A father brought a proceeding in Queens County Family Court. The case was assigned to Judge John Hunt. The father requested his obligations to pay child support be terminated. He claimed that the child had been constructively emancipated. He further claimed the mother had been involved in parental interference that prevented him from maintaining a relationship with his daughter.
Litigation
The father and mother had been litigating various issues since 2007. The father claimed he had no relationship with his daughter. The mother testified she gave the father every opportunity to see his child but he never took any action to try to maintain a relationship with her.
The Judge’s Decision
Justice Hunt found the father had failed to meet his burden of proof showing there had been a change in circumstances sufficient to terminate his child support obligations. Judge Hunt went on to find the father failed to establish the mother frustrated his relationship with his daughter. He also found the child was not constructively emancipated. The Judge’s decision instead found the father avoided his responsibility for his 18 year old daughter. He made no efforts to form a relationship with her. Judge Hunt found the father’s testimony to be fallacious and self-serving. He also found if the father had waited an reasonable period of time which amounted to an inexcusable delay of 10 years in pursuing his remedies to submit these issue to the court. The father’s application was dismissed.
Conclusion
Fathers seeking to terminate child support payments must make a detailed evidentiary presentation to courts. Judges are very hesitant to eliminate child support payments without very strong evidentiary presentations.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a father’s rights lawyer representing fathers on child support, visitation and custody matters for more than 4 decades. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6437.
