Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Both questions require you to refer to your Judgment of Divorce or separation agreement. In either case, you may seek a judicial determination to reduce child support payments while your daughter is in school or have your spouse contribute her pro-rata share of college expenses.

You are required by law to pay child support pursuant to a child support order if one exists, so make sure to make payments on that before making direct payments to the child's college, or directly to the child. A basic child support order for one child in NY generally consists of 17% of the adjusted gross income of the non custodial parent. Medical insurance is usually included in an order; if one of the parents is insured the order will provide the the coverage be extended to the child. Provisions for additional needs of a college-aged child, i.e., tuition, room and board, etc. can be ordered depending on factors such as the assets of the parties, and their desires.

Once child support payments are made, you are not required by law to do anything more. Anything more that you do is your choice. In sum, a child support order is a legal obligation and you could be penalized with jail time for failure to pay it.

Patricia Martin-Gibbons