How Can I Modify a Child Support Order in New York?

Paternity can be a sensitive subject, but it's essential to be clear on this issue. Legal recognition of the father can have implications for custody, child support, and visitation. Challenging paternity in Forest Hills, NY is a complex area of law that typically requires court action. An experienced paternity lawyer can let you know what to expect and represent your rights throughout the process. more Challenging Paternity in Forest Hills, NY: What Are My Options? When a couple are married, New York assumes the man is the biological father of any children, unless proven otherwise. If the couple are not married, the man may sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity, typically when the child is born. There may also be an order of filiation. This is a court order that establishes a man as the father in cases where he is not married. When there is agreement between both parents that the man is the father, no further evidence may be required for the order to be granted. Who Can Challenge Paternity? If you don't believe you are the biological father, you will need to file a paternity petition through the court. Only certain people can file a paternity petition in New York, namely: The mother The alleged father The child's guardian The child Social Services What Is the Process for Challenging Paternity in New York? To challenge paternity, you must file a petition with the Family Court setting out your reasons for making the request. The court will expect you to have clear and convincing evidence that you may not be the father. A paternity test will not be granted on a whim. Legal representation is essential to ensure your rights are protected and your paternity petition is granted. If the court agrees to your request, a DNA test will be carried out. The court will then reconvene to consider the results. This will include whether to allow your name to be removed as the father if the DNA test is negative. Can Paternity Always Be Challenged? The courts will always center the needs of the child, even if paternity is in question. This means they may not grant your request for a paternity test if it would cause psychological distress to the child. Some of the factors the court will consider include: The length of your relationship with the child The nature of your relationship Whether disruption to this relationship would be harmful The timeliness of the request Reasons for filing the petition If the court believes that a paternity test would cause significant harm to a child with whom you have already formed a parental bond, your request may not be granted. Consult a Paternity Lawyer Today The complexity of the laws surrounding paternity means that it's critical to seek legal advice promptly. There may also be time restrictions, especially if you signed a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity. An experienced paternity attorney will be able to determine if any exemptions apply, such as undue pressure to accept paternity. Once they have assessed your circumstances, they can put your strongest case to the court. We understand the unique challenges surrounding paternity law and can help you secure a fair outcome. Contact us today at the Law Offices of Joseph H. Niven, P.C. in Queens, NY to schedule a no-obligation appointment.

On Behalf of The Law Offices of Joseph H. Nivin, P.C. Nia Guzman is suing Chris Brown for more child support. “Nia is absurd. She’s been living in California for months and has established residency there just so she could take Chris to court in LA for more child support! The case is already in effect and Nia wants more than what they agreed upon in Houston. She wants more — way more — because Royalty deserves every opportunity that life has to offer. Chris continues to flash his gold and diamonds around on Instagram, and him buying a new Ferrari every day infuriates Nia. She’s trying to secure Royalty’s future and she wishes Chris would understand that,” a source close to Chris tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively. Attorney Joseph Nivin says: Where do I start? When you have someone who wants more child support from you, it is a terrible idea to: (1) flash your gold around on Instagram, (2) add your diamonds to your Instagram, (3) buy a new Ferrari (at all, and doing this in multiple is icing on the cake), and (4) publicizing your new Ferraris. Chris Brown needs legal advice, but that’s the least of his problems.  He desperately needs common sense. Now, let’s talk about what Chris is paying. According to the article, Chris Brown is ordered to pay $2,500.00 per month, plus 100% of his daughter’s medical care, education, and child care. The $2,500.00 per month is known as “basic support.”  That is supposed to cover the payor’s contributions to daily expenses: food, shelter, clothing, school supplies, utilities, etc.  This number is a percentage of the payor’s income (after deductions, including Social Security and Medicare taxes, and NYC or Yonkers taxes).  That percentage is 17% for one child, 25% for two children, 29% for three children, 31% for four children, and 35% and up for five or more children. Where a parent is paying $2,500.00 per month in basic support for one child, that generally means that the parent has a solidly upper-middle class income.  However, there are a lot of people out there paying this amount who could only dream of affording one Ferrari. The “add-on” expenses, medical care, education, and child care, are determined by what percentage of the combined parental income is earned by the non-custodial parent.  For example, if the non-custodial parent earns $60,000.00 per year, and the custodial parent earns $40,000.00 per year, then the non-custodial parent earns 60% of the combined parental income.  Therefore, the court will order that parent to pay 60% of the child’s unreimbursed medical expenses, and 60% of the child care expenses.  The court can, but does not have to, order the parent to also pay 60% of the child’s educational expenses. The court will usually expect the custodial parent to work and earn an income.  Therefore, the non-custodial parent usually does not have to pay 100% of the add-on expenses like Chris Brown does.  However, there are many non-custodial parents who earn much less than Chris Brown who have to pay for close to all of the add-ons, often because the custodial parent’s earning capacity decreased because of child-rearing responsibilities. For these reasons, there are many men who pay as much in child support as Chris Brown, but cannot afford to enjoy the lifestyle that he brags about on Instagram. If you have a child support case, don’t be like Chris Brown.  If you’re going to brag about your riches, you better be ready to turn them over to your child’s mother. Visit our family law page for more help. http://nivinlaw.com/practice-area/family-law/

On Behalf of The Law Offices of Joseph H. Nivin, P.C. The following article was written by Joseph H Nivin, Esq., from the Law Offices of Joseph H. Nivin for NY Metro Parents. Every parent wants his or her child to receive the best possible opportunities. Many families do not believe that their children will achieve their full potential without a private school education. For single-parent families, paying for private school becomes even more arduous than it is for families where the parents live together. The purpose of this article is to provide information to single parents seeking support to pay for private school tuition. In situations where the child lives primarily with one parent and the parents are divorced or separated, the non-custodial parent–the one who the child does not live with–will almost always be required to pay basic child support, which is based upon a percentage of the parent’s income. Child support that is specifically for private school tuition, the focus of this article, is in addition to basic child support. One of the most important factors that the Court will consider will be whether the child has already been attending private school. In some cases, parents who pay child support had agreed during the marriage that their children would attend private school, but then no longer wish to pay for it once they separate from their spouses. Courts will generally order people to continue to pay for a portion of their children’s private school tuition if they paid for it willingly when they lived with the other parent. Courts will also consider whether the non-custodial parent participated in discussions about whether the child would attend private school. The court will consider the circumstances of those discussions, as well as the status quo, when it determines how much weight to give to these prior conversations. In one recent case, an appellate court did not award support for private school tuition even though the parents had discussed sending the child to private school; in this case, these discussions took place when the child was just a few months old, and the child was not even school age at the time the case came before the court. Another court declined to order the non-custodial parent to contribute to private school tuition in a case where the parties signed a separation agreement saying they would only share tuition expenses if they agreed that their children would attend private school. Their previous discussion of the issue—prior to the agreement–had been only hypothetical, focusing on the merits of private school vs. public school. The court found that the conversation would likely have gone a different way if the parents had this discussion after they signed the separation agreement. However, in those cases where (1) the parents agreed to send their children to private school, (2) the children attended private school for years during the marriage, and (3) the non-custodial parent only raises an objection when he is being asked to pay child support, the court will generally order the non-custodial parent to contribute to the tuition payments. Courts are more likely to issue awards of child support for private school tuition in cases where the parties enjoyed an affluent lifestyle and/or high spending patterns during the marriage. Courts are also likely to issue orders for contributions to religious private schools where religion is an integral part of the family’s lifestyle. Fighting with the other parent of one’s child is among the most stressful, emotionally draining experiences that a person can imagine. These cases are trying not only for parents, but for children as well. While the unpleasant nature of this litigation cannot be eliminated, it can be lessened when the court makes sure that the child receives the support necessary to continue to attend the same school he or she had been going to previously and to receive an education that maximizes his or her prospects for a successful future.