Child Support

As divorce has become more prevalent in society, so too has the need for parents to pay child support post-divorce.

Who Must Pay Child Support

Both parents of a child or children born during the marriage are responsible for support of the child. In addition, the father of a child born out of wedlock is also responsible for support, as are adoptive parents. The relevant law in New York is referred to as the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA), which provides the formula used to determine child support based on the parents’ income.

For the most part, child support obligations end when the child becomes 21 years old. However, if a child becomes emancipated either by marrying, joining the military or holding a full-time job that supports the child or if the child refuses to obey the parents’ reasonable parenting (although today this is almost impossible to enforce), then the child support payments may end.

How Basic Support is Determined

Basic child support is a percentage of the total income of both parents, as evidenced by their respective tax returns, based upon the number of children that the couple has. The support amount is then divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes. The non-custodial parent then pays his or her share to the custodial parent. If for some reason the parents’ income cannot be calculated, the court can order child support based on the needs of the child or children.

Income includes earned income, income from investments and other income from a variety of sources, including worker’s compensation, disability benefits, unemployment benefits, veteran benefits, social security benefits, pensions, fellowships, and annuities.

Sometimes, the court will impute income, which means the court will place a value for child support purposes based on certain gifts or non-monetary benefits of a parent. This may include a non-income producing asset, job perks, fringe benefits from an employer and money, goods or services from family members or friends.

There are eight deductions from gross income that are allowed under the CSSA. They include New York City and Yonkers income taxes, unreimbursed employee business expenses like union dues, spousal maintenance paid to a third party non-spouse according to a court order or written agreement, spousal maintenance paid to the spouse in accordance with a written agreement or court order that includes an adjustment for child support when maintenance payments terminate, child support paid to a non-spouse, public assistance, supplemental security income and social security contributions.

To determine the child support obligation of each parent, a step by step process is used. Your attorney should calculate this with you to insure that it is done correctly. Once the support amount is calculated, a payment schedule is then determined. Payments can be made weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or at a different schedule. It usually is based on when the non-custodial parent gets paid.

Health Insurance & Schooling

In addition to the support amount, the court may also require, depending on the parents’ income, that additional sums be tacked on for health insurance and school expenses. For health insurance, the court will decide the health insurance requirements for each child. Usually, the dependent child will be covered by the health insurance offered by a parent’s employer. However, even if the parent’s employers do not offer insurance or there is some other reason insurance was not obtained for the child, the court will still generally require that health insurance is obtained.

For schooling, the court will account for the amount required cover the educational expenses of the child. If a child attends public school, the educational expenses will include notebooks, school trip fees, uniforms, etc. If the child is in private school, the court will determine what is in the best interest of the child, although courts have been more inclined to have parents pay for the private schooling. As far as college support is concerned, it depends on the financial situation of the parents, educational level of both parents and the academic ability of the child.

Special Situations

It is possible for a court to deviate from the CSSA based on a number of factors. Your attorney will be able to explain these to you and help determine if any of them are in fact relevant to your case. When talking to your attorney, just reference the Paragraph “f” factors.