Articles Posted in Child Support

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Parents-adventure-300x200Child support payments are intended to ensure children can continue to receive the quality of life within the guidelines and earning abilities of the parents that is in the best interests of the children. This includes providing the child with a consistent level of schooling (education), health care, and support to address other needs.

However, there are limitations to what’s intended to be covered in a child support payment. For instance, private school or full-time religious schooling may be considered as an allowable statutory “add-on” to the support. While other things, like hobbies and extracurricular activities may be considered something that is not a statutory add on. Continue reading ›

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Parents-with-Children-300x200Discussions surrounding paternity and equitable estoppel in the courts of New York can be challenging concepts to deal with for parents or alleged fathers. It’s always essential, in any case, for the courts to put the best interests of the child first. However, for parents, it can be difficult to determine what kind of results this may lead to.

Sometimes, testing the genetics of a parent can be an important step in ensuring the right decisions are being made on behalf of that child. However, there are exceptions in certain situations. As a family law attorney and divorce lawyer, I do my best to keep my clients, any anyone in search of information on the subject as informed as possible.

I’ve blogged about this before but it is worth analyzing further as from paternity a myriad of possibilities arise such as:  support; custody; parenting time; family relationships; inheritance among others.  Here’s a guide to the basics of paternity and equitable estoppel. Continue reading ›

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ParentsBeach-300x200When parents separate or divorce, the law is designed to try to ensure the parent with physical custody over a child or children has access to the right resources to raise the child according to the incomes of each parent. Child support is one of the most common issues which needs to be addressed in a case involving children.

While there are various factors which can come into play when determining who should be responsible for providing child support, and how much support needs to be given, there are also specific guidelines in place to help with the calculation of appropriate levels of child support.

As I often advise my clients, New York law does provide a formula which helps the court to determine an appropriate level of child support. This formula allows for deviations to happen according to the specific needs of the case. Continue reading ›

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Kitchenfeeding-300x200It’s no secret that cases involving children are among the most emotional and complex in family law. There are many different things parents need to think about when not living with the other parent or beginning a divorce, from how they’re going to split the family home, to how they can manage parenting and custody time.

One element which can become confusing in some cases is how the “residential custodial” parent is determined in a case when there is equal parenting time distributed between both parties.  In the custody context, the residential parent would be the one that the child lives with most (residential custody being separate and independent from “legal custody” which refers to decision making authority for the child).  Notably, in the family law world, to count as a day living with one parent or another is counted according to the place the child sleeps and then wakes up the following morning on a given occasion.  In other words, it is measured by overnights with the child.  If both parents receive the same number of overnights with the child, and the parents both look after the child in their own properties, it can be difficult to determine which is the “residential custodial” care provider.  Although I have blogged about this topic before, it is worth looking at again, as shared residential custody seems to come up in more and more of my mediations, negotiated cases and even litigated matters. Continue reading ›

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Parentswithbaby-300x200Until recently, under New York law, a parent’s obligation to provide support to a child with a developmental disability generally ended at age 21. However, New York just joined 40 other states in enacting legislation that allows custodial parents of adult children with special needs to pursue child support after the child reaches the age of majority. For certain young adults with “developmental disabities”, child support may now go on to age 26. This can include child support for those that are still under 26 that were previously already deemed aged out.

The law applies to single parents of adult children over the age of 21 who (1) have been diagnosed with a developmental disability by a medical professional; (2) reside with the parent seeking support; and (3) are principally dependent on that parent for maintenance.

The newly enacted legislation uses the New York Mental Hygiene Law’s four-pronged definition of “developmental disability.” First, the disability must be attributable to (a) an intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, neurological impairment, familial dysautonomia, Prader-Willi syndrome or autism; (2) any other condition of a person found to be closely related to intellectual disability because such condition results in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior to that of intellectually disabled persons or requires treatment and services similar to those required for such person; or (3) dyslexia resulting from a disability otherwise satisfying this definition.
Secondly, the disability must have originated before the adult child attains age twenty-two. Parent-caregivers of children disabled after attaining the age of twenty-two cannot petition for child support under the new law. The third element of the definition is that the disability has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely. Finally, to constitute a “developmental disability” for purposes of the new law, the disability must constitute a substantial handicap to the adult child’s ability to function normally in society. Continue reading ›

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Baby-and-Mom-300x200During a divorce or separation between parents, and for parents that were never married, there are various issues which need to be considered to ensure the long-term safety and wellbeing of the child. In New York, the courts will often do everything in their power to ensure the negative impact of a divorce, or parents that do not live together, on a child is as minimal as possible. While the end of a relationship, whatever the length (long term or a one-night stand), or a marriage between two parents can be upsetting for a child, it shouldn’t negatively influence that child’s ability to thrive in life.

Sometimes, to ensure a child continues to access the opportunities they would have had should their parents have stayed together, or to simply take care of their needs, the court will need to order child support. This payment, given to the primary caregiver or the residential custodial parent of the child, helps to ensure they can give the child the best quality of life without the presence of the other parental figure.

In most cases, child support is calculated according to a specific formula. However, certain children will have advanced or specific needs which require the standard formula for child support to be reconsidered. For children with special needs, additional considerations will often contribute to the decision of how much child support a non-custodial parent should pay. These special needs can also influence how long support is awarded for.  A law just signed into effect in New York now extends the age of child support for special needs children.  This can mean proceeding with or defending against an onslaught of child support petitions in Family Court, or post-divorce judgment motions in the Supreme Court for special needs children that have already aged out. Continue reading ›

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Baby-Steps-300x195It’s no secret that dealing with issues of family law is tough. Whether you and your ex-partner agree that you’re better off apart or not, separating the lives of two married people or two parents, unmarried or married, can be complicated. The process becomes even more complex when children are involved.

When spouses or parents share a child or children, there are various additional decisions to be made about custody, parenting time, and child support. This bullet point guide aims to answer some more of the questions you may have about child support.

Throughout the course of this most recent blog series, we’ve discussed many aspects of child support and family law. In this edition, we’ll be looking at the circumstances under which a child support order can be modified, and whether the family court can deal with child support at the same time as a divorce. Continue reading ›

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All aspects of family law have their challenges to consider.Couple-Counter-300x200

Even amicable divorces that revolve around mediation can be uncomfortable and emotionally draining for the people involved. But issues often become a lot more complex when the focus shifts to the children involved in a divorce between two parents.

We know that parents in New York and various parts of the USA are deemed responsible for caring for the child, both emotionally, and financially, until they reach the age of adulthood. However, when two parents separate, it’s often difficult to determine how each parent should be expected to deliver their fair share of this “support”.

In our Child Support Bullet series, we’re tackling some of the most common issues raised in child support cases. Today, we’ll be looking at unmarried parents, mediation, and child support expectations for non-relative guardians. Continue reading ›

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We’re back for another instalment of this bullet point guide for child support.couple-chairs-300x200

If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you’ll know that I post both full articles, and bullet guides designed to offer support for people considering divorce and family law cases. It can be difficult to know where to start when you’re approaching divorce, but it’s important to ensure that you do consider all of the major issues that might affect you and your family.

In this guide, we’re looking at child support, and the way it’s paid to a custodial parent. This portion of the child support guide will discuss the options parents might have to make decisions through mediation and agreements made outside of court. Continue reading ›

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Kitchenfeeding-300x200Welcome back to this bullet point guide series on child support.

If you’ve been reading through these quick articles on my blog, you’ll know that I’m curating information from the articles elsewhere on my blog from over the years, to provide an easy way to find answers to your child support and family law questions.

In this guide on child support so far, we’ve covered a wide number of issues, ranging from when it’s appropriate to expect to pay support beyond the guideline limits in New York, and what it means to apply equitable estoppel in paternity cases to prevent a DNA test.

In this section, we’ll be looking at the complexities of deciding which parent should have the right to claim a child as a dependent in a child support case. We’ll also address remarriages, and the impact they might have on a child support order. Continue reading ›

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