Child Support

Having someone on your side during a child support matter is incredibly important. You will need someone who has experience dealing in these matters, and will have your best interests at heart when guiding you through trying times. O’Connell & Aronowitz has those qualities if you need the assistance of a Child Support attorney that works in Albany, NY and the Capital Region.  Our experienced and compassionate attorneys have handled hundreds of cases involving complex custody, visitation and support issues throughout New York State.  January 2018 marked an expansion to our renowned Divorce/Family/Matrimonial practice with Florence Richardson joining the firm as Of Counsel.  Bringing decades of experience focusing exclusively in family law matters, Flo joins attorneys Will Berglund and Kelly Mikullitz to create one of the most dynamic family law practices in the state. 

About Child Support Laws

Payment of child support from one parent to another is governed by the Child Support Standards Act appearing in the New York State Domestic Relations Law and the Family Court Act. This law provides for a presumptively-correct amount of child support to be paid from the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. Even though the law is complicated, and does have many exceptions and limitations to its use, the general rule is that the non-custodial parent pays a percentage of his or her income for the support of the children. The percentage of income paid for child support is determined by calculating the combined gross income of the parents, after deducting from each parent’s income the amounts he or she actually paid for FICA (Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes). 

The Child Support Percentages Are:

• 17% for one child;
• 25% for two children;
• 29% for three children;
• 31% for four children; and
• no less than 35% for five or more children.

Child support obligations also include payment by parents of their shares of health insurance coverage, uninsured health-related expenses, daycare expenses, and the child’s educational expenses. Parents are required to support their children until they reach the age of 21 years, or are otherwise emancipated.