(WSVN) - When his son turned 18, he thought he would no longer have to pay child support. But it kept coming out of his small monthly disability check. Should those payments have stopped at 18? Let’s bring in Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
In life, you have your days.
Joining the army was a good one for Jonathan. Working on charter boats was fun, and of course, the best, having a son.
Jonathan Salomone: “The limited time I get to see my son, we like going to the Everglades or go to the Keys, fishing.”
There were also the inevitable bad days.
Jonathan got divorced, lost his job, became disabled and was homeless.
Jonathan Salomone: “Yes, but I keep moving forward. That’s all you can do.”
Fortunately, Jonathan is now drawing a disability check each month and can rent a small room in a house.
Jonathan Salomone: “Well, that’s all I can afford.”
He gets $1,500 a month. Three hundred of it goes to child support for his son, leaving him with $1,200 a month to pay rent and his other bills.
Jonathan Salomone: “So, I don’t mind the money going to my son, but now he’s working and soon he’s going to have a real profession.”
That’s because his son has now turned 18.
Jonathan Salomone: “And everyone I’ve talked to said it should have stopped. You know, at least within a month or so of him turning 18.”
Three hundred dollars a month for child support may not seem like a lot to you. To Jonathan, it would make an enormous difference.
Jonathan Salomone: “You just scrape by. Buy the bare minimum on food, sometimes maybe only eat once or twice a day.”
Jonathan says if he is required to continue to pay child support, he doesn’t mind. But if not, that $300 dollars a month would mean a lot to him.
Jonathan Salomone: “Probably mean a little extra food each month.”
He tried to get the answer, how long does he have to continue to pay child support? And couldn’t find out.
Jonathan Salomone: “I’m not looking for anything. Just for, you know, the payment to stop or when they’re going to stop, if they stop soon.”
Well, Howard, if you are paying child support and your son or daughter turns 18, legally, do you have to continue to pay?
Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “If you owe back support, you have to pay the amount off. But in most cases, you don’t have to pay after the child turns 18. There are exceptions. If the child is still in high school, you have to pay until they graduate. If they have special needs, you may have to pay for life or you can ask your ex to stop paying support. It can not hurt to ask.”
We contacted Florida Department of Revenue, which handles child support, and asked them to check into Jonathan’s case.
They told us because of federal and state laws, they couldn’t talk to us about it.
But they talked to Jonathan.
Jonathan Salomone: “Basically, it’s done. The case is closed. They’re going to stop taking the payments from my Social Security.”
Not only did the child support payments stop, the state sent Jonathan the $300 he paid last month.
All after he asked Help Me Howard to look into things.
Jonathan Salomone: “Oh, basically it’s hitting a brick wall and you found a door I couldn’t see. So once that door opened, it made things a lot easier.”
Wish I had thought of that line.
Now, if you are in a similar situation, the Florida Supreme Court has forms to fill out to get child support payments stopped, and that way you don’t need a lawyer. We have links to that plus all the information you need to know about child support, including what to do if you are owed money and your ex is not paying under this story.
Battling someone acting like a child? Need support? Check with us to help you cash in.
With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.
More Information:
Florida Department of Revenue child support
Florida Court Systems child support forms
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Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
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