In one state, a father who was paying child support had his salary cut almost in half. He petitioned the court to reduce his child support payments, since the university that employed him could no longer afford to pay him his former salary due to declining enrollment. Yet the court denied his petition. Why?

It turns out that the man had received a car, a cell phone, and tickets to the university’s football games from his employer. The court concluded that because he did not have to pay for these things himself, he still could pay the same amount of child support that he had paid the previous year. He appealed the decision, and the appellate court also denied his petition. He has since appealed their decision to the state’s supreme court. Legal scholars, of course, are watching this case closely, since it may set a precedent for whether or not perks would be considered as income for parents who make child support payments.

Many companies include non-monetary benefits in their employees’ compensation packages. Florida’s non-custodial parents who receive these perks, however, need to consider the possibility that these benefits will be counted toward their annual income when the court determines their child support payments.

Since the aim of child support payments is, after all, to ensure that the children in a relationship that has ended have all of their basic needs provided for, Florida will probably continue the current policy of considering perks as part of a parent’s annual income when courts calculate their payments. It would, therefore, probably be in divorced parents’ best interest to familiarize themselves with Florida’s state laws on child support.