New York Child Support Legal Questions

If your 19 year old is working full time or otherwise financially independent, married, or in the military, you can go to court and make a motion for a reduction in child support based upon her being emancipated. However, if she is still financially dependent on her custodial parent, you're obliged to pay until she's at least 21 or as per any child support agreement you signed that sets out the circumstances under which your children are considered emancipated for purposes of child support obligations.... Read More

With certain important exceptions, a parent is obligated to support his or her child up to the age of 21 years.  You should consult an experienced Family Law attorney since these cases are very fact-dependent (for example, is there an existing court order; is either child emancipated; and other factors).... Read More

One is responsible to pay child support until a child is 21. The question may be  is your daughter emancipated. Emancipation requires a specific set of factual circumstances. Normally, when a child is off at college there is a reduction for the room and board.  The circumstances of your case may require the assistance of an attorney who is versed in the law of child support. ... Read More

As an active duty servicemember, you are automatically entitled to adjourn the legal proceedings under the Servicemember Civil Relief Act (a federal law) and its NYS analog. Most services, however, in their regs, require servicemembers to make provisions for the care and support of their family members so that it does not distract them from their military duties.... Read More

It is possible for you to file a petition seeking a court order terminating your parental rights. However, unless your child's mother has remarried and the husband is seeking to adopt your child, it is unlikely that a court would grant your petition. Since you have been ordered to participate in a paternity test, the mother likely wants you to pay child support. You cannot waive or sign away that obligation if you are the biological father. If you choose to not participate in your child's life, nobody can force to you be a father- but you CAN be forced to pay child support.   ... Read More

Whether a parent is homeless or rich in a mansion, child support is mandated by law and requried. You will need to file a child support order in court to start collecting payments from him. The worst possible scenerio is anywhere from $25/month or more. You mentioned you are seeking financial assistance which implies you can not afford a private attorney as private attorney for a child support case cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500. You can go to the family court in your county and speak with the court clerk for a Pro Bono attorney (someone that volunteers to gain experience.) Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com as we do also offer reduced price services for PRO SE people who can't afford an attorney but able to represent themselves in court.... Read More

There is always a way to fight to contest the allegations, in this case change of circumstances. Lease being up can raise red flags, and can also come in your benefits as well. If she does not have an adequate place to live, you with your attorney can request custody of the child until she secures a place for her own. There are many other possible options that can be undertaken, Feel free to contact my office and speak with a case manager at 1 877-866-8665 or email help@smsattorneys.com.... Read More

You will need to discuss the situation with an attorney. There are a lot of information that is needed from you to be able to better assess your situation. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager. ... Read More

Your ex must be using the system and legal loopholes to get away from not paying you child support. If he can afford to pay rent of $1,600, he can pay child support. Please work with a competent attorney or firm like me to get this completed for you within your budget. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed.... Read More

You already have one violation petition pending, you should follow up with that or use a competent attorney to make sure you get your child support payments. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed.   ... Read More

1. Yes, we can do the downward modification however, we will need to know what has changed in your financial circumstances. 2. How much support are you currently paying and how much would you like to reduce it to. 3. Many times the attorney can represent you in court as long as the judge is okay with your absent, if the judge requires to see you then you will have to appear. We can try to work with the judge and see if he can approve video appearance through skype or WhatsApp video call. Is there a particular reason why you do not want to appear? Support Modification can be cheap as $700 and expensive as $3,000. We will need to have a free consultation to see how much it might cost for us to do the support modification.  Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are same, therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for clients and we do have a Child Support lawyer available in New York. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. If you're facing financial hardship, one option may be to speak with the court clerk about a court-appointed lawyer, known as a Pro Bono, or free lawyer. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plans options. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Support Lawyer in New York.... Read More

Child support can be waived by the parent that is entitled to or requesting. If you can settle a deal with her to not pursue child support, for now, she can elect to not pursue it. But she can pursue it down the road when circumstances for her changes. This is not a permanent binding decision. Waived for now only. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.... Read More

The best course of action would be to go over your current court order in detail. Do you have documented evidence like receipts, etc for payments of child support? You are out of state, but you should still appoint a local attorney to defend and protect you. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.... Read More

Putting the other parent on child support is a personal and financial decision. If you can afford to raise the kids on your own without his support than you DON'T have to. If you need financial support in raising your kids and don't mind him utilizing his parental rights than sure it might give you a helping hand.   Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or establishes an attorney-client relationship without a signed retainer. Please reach out to an attorney you are comfortable with working and discussing your case in more details.... Read More

Assuming there's a court order that requires you both to split the cost of college tuition equally, if she's not paying her share, you can take your ex-wife to court for violating the order. If you win, you may get reimbursement in the form of a credit toward your child support payments, or the court may order her to reimburse you in a lump sum. ... Read More

You can file a petition for a downward modification of your child support obligations in the Family Court in the county in which the child lives. Depending how far from court you live, if your attorney makes an application for your to appear remotely (by telephone), it may be granted. If you have legitimate reasons why you can't meet your financial obligations, the court may reduce your child support payments. Child support is an absolute obligation only to the extent that paying it does not leave you impoverished. ... Read More

It's difficult to prove someone's income when they're working off the books, but courts see this all the time. They're not particularly interested in reporting parents to the IRS- they're not in the business of catching people who cheat on their taxes. However, the court may impute a certain income to your ex if they believe he can pay more than his tax return shows- and this goes for people who are self-employed, as well- and sometimes this IS done under threat of making reports to the IRS.  Take him to court for underpayment of child support right away- you can go back to his first payment given your son is 5- there's a 6 year statute of limitations. ... Read More

The amount of child support your brother must pay is determined by a statutory formula, and takes into account his income and expenses, including child support he pays for his other children, the mother's income, and other factors. If your brother is self-employed or the court determines your brother is hiding cash income, intentionally working too few hours, or working in a low-paying job for which he is over-qualified to avoid paying adequate child support, the court may impute a higher income to your brother than that which he shows on his tax returns for purposes of calculating his child support obligation. Food stamps are irrelevant for calculating child support, but if your child's mother is committing fraud you can report her to the local SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program) agency.... Read More

Yes- you can win the case if you can prove that the child is not yours. You must bring a special proceeding in family court in the county in which the child lives to demand a paternity test. As long as you have a good faith basis for believing the child may not be yours, the court will order that the mother have the child's DNA tested, and yours must be tested as well. If the test results show you are the father, whether or not the mother of your child had multiple boyfriends before during or after her pregnancy is irrelevant- the child is yours and you must support the child. If, however, the test proves you are not the father, you do not have to pay child support. ... Read More

A child support clause in a divorce agreement will usually have a provision for splitting payment of the expense of the child's activities, college, religious school, etc, depending on the family.  In a contested divorce a court might order one party to pay, or order both parents to split expenses. The bottom line is that the law sees value in children participating in activities such as you describe, and unless the custodial parent enrolls the child in activities that are way beyond the finances of the other parent, both parents will usually have to contribute. ... Read More

If the child support order doesn't specify that you have to make an extra contribution for medical/dental expenses, or if there is no support order, then yes, she must use the child support to pay for medical/dental. If your ex is in violation of an order that says she must sell or refinance the house, you can take her to court for violation of the order and force her to sell. I assume your name is on the mortgage and deed, so an alternative would be for her to buy out your share of the house, if she can afford to. ... Read More

When your stepfather adopted you, the parental rights of your biological father were terminated. He no longer has any rights or responsibilities with respect to you, nor do you with respect to him. For example, you cannot inherit from his estate based on being his daughter, although you can inherit from your stepfather. Given that you are 24, neither your stepfather nor any other parent of yours has any obligation to provide you with financial support.... Read More