Child support in New York

Child support is money one parent pays to the other parent to help cover the cost of a child’s food, housing, clothing, healthcare, and other general expenses.

There are two ways to ask your co-parent to pay child support:

• Request child support in a divorce case; or 
• File a petition in Family Court in the borough or county where the child currently resides with their parent.

In most cases, if you have custody of your child and your child lives with you more than 50% of the time, you can get child support.

Asking for child support in a divorce case

During a divorce, you and your spouse try to decide child support, custody and visitation. This is for children born or adopted by both you and your spouse before or during the marriage.

You and your spouse can work out an agreement for child support on your own or with mediation. Child support is a specific calculation outlined in the Family Court Act. It takes into account the amount of money each parent earns, and how many children the parents have together. This calculation is called “Guideline Amount.” In addition to the guideline amount, the non custodial parent is also able to receive work related day care costs and unreimbursed medical expenses. These expenses are called "Mandatory Add-Ons.” 

• If you agree on a child support order, the judge reviews it. If the judge approves, it becomes a court order (a legal agreement you both must follow.) You can either agree to follow the calculation outlined in the Family Court Act, or to not follow the calculation. 
• If you don't agree on a child support  plan, the judge decides as part of the divorce case. You will have to wait for the divorce trial, which can take some time. The judge hears both sides to make a decision that is in line with the child support standards act. 

You can also file for family court orders for custody, visitation, and child support before filing for a divorce.

Asking for child support in family court

1. Get ready

Gather and make copies of supporting documents, such as:

• The most recent tax returns and W-2’s for both parents
• Pay stubs and what you earn and spend
• Proof of the expenses, such as for food, rent, clothing, medical costs, child care, and education.

You will need this information to fill out the petition and give the court copies.

2. File a petition

You can obtain the necessary petition form from the court's website or in person at the courthouse. Go to the family court located in the county or borough where your child currently resides together with the custodial parent.

Once you have filed the child support petition, the court will give you the following documents:

• a summons
• the petition
• and a financial disclosure form.

All three of these must be served to the other parent. 

3. Serve the other parent

The other parent must be served a summons, the petition, and the financial disclosure form. Do this as soon as possible. The Court may indicate a date in which these documents have to be served, please make sure to look for this date. Most of the time, these documents need to be served before the Court appearance. 

4. Attend the hearing

The summons will have the information for when and where you have your family court hearing. You must attend in-person unless the court gives you permission to appear by phone or online.

You and the other parent have the opportunity to reach a child support agreement. The family court will tell you the “guideline amount” of support based on your incomes. You can get the income guidelines chart from the court or find it online. In addition to “guideline amount”, the non custodial parent is also able to receive work related day care costs and unreimbursed medical expenses. These expenses are called “Mandatory Add-Ons.” 
 

• You and the other parent may agree to the guideline amount or a different amount. If you agree to a different amount, the judge needs to know the reason. If the judge approves, they order the child support. 
• If you and the other parent don't agree, the court will have a trial. At trial, the judge will listen to both parents and consider the evidence. Then the judge orders what the parent who does not have custody must pay for child support.

The court can issue temporary and final orders. To get a temporary Order of child support, you must ask the Support Magistrate to make a temporary Order at the first appearance. If you disagree with the final support order, you can file an "objection."

The Support Collection Unit helps collect child support payments. It notifies the paying parent’s employer to withhold support payments if the parent is not making the mandatory payments. There is a check box you can mark on your petition to request that the Support Collection Unit help collect your child support. 

Keep in mind:

• A parent who does not appear in court risks a default order or a warrant for their arrest. 
• A parent who lives far from the court can ask to attend the court appearances by telephone.