Essay Writing

Question 1

The party seeking modification typically has the burden of establishing a significant change in circumstances in either:

Answer 1

(i) the needs of the dependent spouse or

(ii) the financial abilities of the obligor that warrant the modification.

Question 2

When a man is determined not to be the biological father of a child, he may petition for the disestablishment of paternity and termination of his child-support obligation. To petition the court, the man must provide the following:

Answer 2

(i) an affidavit regarding newly discovered evidence that has come to light since the establishment of paternity or the child-support obligation;
(ii) scientific testing results excluding the man as the biological father or an affidavit attesting that he had no access to the child to perform such testing; and
(iii) proof, via an affidavit, that he is current or has substantially complied with his child-support obligation and that arrears, if any, are due to an inability to pay or to a just cause.

Question 3

Relief from a finding of paternity must be granted when:

Answer 3

(i) the child is under the age of 18 at the time the petition was filed,
(ii) the scientific testing was accurate,
(iii) the man did not subsequently adopt the child, and (iv) the man did not thwart the biological father from asserting his rights.

Question 4

A court may not grant relief if, after a determination that he is not the biological father, he ________
acknowledged paternity in an _______ document, ________ the mother, and voluntarily ________ parental obligations (including the duty of support), voluntarily expressed a promise to support the child, or disregarded the official notice in regard to submission of scientific testing.

Answer 4

voluntarily ; attested, married ; assumed

Question 5

A husband who is not the biological father of his wife’s child may be estopped from denying his obligation to pay child support. Under the doctrine of equitable estoppel, the husband may be required to pay child support when:

Answer 5

(i) there is a representation by the husband that he will provide for the child,
(ii) the wife relied on his representation, and
(iii) the wife suffered an economic detriment as a result of the reliance (e.g., lost opportunity to obtain child support from the child’s biological father).

Question 6

In Florida, a child-support order may be modified if there is a ____________ _________ __ __________ or the financial ability of either parent.

Answer 6

substantial change in circumstances