Back Child Support in Florida

Back Child Support---Will I goto jail here in Florida?
I have been divorced for roughly 5 years now. At that point I was scheduled to make child supoort payments of $1475.00 a month. I have not made a single payment to the state however have paid my ex wife directly into her account...(I have reciepts). My income diplimished grately and am really trying hard to contribute anyway I can. I do however have half custody of our son and I am a great father to my child. Everyone that knows me can say this! He has food over, clothing, toys , and games! We have an excellents relationship. I just finaicialy have not been able to give my ex anything at all...I AM NOT A DEAD BEAT FATHER! I love my son more than anything and now my ex is trying to take me to court to hurt me. this is only going to hurt our son by going through this.

Question is this. I owe a significant amonut to the state but would I be going to jail? There is no way I can even bring this amount current let alone anything close. I have had financial hardship and just started a new job.

Your comments are wlcome...

Thank you for your time.

Why did you choose to ignore sending payments to DOR and instead give money directly to your ex? Are you stating that until you became unable to, you were giving your ex the complete $1475?

I gave her the full amount for the first 3 years however, it has dropped significantly since. I just thought it was easier to deposti it into her account rather than have to have her wait until it was sent...That was my mistake back then.

Do yourself a favor and know that court ORDERS are ORDERS and not court SUGGESTIONS. Is she willing to admit that you paid her for 3 years? Still, at 2 years with no payment of support, you should be at the point where you are faced with felony non support of a child and you should be prosecuted.

If you are unable to pay the ORDERED amount of support, then you need to file for modification of the current order.

I understand the order, I am not a bad father but thats not in question here. Do you know what the jail time is for this by chance? I love my son and have always taken care of him!! I am just asking for an educated opinion. Thank you for your reply.

It appears on your first conviction, you could be facing 1 year and $1000 fine. Upon your next conviction, if you owe more than $5000, you're looking at 5 years and $5000

OMG.......I did the totals and I roughly owe her maybe $50k or so +/-. So basically I am screwed....excuse the grammer...

I'd say screwed is putting it lightly.

yeah...you are right....The only person it will hurt is my son....if that is what she needs to do than he will be scard for life....thank you for your input.

That's a nice way to deflect responsibility for your actions. It is YOUR responsibility to follow the court order TO THE LETTER. If YOU chose not to do so, then YOU have to suffer the consequences for your actions. If YOUR actions ultimately scar your son, guess who did it?