically establish a parenting schedule. Having parenting time does not automatically eliminate child support. Understand what your existing order actually addresses.
Two different questions
Child support: Financial support for a child under applicable law and any support order.
Time-sharing: The schedule describing when a child spends time with each parent.
Support and parenting time are distinct but related. Equal time-sharing does not automatically mean zero support. Florida’s guidelines consider both parents’ finances, parenting-time factors, and relevant child-related expenses.
Continue following existing support and parenting orders. Denied parenting time does not permit withholding ordered support, and unpaid support does not permit withholding time-sharing under the schedule in effect.
What can the DOR administrative process address?
The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) can establish support administratively. In qualifying administrative cases, it can include parenting-time plans agreed to and signed by both parents when establishing paternity or establishing or modifying support.
If there is no agreed, signed plan before the final administrative order is entered, the support order may be entered without a parenting-time plan. DOR provides information about a petition that parents may file in court. This is not a recommendation that the same form or process applies to every family.
DOR cannot modify or enforce a parenting-time plan; changes and enforcement require court involvement. It does not review, evaluate, negotiate, or prepare the plans. Its standard-plan process has eligibility and safety qualifications, and is not intended for families with domestic or family violence concerns. Read the official guidance before considering a plan.
What does your existing order address?
Read the full order, including any attached parenting plan. Does it establish paternity, require support, describe decision-making, or set a time-sharing schedule?
Section 742.031(2) addresses paternity judgments containing only a child-support award without a parenting plan or time-sharing schedule, and judgments lacking those provisions. Do not assume every paternity judgment provides the same parenting arrangements. Qualified help can explain how the statute and the actual judgment apply.
What should I gather?
- Any paternity acknowledgment or determination
- Court or administrative support orders
- Parenting plans and time-sharing orders
- Notices and case numbers
- Questions about what is established and what remains unresolved
Your next step
Locate your current orders. Check whether they address paternity, support, parental responsibility, and a specific parenting schedule. Ask qualified legal help what remains unresolved.
The Dads Matter Project provides free educational information and resources, not legal advice or legal representation. Forms, laws, and procedures may change. Always review current official instructions and consult a qualified attorney or court self-help office when appropriate.