New York Child Support Legal Questions

I don't think your question is properly tagged. This appears to be a tort/liability question.  Generally, if the school was on notice that the child had a therapist, then the school counselor would likely not want to do anything that was counterproductive to what the child's therapist was doing. It sounds like a sad case, but generally, the actions of a person are within their own control.... Read More

Only a portion of the money you pay in mortgage is for the child's shelter allowance, so yes, it is completely proper for a judge to order the father to pay child support in addition.   Although you can always appeal a judge's order, if the judge spells out in the decision and order the basis upon which he/she granted the mother support, and the decision is rational, based on the guidelines and what you're earning, I'm not sure there is anything to be gained from appealing the order.... Read More

The simply answer is yes. Once the child is born you can file a paternity petition in family court. If the child is determined his , either by consent or a  DNA test then liability ensues for support. If your ex boyfriend signs an acknowledgement of paternity and his name is put on the birth certificate this is another way  that he will be liable to support the child.... Read More

You are paying child support because the law requires you to support your children. If you are not seeing them and want to, then you should file a petition for visitation in the family court. If the children's mother is purposefully keeping them from you against a court order, eventually you could move to suspend your child support. But it is not clear from the facts you provide if you are having your rights interfered with.... Read More

Don't do it. You leave lots of questions unanswered like whether you want to be a participating father. If not, would you mind if the mother starts dating some jerk who has the mental maturity of the child? If so, what about visitation? What if she doesn't want to give visitation? As far as finances, for 1 child, the child support is 17% of your income. A court can make you responsible for part of the day care and part of college expenses and part or all of medical insurance and any amount due after insurance has paid all they are going to pay. You will be responsible to pay the child support until the child is 21 years old, even if she has a child of her own before she turns 21. This is all I can think of at the moment, but there is probably more.  ... Read More

You can sometimes consult with a lawyer for free at the local family court. Also LIFT online offers some advice. Generally, child support should not be over half your income. You need to move the court for a downward modification. Additionally, if SSI is paying directly to the custodial parent for your child(ren) then you should be getting a credit of that payment as part of your child support. Good luck.... Read More

Unfortunately, the child support will continue to be paid to your mother. If you are "emancipated" then your father will be able to stop making payments (he will need to file with the court to stop). At that point, you could perhaps speak with him regarding your financial situation. Your dad should talk to a family court lawyer to determine how to proceed.... Read More

Generally, support magistrates have wide discretion. It isn't clear why the judge changed the payment date but perhaps there was a valid reason presented. If you are paying through the support collections unit, generally you won't get a refund but you should get a credit. You might go to the scu in your area. I find they are more responsive if you go in person than if you try to call. Good luck!... Read More

Generally, child support is statutory. You need to be sure that the court is presented with your most recent three paycheck stubs, your tax returns and the important information that you are supporting a child that needs to be considered. Try to also point the judge to the fact that someone else is paying for your ex's rent and maybe that rent can be imputed to her as income. Generally, it is difficult to get out of the statutory scheme unless you and your ex agree otherwise or you present compelling reasons to the judge. Good luck!... Read More

You may not be able to get the money back from SCU, but if you and your ex-wife had a separation agreement or divorce settlement agreement, you may be able to move post-judgment in the Supreme Court where you were divorced to hold her accountable. You should talk to some lawyers in your area.... Read More

Yes. The Court will not grant child support unless you have legal and physical custody. Even though the "child" is overseas, you can still have physical custody if the child's legal address is the same as yours and the child is not emancipated. Emancipated means financially emancipated such as has full time job, pays own car and medical insurance and lives on their own.  ... Read More

Have you tried contacting the local police to ask them to serve the warrant?   Best Regards,   Morghan Leia Richardson, Esq.   Richardson Legal PLLC 31-08 Broadway, Suite 204 Astoria, New York 11106 www.RichardsonLegalPLLC.com Tel: 212-537-6744 Fax: 212-574-3337 ... Read More

Generally, yes you could be entitled to a refund. It is my experience that the Support Collections will apply overpayments prospectively to decrease or credit your account, rather than refund the money. It might take a long time (depending on the age of the child) to ever see a refund, if ever. It is hard to say whether it is worth getting access back to your account. You may be able to convince the SCU to unfreeze your account, particularly if you go in person and show them proof. Generally, SCU is easier to deal with in person than over the phone. Good luck. Best Regards,   Morghan Leia Richardson, Esq.   Richardson Legal PLLC 31-08 Broadway, Suite 204 Astoria, New York 11106 www.RichardsonLegalPLLC.com Tel: 212-537-6744 Fax: 212-574-3337 ... Read More

I think you need to provide more facts. Generally, you should go to the Support Collections Unit in person and see if you can't clear up the issue (they are usually easier to deal with in person than by phone). Good luck. Best Regards,   Morghan Leia Richardson, Esq.   Richardson Legal PLLC 31-08 Broadway, Suite 204 Astoria, New York 11106 www.RichardsonLegalPLLC.com Tel: 212-537-6744 Fax: 212-574-3337 ... Read More

Your case in Family Court was likely heard by a referee, not a judge. Referees are experienced Family lawyers that are easing the burden of the Family courts. If there is a dispute over a decision, a Family Court judge may need to get involved. If that outcome is not satisfactory, parties may decide to file an appeal to the Appellate Department that their court is in.   Best Regards,   Morghan Leia Richardson, Esq.   Richardson Legal PLLC 31-08 Broadway, Suite 204 Astoria, New York 11106 www.RichardsonLegalPLLC.com Tel: 212-537-6744 Fax: 212-574-3337 ... Read More

Just because your ex objected to the order and findings of fact in regards to your child support matter does not mean that you will have to go back to court.  In most cases, if there is an objection to a child support order then a higher court will review the order and findings of fact to determine if it was made correctly.  This does not necessitate that you file any opposing documents responding to your exes objection.  ... Read More

It will only count towards your obligation of child support if the amount that is deposited in your daughter's account is subtracted from the amount you would otherwise receive.  In otherwords, if you are receving less SSD than you normally would, and the amount is going towards the child support, then if this amount being deducted is above the amount ordered as part of your divorce then you would have a potential claim against this deduction.  ... Read More

I can answer both your questions, but you probably not be happy with the answers:   1) Child support arrears cannot be retroactively lowered except under very limited circumstances.  Usually this is only the case if you were physically unable to file a petition for modification due to you having lower income.  However, incarceration is usually not seen as a reason that would have prohibited you from filing a petition to modify the child support order.  Additionally, any petition for modification is only retroactive to the date you file it.  Therefore, you had filed a petition to modify the order in 2006 after you were released, then any modification of your support order would go back to the date you filed it, and not to the years you were in prison.  So to put it in as blunt terms as possible, unless the mother is willing to agree to forgive you for the arrears you owe, you are for the most part stuck with the arrears you accrued while in prison. 2)  You have to understand that child support that you pay, especially for arrears, does not have to necessarily go into the hands for the children.  In your case, the money you are paying for arrears is essentially money that you should have been paying when they were still children and having their living expenses paid by the mother.  So you are paying back the mother for the years that she was paying for all the living expenses of the children when you were not paying any support at all.  Whether the money you pay for the arrears goes straight to the mother or to the children is not relevant at all given the facts of your case.   So at the moment, your options are fairly limited to what you can do: - File a petition for modification of the support order that is still in place for the 16 year old child. - Convince the mother to agree to forgive the arrears that you owe. - Work out a payment plan with the Child Support Enforcement Unit to pay back the arrears based on your current income and financial situation. ... Read More

The support magistrate can reduce child support if a person ordered to pay it has a decrease in income. Someone in jail can't make much money. Both sides in child support figure it is unfair. Its either not enough or too much. The minimum amount a support magistrate can order is $25 per month. The support magistrate can not reduce it to zero.  ... Read More

Usually the child support unit does not seize bank accounts unless a parent is failing to pay the child support or has extensive arrears. First you should call the child support unit and ask why they did that and try to reason with them. If that fails, you can file a modification of child support petition, but these are very difficult to prove. The fact that you believe you were a resource for your child but the court placed her anyway does not change anything. You are still responsible for the payments.    ... Read More