Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Can retroactive child support be awarded for a child who has reached the age of majority? A recent case analyzes this issue, taking into account the language of the Florida Statutes. The case is Dept. of Revenue v. E.P., 2D22-4083 (Fla. 2d DCA November 1, 2023).
In this administrative child support case, there were two children. One of the children turned 18 shortly before the Department of Revenue served its petition for establishment of support. At a hearing on the petition, the court questioned whether it had authority to award support for a child who was no longer a minor. The Department argued it could award retroactive support under the authority of Campagna v. Cope, 971 So. 2d 243, 245 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008). The court disagreed and declined to award retroactive support for the older child.
The appellate court reversed, holding “Consistent with Campagna, we conclude that the legislature has authorized DOAH to award limited, retroactive child support ‘if a child has turned eighteen but a parent resided with and supported the child before the child turned eighteen,’ so that DOR may ‘recover the other parent's share of any support for the twenty-four months prior to the date of filing the petition pursuant to the child support guidelines.’ See id. at 248. Applied here, the ALJ had the statutory authority to enter an award for the older child.”
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