CHILD SUPPORT

Select a link below for answers to your questions about Child Support in Nassau County and Suffolk County, Long Island, New York.

• Child Support. Long Island Family Courts, under the jurisdiction of New York State law, have ruled that children are entitled to proper child support from their parents, even if the parents aren’t living together. In New York State, the standard passed by law requires a minimum amount of money paid to the custodial parent based on the gross annual income of both parties.
• What Is Child Support? Under New York law, every parent on Long Island has an obligation to provide for his or her children. On Long Island, both parents have a legal responsibility to financially support their child. The parent with whom the child lives is known as the “custodial parent”. The parent who does not live with the child is known as a “non-custodial parent”. A non-custodial parent must provide financial assistance for the support of his or her child even though he or she does not live with the child. This is true even in cases where a child spends equal time with both parents. In such cases, if the non-custodial parent is the higher earning parent, he or she may have an obligation to pay child support to the custodial parent for the care of the child.
• Child Support Options. The resolution of a Child Support agreement on Long Island is a tenuous topic that must be discussed during your divorce in Nassau County or Suffolk County. This article will provide you with a basic understanding of how child support is calculated in the State of New York and assist you and your spouse in reaching an agreement that works well for the both of you.
• How Does Court Calculate Child Support?. If you are deemed the non-custodial parent, whether the mother has sole custody or if you share joint custody, but you have less time than the mother, you will have to pay child support to the custodial parent. Basic child support is determined by calculating each parent’s share of the combined parental income. This percentage is known as the pro-rata share and will determine the responsibility of each party. For instance, let’s say Parent A makes $75,000 per year (as reported as his or her adjusted gross income on the last filed income tax return) and Parent B makes $25,000 per year (again, as reported as his or her adjusted gross income on the last filed income tax return). The combined parental income would be $100,000 per year, with Parent A contributing 75% and Parent B contributing 25% to the combined income. Parent A’s pro-rata share would be 75% and Parent B’s pro-rata share would be 25%.
• Ensure You Get Child Support. Child Custody and Child Support will be matters resolved during your Long Island Divorce. With the assistance of your Long Island Divorce Lawyer, you and your spouse may decide to agree to joint custody. Because this generally allows your children to spend an equal amount of time with both parents, many incorrectly believe this also eliminates the requirement of one parent paying child support. However, just because you and your spouse have elected to follow a joint custody arrangement does not mean that you have essentially opted out of being awarded (or having to pay) child support. When parties elect to follow a joint custody child custody arrangement, the spouse who earns more, regardless of the amount of time the children spend with this parent, is deemed the “non-custodial” parent for child support purposes. Therefore, the “non-custodial” spouse (the spouse who earns more per year) will still be required to pay child support pursuant to the Child Support Standards Act.
• How Much Will I Get/Pay in Child Support? Your most pressing concern regarding child support will likely be how much you will be paying, or receiving if you are the custodial parent, per month in support. According to the Child Support Standards Act, the non-custodial parent will pay a percentage of the combined parental income, which is the combined income of both you and your soon to be ex-spouse, dependent upon how many children you or your partner have physical custody of.
• Modifying Child Support After Divorce. It is a few years or even a few months after your Long Island divorce attorney finalized your divorce and you find yourself in a much different financial position than you were when your judgment of divorce was entered. You may now be living paycheck to paycheck; you may have lost your job, or fallen ill or experienced some other life-changing event which has modified your income. You now find yourself unable to keep up with the Child Support payments a Nassau County or Suffolk County court originally ordered. You want to support your children, but you have questions such as: Do I have any recourse in the matter? Is there any way I can seek a downward modification of the order? Will my ex-spouse be able to bring a judgment against me when I am inevitably unable to pay?
• Claiming Children on Taxes. As a Divorce Attorney on Long Island, I am often asked “who gets to claim the children on our taxes?” While you were married, it is likely that you and your ex-spouse filed joint income tax returns. You combined both of your incomes, and simply noted the number of children you had so you both were awarded the tax benefit of the children as dependents. However, along with a divorce comes the question of which parent can claim the children on their income tax returns, and how to make that decision. While you may automatically assume that the custodial parent is entitled to claim the children on his or her tax returns, this is not always the case and it is important to be aware of the possible outcomes.
• Is Your Ex Turning Your Children Against You? All too often in divorces on Long Island, one spouse attempts to influence the child or children of the marriage against the other spouse/parent. Often, this is a result of anger and resentment at the former spouse, who then tries to use the children against the other out of revenge. While divorce is often an emotionally charged event, there is no excuse for using your innocent children as weapons or pawns in your own childish vendetta against a person you once loved.
• Parental Alienation. When most people contemplate the term “parental alienation” they imagine a mother or girlfriend refusing to allow or making it difficult for her husband or boyfriend to see his children. However that could not be farther from the truth. Parental alienation comes in all shapes and sizes, including husbands and boyfriends who refuse to let their children see or have meaningful interactions with their mother. Therefore, if you find yourself in a situation which you believe may be tantamount to parental alienation, it is important to be aware of a few of the warning signs. What is Parental Alienation? Parental alienation is a term developed by psychologists in the 1980s which is used to describe children who seem to unreasonably reject and/or withdraw from their non-custodial parent. The consequences of parental alienation affect the relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent, but the custodial parent is often the cause of the problem. As the non-custodial parent, it is important to take note if your child seems to be engaging in any of the following behaviors, especially after spending an extended period of time with the custodial parent, or, if the custodial parent engages in any of the following behaviors:
• Paternity. Under New York law, there is a rebuttable presumption that the husband of a woman who gives birth during the marriage is the legal father of the child. Therefore, the husband will be considered the legal father of the child even if he is not the biological father. This presumption is rebuttable, meaning that a petition for paternity can be filed to determine if the husband is in fact the father of the child. When a child is conceived through natural methods of conception, there is a rebuttable presumption concerning paternity, but what about when the mother is artificially inseminated?