Determining Child Support

After the issue of child custody has been resolved, the question of child support must be addressed. The process of determining fair and suitable assistance for your child(ren) can be time-consuming and difficult. There are also extremely strict laws in New York State that govern child support, and even if both parents agree to stray from the guidelines, it must be properly documented or it may be overturned at a later point.

Of course, you want to ensure that your children are adequately cared for. Nobody, on the other hand, wants to be taken advantage of. As a result, you require the assistance of an experienced and dedicated family law attorney to assist you in determining what is fair and acceptable child support in your particular circumstances.

Simply put, child support is the financial assistance provided by one parent to the other in order to assist with the care of their minor kid or children. A basic cash child support order is meant to pay for day-to-day needs such as groceries, housing, clothing, vacations, and other related expenses, among other things. Aside from that, parents are responsible for “add-on charges,” which include essentials like health insurance, medical expenses, school costs, and childcare. In most cases, the non-primary custodial parent provides payments to the primary custody parent on behalf of the children. When parents spend exactly equal amounts of time with their children, the spouse who makes more money is presumed to be responsible for paying child support to the spouse who earns less money. The amount of child support is calculated depending on the combined income of the parties.

According to New York’s child support rules, a parent is legally obligated to support their children until they reach the age of 21 or until they reach the age of legal emancipation as specified by state law.

It is crucial to remember that either parent can be required by a court to pay child support, even if they have little or no contact with their kid – and that there are serious legal consequences if they reject or fail to make these payments. If you have any questions, please contact us.

Even if the negotiations have been quiet and friendly up to this point, a disagreement over money can strain and interrupt an otherwise peaceful and agreeable divorce settlement. Get in touch with East Slip child support attorney Jodi Ann Donato today to receive the educated and effective legal representation you require and desire. As a result, you will have a stronger voice in the struggle for equitable support for your child (ren).

What Factors Influence the Amount of Child Support Due?

The income of the non-custodial parent is a key factor that the court takes into account while making its decision. One of the most important factors taken into consideration by the court when calculating how much child support is required prior to a divorce is the quality of life of the child and the custodial parent. Another element taken into consideration by the court is the expense and special needs associated with individual children.

According to studies, men’s standard of living grew dramatically following divorce, but women and children’s standard of living declined precipitously. To address this, the federal government linked federal benefits to each state’s adoption of child support requirements. As a result, each state enacted a version of the federal child support rules. In New York, the “Child Support Standards Act” (“CSSA”) is codified as section 240 of the Domestic Relations Law (“DRL”) and is nearly verbatim incorporated into section 413 of the Family Court Act (“FCA”).

Thus, calculating child support begins with the application of the statutory CSSA formula. In general, the procedure is as follows:

1. Determine the income of each parent;

2. Add the earnings of both parents to obtain the parents’ combined total earnings;

3. Multiply the parents’ total parental income up to the earning cap (which is $154,000 as of 3/1/20) by the corresponding percentage from the table below.

No. of children	CSSA Percentage
1	17%
2	25%
3	29%
4	31%
>4	>=35%

4. Divide the individual income of each parent by the total income of both parents to determine each parent’s percentage of the combined income;

5. Multiply the parent’s percent-of-combined-income (from the previous step) by the combined child support obligation to determine the individual child support obligation for that parent.

Thus, if a non-custodial parent makes 70% of the combined income of the parents, you would double the joint child support obligation by 70% to determine how much the non-custodial parent must pay the custodial parent.

As per the aforementioned method, each parent contributes to child support pro rata to their actual wages. This is the fundamental obligation to pay child support.

To further complicate matters, certain statutory child support add-ons, other discretionary child support add-ons, and the court’s discretion to award child support on income beyond the “cap” are included. Additionally, a Court may deviate from the statutory child support amount (either upward or downward), but only on one or more of the precise grounds specified in the Act.

Under New York state laws, child support is paid until the child attains emancipation or becomes 21, in the assumption that a college education is important.

No, is the succinct and conclusive answer to this question. Child support and child custody are considered different issues by the court. If the noncustodial parent stops paying child support, the custodial parent cannot withhold parental access.

If your or your child’s other parent’s circumstances change and you are unable to continue making child support payments, you may request a modification of your support arrangement. Jodi Ann Donato can assist you throughout this procedure. Additionally, we may aid you in enforcing a child support arrangement if you are not receiving payments.

Contact our East Islip child support attorney at 631-920-3848 for assistance in filing or bringing child support issues to court.

If you have any legal issues about child support, contact our New York divorce and family law firm immediately. We have the knowledge and experience necessary to choose the best course of action, and always keep your best interests in mind. Our child support lawyer  in East Islip, New York can give legal assistance and guidance as you weigh your choices.