Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
Retroactive child support in Florida may be awarded to compensate a parent who was not receiving adequate support from the other parent before a case was initiated. Under Florida law, the court may award retroactive support dating back up to two years prior to the date of filing the petition for support. Such support was an issue in the case Ramirez v. Gregory, 5D2022-2659 (Fla. 5th DCA February 14, 2025).
The mother in this case requested retroactive child support at a hearing on her petition, but the father objected. The mother did not include in her petition a request for retroactive support. Since the father’s objection at the hearing was overruled, the father was forced to present evidence on the issue. The trial court awarded retroactive support, and the father appealed.
The appellate court reversed, holding “‘A trial court lacks jurisdiction to enter any judgment on an issue not raised by the pleadings,’ [internal citation omitted] unless the issue is tried with the express or implied consent of the parties [internal citation omitted]. ‘An issue is tried by consent when there is no objection to the introduction of evidence on that issue.’ [internal citation omitted]. Here, retroactive support was not raised by the pleadings, and Father objected when Mother attempted to introduce evidence on the issue. Only after the objection was overruled did Father present his own evidence on the matter. Therefore, retroactive support was neither pled nor tried by consent, and we must reverse the retroactive support award.”
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