Child Support Modification Proceedings in New York

Reducing Child Support Payments

Child Support Modification Proceedings in New York

Our law office has an excellent success rate in obtaining reductions in child support for fathers! A father’s child support obligations are often laid out in a Judgment of Divorce, a Separation Agreement or by an Order of the Family Court. These support obligations reflect the father’s ability to pay child support at the time of the agreement or court order. In this age of economic upheaval, fathers sometimes lose their jobs, are downsized, become disabled or have unforeseen changed circumstances that decrease their ability to pay child support. In these situations, WE BRING CHILD SUPPORT REDUCTION PROCEEDINGS ON BEHALF OF OUR CLIENTS.

Stipulation to Reduce Child Support

The father and the mother can stipulate to modify the father’s child support obligations. This requires that both parties execute and acknowledge a written stipulation before a notary public. The stipulation must then be submitted either to a Supreme Court Judge or to the Family Court to be So Ordered. It is necessary that a judge So Order this type of stipulation to effectuate the modification of either the Judgment of Divorce or a prior order of the court.

Unforeseen Changed Circumstance

If the parties are not in agreement about the child support being reduced, it is necessary to bring either an application to the Supreme Court or the Family Court, in the State of New York, showing an unforeseen change in circumstance for the purpose of obtaining a downward modification of child support. Fathers sometimes think that if they lose their job, child support obligations are automatically reduced. This is not the case. Even if a father is unemployed his child support obligations remain the same unless an application is made to either the Supreme Court or Family Court to reduce the child support payments. This application should be made immediately upon there being a negative change in the father’s financial circumstances.

Loss of Employment

If the father has been laid off or downsized, he must show that he has used due diligence to obtain alternative employment. This means he must seek out the services of employment agencies, look for jobs on the internet, communicate with potential employers, and take reasonable action to obtain a new position.

Our office has extensive experience in handling downward modifications of child support. We carefully prepare our clients for the downward modification proceedings. We see to it that we have all the appropriate evidence involving the loss of employment. We also make a presentation of due diligence to obtain new employment.

Should you find yourself in a situation where you are having difficulty making your child support payments, contact our New York and Long Island Child Support Attorneys. We can help you!

The Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo often focus’ on unusual and difficult cases. Our experience with complex family issues sets us apart from other firms that handle matrimonial law cases. We are members of the Matrimonial and Family Law committees of the Nassau County Bar Association, the Queens County Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.

Calculating Your Child Support Obligations

The Child Support Standards Act is a federal statute which has been adopted by all 50 states. There are specific guidelines with regard to how much the non-residential custodial parent must pay to the residential custodial parent for child support. Courts calculate how much child support the non-residential custodial parent pays to the residential custodial parent based on the parent’s adjusted gross income. To obtain your adjusted gross income, you multiply your income by 92.35% (FICA is 7.65% and child support is based on gross income less FICA). In addition, if you live in the City of New York or Yonkers, you can deduct from your gross income New York City and Yonkers income taxes before calculating your child support obligations. To determine your child support obligation, you multiply your adjusted gross income by the following percentages:

  • For one child, 17%.
  • For two children, 25%.
  • For three children, 29%.
  • For four children, 31%.
  • For five or more children, 35%.

In addition to paying the above referenced percentages of your income for child support, the non-residential custodial parent also will have an obligation to contribute towards uninsured medical and dental expenses, as well as co-payments, and to also contribute to or provide for health insurance for the children. In addition, if the mother utilizes child care while working, the non-custodial parent must contribute to those child care expenses.

Even in the event you lose your job, become disabled, are on worker’s compensation or social security disability, you still have to pay child support! You can obtain a reduction in your child support payments if you are disabled, unemployed, or on social security disability, but in addition to showing you are receiving these forms of payments, you must prove to a court you are incapable of working and/or if you are capable of working part time or full time you have used due diligence to find employment.

Stopping Your Child Support Payments

Men sometimes think during a financial bind for one reason or another they can simply stop or reduce their child support payments. They take this action with the idea they will restart their child support payments when their financial circumstances change. Unfortunately, this self help remedy is not accepted by the courts in New York. All child support modifications and reductions must be pursuant to court orders in the State of New York. Even if the mother shakes your hand and promises you don’t have to pay the child support anymore, that is not enough. You still must reduce this to a written agreement acknowledged by the parties and it must be submitted to a court and so ordered by a judge to be binding.

Serving Nassau County, Suffolk County, NYC, Queens, Long Island, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bronx, Westchester County, New York

Contact us to discuss your case and our qualifications to represent you. Feel free to call toll free, any time, day or night, at 1-800-344-6431, or in Queens, Kings, New York City, Long Island, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Westchester County, Richmond and the Bronx at 718-350-2802. You can also reach us in Nassau County or Suffolk County at 516-561-6645. We welcome your inquires.