Rampartap v. Rampartap
The Fourth DCA reversed a child support order that treated $8,600 per month in household and mortgage expenses paid by the former wife's new spouse as her "income" under sections 61.30(2) and 61.046(8). The court held that a new spouse's payment of his own household expenses is not a "payment to" the former wife, in kind or otherwise, and therefore cannot be counted as income; it distinguished Varchetti (fiancé/uncle paying or reimbursing bills for the spouse) and reaffirmed Nadeau. A lengthy concurrence maps the proper analytic framework for the "income" inquiry, criticizes Hinton v. Smith's categorical ban as wrongly reasoned, notes apparent conflict between Sunderwirth and Varchetti, and observes that remarriage may still justify a guidelines deviation.
Key facts
- Former wife sought modification of child support; trial court attributed $8,600 per month in household and mortgage expenses paid by the former wife's new spouse as her 'income' under Florida Statutes sections 61.30(2) and 61.046(8).
- The Fourth DCA reversed, holding that a new spouse's payment of his own household expenses is not a 'payment to' the remarried parent and therefore cannot be counted as income for child support calculation purposes.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This is a practitioner-useful clarification of when third-party or new-spouse contributions count as income for child support, drawing a bright-line 'payment to the parent' test that reconciles Nadeau, Varchetti… — full analysis with a trial
Read the full opinion, holdings & search — free for 30 days
The full opinion PDF, the rules the court applied, our significance analysis, the background facts, and full-text search across every tracked Florida decision — in your hands.
- Search every tracked Florida decision in seconds
- Save, tag & file the cases that matter into your own library
- Read the full plain-English analysis and holdings
Not ready to sign up? Get the free Friday digest — the week's key Florida decisions by email, no login required.
Florida Court Tracker provides summaries of publicly available court opinions for informational and research purposes only. This is not legal advice and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Always verify holdings against the official opinion.