Child Support Guidelines

In New York State, Child Support is governed by statute. The Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) provides a formula for calculating child support payments based upon a percentage of the non-custodial parent's income:

1. The income of both parents is combined, FICA and Medicare are deducted (approximately 7.65%) to determine the combined adjusted gross income.
2. The corresponding percentage is then applied: 17% for one child, 25% for two children, 29% for three children, 31% for four children, etc.
3. The child support obligation is then based upon the non-custodial parent's pro rata share of the parents' adjusted combined income.

For example, if the custodial parent makes $30,000 per year and the non-custodial parent makes $70,000, then the non-custodial parent is responsible for 70% of the child support obligation. That child support obligation is then divided by twelve or fifty-two to determine the monthly or weekly payment.

The CSSA currently includes a cap upon combined parental income of $141,000 which can be exceeded at the discretion of the Court.

Generally, Child Support in New York State continues until the child is 21 unless an emancipation event occurs prior. Examples of an emancipation event include military service, marriage and full-time employment.

Child Support does not include child care expenses, medical coverage or expenses and/or education expenses which are additional responsibilities of the parents.

Spousal Support (Maintenance)

Spousal maintenance is financial support that a spouse may be required by law to pay to the other spouse when they divorce. Maintenance may be temporary (during the pendency of the divorce action), durational (lasting for a fixed period of time) or permanent. New York state recently enacted guidelines for determining maintenance through the application of a mathematical formula.

Judges continue to have some discretion in determining the duration and amount of final awards of spousal maintenance. The factors taken into consideration by the presiding Judge include:

• The length of the marriage
• The income of each party
• The marital and separate property of each party
• The age and health of each party
• The ability of the non-monied spouse to become self-supporting
• The present and future earning capacity of each party
• Other factors that the court deems relevant

Temporary Spousal Maintenance Calculator