Question #52: If someone is paying child support from a previous relationship and they re-marry, what are the risks associated with the new spouse? In other words if the person responsible for paying the child support loses their job, will the new spouse have to pay it since they are legally re-married? Even though the kid is not theirs? If so, is this the same in every state? We live in NY.

The non- related spouse is generally not liable for the child support payments of the related spouse , but the court will
consider the total family income and the expenses of the family as a whole in determining the appropriate amount of child support to be paid by the related party.
Attempts to place all the family income in the non- related spouse (e.g. both work for the same company or family business) to avoid child support payments have been noted by the courts in NY and the Courts have imputed income to such spouse despite his claim of no income.

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq./Divorce Solutions