Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: visitation and child support

The current order of support remains in place until it is changed by a new court order. If your ex wife wishes to pay less support, she will need to petition the court for a reduction.

J. Douglas Barics

Re: out-of-state ex-wife and child support

The first thing to understand is that, unlike most of the other terms of your divorce agreement, child support can be changed. This is in part because of the State interest in the welfare of children and also because the children themselves were not parties to the divorce.

If your ex-wife had good reason to relocate out-of-state then the fact that she was unable to spend as much time with the children as a result will not usually be held against her. If you seek to modify child support, it is possible for you and your ex-wife to reach an agreement regarding the modification.

If you cannot agree, there is a legal process available to you. During this process you are entitled to confirm her income.

If your ex-wife is earning less, this will be considered, however, that she is not caring for your children as often will also be considered. How often she has the children is important because during that time she is housing and feeding them, etc. If she has the children less often, you have more costs and, thus, this may favor additional support. So, it is possible that one factor (less income) may be offset, at least in part, by another (less time caring for the children).