Here are additional New York child support facts:

11.      A non-married custodial mother needs to establish legal father to sue for child support.  Paternity must be established before a child support obligation may be imposed, being named as the father on the child’s birth certificate does not establish one as the “legal father”.  The father signing an Acknowledgement of Paternity or having a judge enter an Order of Filiation establishes legal father.
12.      Where the parents were not married at the time the child was conceived and paternity is questionable, a paternity test should be done as early as possible.  Providing any financial or emotional support for the child before a paternity test is done may prevent the court from entertaining a request for paternity after the fact.  They may do so under legal theories called res judicata or collateral estoppel.
13.      There is a “presumption of legitimacy” where a child was born while the mother is married to a man.  This means that even if the child is not the biological child of the husband’s, the law presumes that the child is his when making a determination for child support.
14.      If the non-custodial parent’s annual basic child support obligation reduces his/her income below the single person federal poverty level, which is $10,210 for 2007, then his/her support obligation may be reduced to $50/month or the difference between the support obligation and the poverty level, whichever is greater.  If the annual basic support obligation reduces income below the self-support reserve, which is 135% below the federal poverty level, then his/her support obligation may be reduced to $25/month or the difference between the two, whichever is greater.
15.      Income for the purposes of calculating child support obligation includes disability benefits, social security benefits, unemployment benefits.  One time or non-recurring benefits may also be considered income, such as lottery winnings, insurance payouts, discharge from indebtedness and paybacks for loans made.
16.      Income for the purposes of calculating child support obligation is reduced by Medicare, social security and city taxes.  The total of these taxes usually amount to 10% of one’s income.
17.      “Mandatory” add-ons to the basic child support obligation include reasonable daycare expenses and unreimbursed medical expenses.  “Discretionary” add-on expenses include educational expenses for private, secondary or special education.
18.      Although the court has the authority to deviate from the Child Support Standards Act (“CSSA”) they rarely do.  A few instances where they will more than likely deviate is when there is extended visitation with the non-custodial parent which substantially reduces the custodial parent’s expenses due to the extended visit or where the costs on the non-custodial parent for exercising visit with the child are huge and affects the resources of that parent.
19.      Although the CSSA states that the court is to add both parent’s adjusted gross income together and then apply the applicable percentage to the combined adjusted gross income, they often apply the calculation to the non-custodial parent’s income only.  Applying the calculation to the combined income is most relevant when determining the parties’ pro rata share for mandatory and discretionary add-ons.
20.     The statute of limitations for enforcing a child support order has been changed from six years to twenty years.

          Although child support hearings may seem straight forward, there are instances where one should not attempt to appear without representation.  Non-salaried or self-employed non-custodial parents should consult with an experienced New York family law attorney. 

Contact our office to discuss other issues concerning child support cases.