Your Bronx Child Support Lawyer is going to tell you they know the typically most contentious disputes in Family Court— or in any Supreme Court Divorce case—will be those surrounding child support. In fact, child support cases can be more exhaustive than either Child Custody or Visitation.
For a non-custodial parent, the standard guide for payment of child support in the state of New York is determined by combining the income of the two parents and then multiplying this total by a standard percent. These percentages apply up to an income total of up to $80,000 and are as follows:
Please keep in mind that this guideline is the standard, and other considerations might be taken into account before the final order of child support gets entered. Additionally, a noncustodial parent might be responsible as well for their portion of educational, daycare, and medical expenses. These get added to a basic child support obligation.
If the combined income of two parents is $80,000 or higher, the Family Court will have the discretion to cap a child support at this level, or decide whether it should exceed that $80,000 threshold. Several factors may be taken into account: The Family Court can weigh the living standard the child had while his/her parents were still together, any needs of any non-party children, a parent’s expenses incurred during visitation, any possible disparity in the income of parents, as well as other pertinent factors deemed worthy by the court.
For example, a father and mother with a single child each earn $100,000, making their total income $200,000. The pro rata share for both is 50% of a final amount. Bronx Family Court decides to cap the income at $150,000; therefore, the noncustodial parent will be responsible for a child support amount of 17 percent of $75,000 (minus social security). This pro rata share (50%) is also how medical and/or daycare costs will be divided; these expenses are in addition to the parent’s basic support payment.
In our office, each Bronx Child Support Lawyer is asked regularly: “Can I increase or get more child support?” as well as the other side of the question: “Can I decrease the child support payment I make?” Any lawyer starts from the same place for either question: Legally, there must be some major change in the circumstances to warrant an increase or upward modification of a child support payment. The kinds of changes that count include: the child now has greater needs, the noncustodial parent received a large raise, tutor expenses have been added, there’s been changes in daycare. In such cases, the court looks at financial disclosures from both parents, then deems whether any increase is warranted.
A decrease or downward modification in child support payments, as mentioned above, also must prove change in circumstances. Such changes might include the loss of employment (through no fault on the parent’s part), loss of pay from overtime, or increased medical expenses for the parent. Those are a few reasons that might justify lowering the child support judgment.
Another common question received by Family Lawyers at our office is this: “Can the Court grant me a reduction in my arrears?” No, the court can’t. Only the party to whom the money is owed can give a reduction in arrears; a judge doesn’t reduce arrears. Difficulties may result if Child Support enforcement suspends a passport or license due to arrears. Unfortunately, regardless of financial hardship, payment of arrears is the only path to reinstate a license.
Each Bronx Family Lawyer from Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC has experience and knowledge in Family Court matters and also in Divorce Cases. If you’re dealing with Divorce, a Child Support issue, a Child Custody case, Visitation or Paternity issues, an Order of Protection, or an Abuse & Neglect case we’ll fight for you. We offer a free consultation to let you talk about your family law case with a Bronx Family Lawyer in our office. No matter where in New York City you are, or if you’re on Long Island, we’re available to meet with you in any of our locations. We’ll meet with you not only in the Bronx but in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn (Kings County), or in Queens, on Staten Island (Richmond County), out east in Suffolk County, and additionally in Nassau County, or north of NYC in Westchester County. Just call 800.696.9529 to take advantage of this offer of our free consultation.