Under New York State law, both parents must support their child until the child turns 21 years old. Child support is the court-ordered or stipulated to financial maintenance of a child. Child support laws legally obligate a parent to support their child whether they have custody of them and apply equally to children born in or out of wedlock. Typically, the custodial parent, who has physical custody of the child and whom the child lives with most of the time, gets child support from the non-custodial parent. Child support is determined according to state statutes and varies depending on the number of children involved, using a specific formula to calculate child support payments. The factors used to determine child support payments include certain expenses, such as extracurricular activities, child-care and educational expenses, babysitting and medical expenses or health insurance.

There may be situations where one party disagrees with the amount that it takes to raise the child and provide for his or her needs, and in these cases the court uses legal statutes as a basis for deciding the maintenance amount required for that child or children in the home. You can also seek to modify child support due to loss of job, illness or injury, or a significant change in income. Sometimes both parents gain joint custody, which means the child splits time equally between both parents. If that’s the case, however, the court can still order the parent with the most money to pay child support to the other parent. Our Brooklyn and Manhattan child support lawyers will assist you in determining the proper support obligations for your children.

Typically, if there is an ongoing divorce pending, child support cases are handled in the Supreme Court unless the child is on public assistance (PA) or welfare. On the other hand, if there is no divorce pending and the child’s parents aren’t married then the case is held in Family Court. Our Manhattan and Brooklyn child support lawyers frequently handle cases before both Supreme and Family Courts.
In the state of New York, child support is determined under the guidelines of the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) and consists of two main elements: basic child support and “add ons.” In order to determine the amount for basic child support for parents who have a combined income up to $148,000.00, the court multiplies the adjusted gross income by the standard guideline percentage for the number of children that require financial support.

These percentages are as follows:

Generally, the liability to pay child support starts when the custodial parent files for child support. The non-custodial parent might be ordered to pay reasonable expenses associated with pregnancy, and to pay a reasonable amount to cover the period from birth to when paternity is established. The most qualified NYC child support lawyer will have your child’s best interests at heart and zealously represent you in any child support matters.

At the Law Offices of Inna Vernikov, we represent clients in various child support matters, petitions for upward and downward child support modification, and child support settlement negotiations.

Whether you are looking to obtain child support from the non-custodial parent, increase the amount of child support the other party is paying, or lower the amount of support you are obligated to pay, we can help! Contact us for help with your child support matters at (212) 729-3497 and one of our qualified child support lawyers will help you.