Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support
When calculating child support in Florida, it is possible for courts to make mistakes in calculating the numbers. This can be remedied, if necessary, via an appeal. But what if a party does not have a transcript of the trial at which the child support was calculated? This was an issue in the case Garwood v. Garwood, 6D2023-1793 (Fla. 6th DCA April 25, 2025).
The former husband in this divorce case alleged the trial court miscalculated his child support obligations, leading to the former husband being required to pay more child support than he should, and inflating his arrearage total. After his motion for rehearing was denied regarding these calculations, he appealed.
The appellate court noted “‘A child support determination is within the sound discretion of the trial court, subject to the statutory guidelines and the reasonableness test. However, whether a trial court’s mathematical computations are correct is a question of law which is reviewed de novo.’” While the former husband did not provide a transcript of the proceedings, the appellate court held “Even though we lack a trial transcript, we may address the computational errors because they appear on the amended second supplemental final judgment’s face.” The court concluded “We reverse and remand for the trial court to correct Former Husband’s retroactive child support obligations from June 2020 to December 2022, using the formula delineated in section 61.30. We also remand for the trial court to correct Former Husband’s total child support arrearages. An evidentiary hearing is unnecessary. We otherwise affirm.”
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