HOW IS CHILD SUPPORT DETERMINED?

russian speaking criminal defense attorney in New York

New York State provides a formula for calculating the amount of child support to be paid by a parent, as set forth in Domestic Relations Law Section 240(1-b). This is a very detailed statute that must be read and interpreted carefully to calculate the precise amount of child support to be paid. Generally, after appropriate deductions are taken from gross earnings, a percentage factor is applied to the earnings to calculate a parent's basic child support obligation. The percentages vary depending upon the number of dependent (unemancipated) children under the age of 21:

17% for one child,
25% for two children,
29% for three children,
31% for four children, and
35% for five or more children;

The statute must be followed carefully to determine the precise amount of child support since there are many factors and conditions set forth in the statute that will affect the calculation.