Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Re: Is it worth it?

Absolutely. It is your parental obligation to try to give your child everything your CHILD IS entitled to receive.

And, child support is your child's ENTITLEMENT, from his or her, non custodial parent, whether it is a penny or more.

Good luck,

Re: Is it worth it?

You should discuss this with an attorney experienced in child support proceedings to determine how much you are likely to be awarded. The fact that you make more money than the other parent may not significantly reduce the amount of his obligation. Concealing unreported income may present some difficulty, but there are ways to deal with that and the court should look at both reported income and his earning capacity; in fact, the court may impute income that they think he is hiding or diverting to avoid his support obligations. Finally, every bit counts - if you do not need the money to provide for your child, you might decide to save the money for her college education or other future needs. Feel free to call my office to discuss this further.

Re: Is it worth it?

Even though you make more, you're still entitled to contribution from him. The answer to whether it's worth it depends upon the ratio of your income to that of your ex. If it's wildly disproportionate (you make 85% and he makes 15%) it may not be worth the effort. Otherwise, it probably is.

The calculations are pretty easy - and that he makes his money "off the books" does not affect the calculation, providing there's some verification of the income. If you'd like to run through the numbers, please feel free to get in touch in the morning.