Child Support in New York

Child support is a payment made to the custodial parent for the financial support of their children. In order to obtain child support, the parties must first determine physical residential custody. Child support can be paid monthly, biweekly, or weekly. Basic child support is designed to cover food, clothing, shelter, and other basic expenses; it does not include unreimbursed medical expenses or the cost of childcare when a custodial parent is at school or work.

Filing a Request for Child Support

Child support can be requested by either parent in Family Court by filing a petition. If the parents are married, they can request child support in Supreme Court as part of their divorce proceeding. Child support can also be awarded as part of a family offense petition.

A parent can file an immediate request for temporary child support through either a motion in family court or a Pendente Lite motion.

Determining the Amount of Child Support

Child support is determined by applying the formula set forth in the Child Support Standards Act. The court will determine the income of each parent up to a cap and then apply a percentage to the parent's combined income. The court has determined that income should be set on the following fixed percentage:

One Child 17%

Two Children 25%

Three Children 29%

Four Children 31%

Five + Children no less than 35%

Independent contractors and self employed parents can create issues for the court when determining their proper income. Self employed parents sometimes pay personal expenses out of their business which can be considered income. Independent contractors do not always have a reliable or steady income year after year. When a parent’s income is unpredictable, it makes a court’s job more difficult, but not impossible.

The Child Support Standards Act, or CSSA, creates a combined annual income cap of $141,000. If your household’s combined income is more than that and you wish for child support to be calculated in a manner that reflects that additional income, you will have to argue that child support should go beyond the cap. In determining whether to calculate additional child support beyond the $141,000 cap and how much, the court can take into consideration:

1. The financial resources of all involved;

2. The special needs and specific health needs of the children;

3. The lifestyle the children would have enjoyed had the parents remained together;

4. Tax impacts;

5. The parents’ contributions to their children’s lives in a non-financial sense;

6. The parents’ educational needs;

7. Income disparity between parents;

8. The child support paying parent’s financial obligations to other children;

9. Large amounts of time or expense spent by the non-custodial parent during visitation which reduces financial obligations on the custodial parent, such as international travel or spending summers with the non-custodial parent; and

10. Other factors a court, in its own discretion, deems to be relevant to making a determination.

Basic child support payments do not apply to add on payments. These add ons are either statutory, such as unreimbursed medical expenses and child care payments so the custodial parent can work, or payments that the parties agree to split, such as private school expenses and extra circular activities.

The parents, with the court’s permission, have a right to deviate from the Child Support Standards Act.

Length of Child Support in New York

Child support in New York lasts until a child is 21 years old. However, child support can stops when a child is younger than 21 years of age if they become married, self-supporting, or join the military. A child who is between the ages of 17 and 21 who no longer resides with either parent and refuses to obey their parents’ reasonable demands may also be considered emancipated for the purposes of child support.

Using Technology in Child Support Cases

Discovery is limited in family court support matters, but experienced attorneys like Daniel Szalkiewicz and Cali Madia know what documents are important to request. We have subpoenaed tech companies and online financial companies to show funds sent and received electronically. Using subpoenas and following payment trails, in many instances we are able to determine where a parent is hiding money in order to raise the amount of child support they should be required to pay.

Enforcing and Modifying Child Support Orders.

Once a child support award is entered, a parent can file a request for modification if there is a 15% change in income, a significant change in circumstances, or at least three years have passed since the order was entered. Whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances is unique to every case, but can be found to exist, for instance, if a child’s needs suddenly increase or a parent becomes unable to work or loses their job.

New York allows for cost of living increases for child support orders, but they cannot be requested earlier than two years after the entry of the existing order. In situations where a child received government assistance, the state will address a cost of living adjustment without parental request.

If a parent refuses to pay their child support award, the other parent may bring a violation petition against them. If the nonpayment is willful, the delinquent parent can go to jail, have their driver license suspended, and/or face judgments.

New York State also recognizes and enforces out of state child support orders.

Attorney Fees in Support Cases

Attorney fees are sometimes available to parties in a child support case. In New York, the parent who makes less income has the ability to request the other parent pay for their attorney fees. If one parent has violated the support agreement, then the non-violating parent will also receive fees for being forced to bring a violation petition. Allowing the non-violating parent to collect attorney fees in these situations levels the playing field in that it should deter the more moneyed parent from withholding child support with the comfort that the other parent will not have the financial resources to pursue them for nonpayment.