Westchester, NY Child Support Attorney Explains Child Support Calculation in New York State

For a family newly dealing with divorce, adjusting to financial changes can be a challenge. For many newly single parents raising a child or children, the proper amount of child support can make adjusting to being on your own a lot easier. Child support is the amount one parent pays another to assist with the raising of a child, and it is the most important financial obligation a parent will ever have.

To determine the level of support, the NYScourt system will calculate an amount based on a number of factors. The New York Child Support Lawyer Mark F. Bernstein at Siriano and Bernstein will work to make sure that the amount calculated is fair and just.

New York Child Support Calculator

There is a basic strategy for determining child support. The court adds the income of both parents and multiplies it by the appropriate child support percentage (based on the number of children). After adding your incomes, the court multiples that total by a percentage per child, or “child support percentage.” These percentages are as follows:

• 17% of the combined parental income for one child
• 25% of the combined parental income for two children
• 29% of the combined parental income for three children
• 31% of the combined parental income for four children
• no less than 35% of the combined parental income for five or more children

Depending on how much you each make, you will divvy up the responsibility. If one parent makes more than the other, that parent will then pay more of a percentage of the amount determined to support the child or children. For the parent that has physical custody most of the time, the court will presume that that parent is spending his or her share directly on the child’s expenses, and the other parent is then paying “child support”.

The court may also consider these factors in determining child support:

• the financial resources of each parent
• the child’s health requirements
• the standard of living the child has experienced
• the tax consequences to each parent
• the non-monetary contributions that the parents will make toward the child
• the educational needs of each parent and the child
• whether one parent’s gross income is more than the other parent’s gross income

For help in determining child support, enforcing child support, or any other matter dealing in this complex issue, call Attorney Bernstein at Siriano and Bernstein. Serving the Bronx, Westchester, and Metropolitan New York, Attorney Bernstein has extensive experience helping the people of New York get through their divorces with dignity and success. Call him at 718-823-2600 today.