After divorce happens in a family, their children need to be taken care of. To ensure the child is properly living, there are laws in place to provide child support. During court proceedings, a judge can review many factors to determine what structure of child support they deem to be fit for the child and the family. In New York state, child support ends at the age of 21.
What does New York’s Child Support Standards Act include?
When the court system has to decide on the structure of child support, they follow the State’s Child Support Guidelines and employ the use of the Child Support Standards Act. The Child Support Standards Act is in place to help decide child support payments that qualifies as the proper amount. Through this act, it provides a formula to equitably calculate a base amount of child support. The goal of this act is to act with the best interests of the child to ensure their well-being. The court will try to continue the living standard that has been established for the child already.
How can child support differ based on the number of children?
Through the Child Support Standards Act, there is a formula that was set to decide the structure of child support based on the number of children involved in the case and in the family. When there are more children in the family, there is a greater percentage of combined marital income that must go to child support. The child support is based on the number of children. For one child, 17% may be included. For two children, 25% percent may be demanded. As the number of children increases, the percentage increases to reflect that there are more needs due to the number of children in the family.
The formula is used to estimate the amount of support needed. However, there are many other factors considered when deciding upon the child support structure. Judges will consider the financial resources of each parent and of the child. They will take into account the child’s physical and emotional health to ensure their well-being, along with their current standard of living. Other factors include the tax consequences of each parent, their non-monetary contributions, their educational needs, the parent’s gross income and the children’s needs outside of the marriage.
Peter V. Mandi, Esq. is an experienced divorce and family law attorney located in Bohemia, New York. If you require strong and dedicated legal representation in Long Island, New York, contact Peter V. Mandi & Associates, Inc. today for a free consultation.
