Child support
In New York, both parents are financially responsible for their children, even when the children do not live with both of them. Child support is the money one parent pays the other toward the children’s financial needs.
What child support covers
Child support is financial only. It does not cover the other kinds of support a parent gives, such as emotional, intellectual, physical or spiritual care. Mediation can help you talk about those, too.
How the amount is set
The amount is set case by case, or by a formula that estimates the children’s financial needs. Courts have very little discretion over which factors go into that calculation.
We work with both of you to talk through your circumstances and develop a plan that suits your family.
- Try the calculator. A one-minute New York estimate. Nothing you enter is saved or sent.
Who pays whom
Usually the parent the children do not mainly live with pays the parent they do live with. Support can also be set when both parents have custody, or paid to the other parent to support the children while they are in that parent’s care.
Why couples mediate it instead
- Confidential
- Keep your privacy in a neutral setting, without the stress of a trial or court proceeding.
- Quicker
- Two to three sessions on average, and the whole process can be completed in as little as one month. Contested litigation can take years.
- Less stress
- You set the terms and the pace, and reach decisions that work for both of you. That helps your relationship after the divorce, too.
- One flat fee
- It covers the mediation sessions, an attorney for the legal work, the paperwork and the court filing.
Call with any questions. We will explain the process and set up a time to sit down with a mediator.