New York Child Support

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New York child support has been shaped directly as a result of Federal Law. The Federal Government has passed laws and regulations that deny Federal Funding to any state that does not incorporate Federal guidelines on child support issues. Thus, for New York to continue to receive Federal Funding, New York has complied with the Federal dictates. The Federal laws are based upon quite a bit of research that shows how much support is provided to children in intact families at different income levels. These Federal laws also directly govern New York law on support collection and support enforcement.

New York Child Support is calculated based upon a State law known as the "Child Support Standards Act" (CSSA). The CSSA contains a detailed formula to assist the Court in calculating the presumptively correct amount of child support. The CSSA defines income, support and other terms, and provides a step by step formula for Courts and attorneys to use to determine New York child support issues. The CSSA has the advantage of providing consistency. It does not matter what County you live in or what County your case is pending in. New York child support will be determined by reference to the CSSA in every Court in the State.

In calculating New York child support, the Court will first examine the parties’ respective incomes. Income under the CSSA includes any income that was or should have been reported on the parent's most recent federal income tax return. Income is not limited to income received from an employer or business. It also includes any benefits received, such as workers compensation, disability, unemployment, social security, veterans, pension and retirement, fellowships and stipends and annuity payments. Public assistance is one benefit that is not added into a party's gross income. If one or both of the parents is receiving public assistance, the amount received should not be included in that parent's gross income.

If a Court determines that a party is deliberately unemployed or underemployed, it can "impute" income to that parent. To impute income to a parent, a Court determines that person's income level by adding other monies to actual income. In doing that, the Court will look at that parent's education and work experience, will determine what that parent is capable of earning, and will assess whether there is a good reason for the reduction in that parent's income. This prevents a parent from quitting his or her job, or taking a job paying substantially less, in Order to avoid paying New York child support.

After determining both parties’ gross incomes, the Court will make certain deductions, such as social security and local taxes actually paid, from the parties’ gross income. After making these deductions, the Court will arrive at the "net CSSA income". It is from this income that the Court will apply the appropriate New York child support percentage.

The New York child support percentage is multiplied to the net CSSA income and is dependent upon the number of children that the parties have. For one child, the percentage is 17%. For two children, the percentage is 25%. For three children the percentage is 29%. For four children the percentage is 31 % and for five or more children the percentage is no less than 35%. New York child support calculated by doing the above calculation is the total support due from both parents. That support must then be apportioned between the parents based upon their incomes.

The apportioned New York child support is each parties respective basic child support obligation. The non-custodial parent must pay basic child support to the custodial parent. Basic New York child support can either be paid directly to the custodial parent or through the Support Collection Unit. The Support Collection Unit will either receive direct payments from the support payor or deduct the support payment directly from the support payor’s wages. After receiving the support payment, the Support Collection Unit will remit the payment to the support recipient. Paying support through the Support Collection Unit has its advantages. The Support Collection Unit will keep a record of all payments and any arrears owed. The Agency will also file Violation Petitions and apply other enforcement measures to help support recipients collect unpaid child support.

New York child support does not only include "basic" child support. In New York, both parents must also contribute to certain" add on" expenses. These are obligations that parents must pay for their children. The add on expenses include unreimbursed medical expenses and daycare expenses which are incurred to allow a custodial parent to work, to seek work, or to enroll in educational programs that will lead to employment. These expenses are apportioned between the parties based upon their income. If one parent earns 40% of the the combined parental income, that parent will pay 40% of the daycare expense in addition to the basic child support amount. For example, if the weekly day care expense is $100, that parent will pay $40.

New York Child support can be modified. To apply for a modification, either party can file either a Petition or Motion with the appropriate Court. The standard for modifying child support varies and can be incredibly stringent. In most cases, the mere fact that the children’s expenses have increased or the support payer is earning slightly more is not enough to increase child support. You should never enter into an Agreement regarding the amount of child support to be paid with the misconception that you can simply seek to have the amount increased or decreased at a later point in time.

If a parent fails to pay New York child support as ordered, there are various enforcement measures that can be taken to collect past due child support. The support recipient can file a Violation or Enforcement Petition in Family Court which, upon service, will compel the support payer to appear before the Court and account for her failure to pay support as ordered. Other enforcement measures and penalties can include imprisonment, the suspension of drivers or professional licenses and seizure of tax refunds.

New York child support is paid until the child reaches the age of 21. State Law does provide for children to become emancipated earlier than 21, such as when a child enters the military service, gets married or becomes self-supporting and ceases to live at home with the custodial parent. Courts in New York can also order parents to contribute to the cost of the child’s college education.