Grandchild Support

In family law, the general rule is that only the married couple’s income and assets are considered for things like alimony and child support. But there’s a rare exception where the husband’s recurring gifts from his parents were counted as income for child support. This exception is not widely accepted and should be carefully reviewed before relying on it. The court in the Ordini case had a specific question about whether regular gifts from a family member should be counted as income when deciding how much alimony and child support someone should pay. The court said that in this case, the gifts from the husband’s parents should be considered income because they had been supporting the couple for a long time, and the husband’s mother said she would continue to support him even after the divorce. The court also mentioned a previous case where the Supreme Court said that gifts from family members shouldn’t be counted when deciding how much alimony someone should get. The court said that if gifts from family members were counted, it would put the person receiving the alimony in a difficult position. In cases where someone is paying child support or alimony, the court might consider money or help that they get from their family when deciding how much they should pay. If the help has been happening for a long time, it could be used to figure out how much the person should pay. It’s not a clear rule, but usually if the help has been happening for a while, it can be considered when deciding how much someone should pay. Regular and consistent financial support from a family member can be considered as part of a person’s income for child support or alimony. However, if the support is sporadic and unpredictable, it won’t be counted as income. It all depends on the regularity and predictability of the financial help. When it comes to determining child support and alimony, the court looks at all sources of income, including regular gifts. The court will only consider gifts as income if there is evidence that the gifts will continue in the future. This is because the definition of income in the law is broad enough to include gifts. So, if someone receives regular gifts that help them financially, that can be considered when determining child support or alimony payments. The court has not made a clear distinction between counting gift income for alimony but not for child support. There is debate over whether reimbursed expenses and in-kind payments should be limited to items like food and housing, or if they can include contributions from a new spouse. The Ordini case has raised concerns because it requires grandparents to continue supporting their grandchildren, and their gifts are now legally enforceable. This could result in their son being punished if they stop providing financial help. The court is looking at whether regular gifts of money from grandparents to their children will be counted as income in divorce cases. The court is also considering if these gifts will be taken into account if the parents separate and need to pay child support. This is a big issue because it affects a lot of people, especially as the baby boomer generation gets older. The court’s decision could have a big impact on how these gifts are treated in the future. William H. Stolberg has been a family lawyer in Ft. Lauderdale since 1973 and is an expert in marital and family law.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/grandchild-support/