Child support ensures children maintain their standard of living after divorce. Whether you're seeking support or defending against excessive demands, our attorneys navigate New York's complex guidelines to achieve fair, sustainable support orders that truly serve your children's needs. New York's Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) provides a formula-based approach, but the reality is far more nuanced. Income determination, especially for self-employed parents or those with variable compensation, requires sophisticated analysis. We work with forensic accountants to uncover hidden income, properly value business interests, and ensure all compensation - including perks, bonuses, and stock options - is considered. For high-income families exceeding the statutory cap, we advocate for appropriate support levels that maintain your children's lifestyle without creating windfalls. Our goal is achieving support orders that are fair, enforceable, and truly benefit your children.
Child support in New York isn't just a simple percentage calculation. While the CSSA provides baseline percentages, numerous factors can affect the final amount. Courts consider the total financial picture including both parents' complete income, the children's actual needs, healthcare costs, educational expenses, and special circumstances. For parents with income above the $163,000 cap, courts have discretion in calculating support on the excess income, considering factors like the children's pre-divorce lifestyle, private school attendance, and extracurricular activities. We help you understand how imputed income works when a parent is voluntarily underemployed, how to handle cases involving cash businesses, and how to address situations where financial disclosure is incomplete or deceptive. Our expertise ensures accurate calculations that reflect true financial circumstances.
Housing costs including rent or mortgage, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, and all daily living expenses. This forms the foundation of support obligations calculated through CSSA guidelines.
Health insurance premiums, unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, orthodontics, therapy, medications, and special medical needs. These are typically shared proportionally to income.
Public school costs, supplies, uniforms, field trips, and in some cases private school tuition, tutoring, test preparation, and college expenses beyond basic support.
Work-related daycare, after-school programs, summer camps, and babysitting costs that enable parents to maintain employment. These are mandatory add-ons to basic support.
Exchange income documentation and expenses
Apply CSSA formula to combined income
Include medical, childcare, education costs
Adjust for special circumstances if needed
Court approves and issues support order
Support orders must be followed precisely. Non-payment can result in wage garnishment, license suspension, and even jail time. However, when circumstances change substantially - job loss, income changes of 15% or more, or changes in custody - modifications are possible. Acting quickly is crucial as modifications aren't retroactive. For enforcement, New York offers powerful tools through the Support Collection Unit (SCU) including automatic income withholding, intercepting tax refunds, freezing bank accounts, and suspending driver's and professional licenses. We help receiving parents navigate the enforcement process efficiently while helping paying parents avoid these consequences through proper modification proceedings. When seeking modifications, timing is everything - file immediately upon any substantial change, document all circumstances thoroughly, and never simply stop paying without court approval. We handle emergency modifications for job loss, upward modifications when the paying parent's income increases, and downward modifications for changed custody arrangements.
Modern child support cases often involve complexities beyond basic calculations. We handle cases involving multiple families, where parents have children from different relationships requiring careful allocation of support obligations. International support cases require understanding of UIFSA (Uniform Interstate Family Support Act) and international treaties. For high-earning parents, we address issues like private school tuition, college expenses, and maintaining multiple residences. Self-employed parents present unique challenges - we work with financial experts to accurately determine income from businesses, partnerships, and freelance work. Cases involving special needs children require consideration of ongoing support beyond age 21, government benefits coordination, and trust planning. We also handle situations involving incarcerated parents, military families with deployment issues, and cases where parents deliberately reduce income to avoid support obligations.
In New York, child support typically continues until age 21, unless the child is emancipated earlier through marriage, military service, or full-time employment.
Courts can deviate from guidelines for proven hardship. Document all expenses, debts, and financial obligations. Seek modification immediately if circumstances change - don't just stop paying.
Yes, shared custody can reduce support obligations, especially with 50/50 arrangements. However, the higher-earning parent typically still pays some support to maintain equal standards in both homes.
Yes, upon showing substantial change in circumstances (15% income change, job loss, custody change) or after 3 years. File immediately as modifications aren't retroactive to before filing date.
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