Question #93:Child support payments in NY State are17% of combined gross income, pro-rata, correct? My wife’s annual gross is about $4,000 more than mine. For my one son, this would amount to $625.00 per month! I know from detailed budgets I kept, that it never cost us even close to that. What is this money for? I’ve been told what it doesn’t include, please tell me what considerations are put into coming up with that number.

The number is not based on a calculation of need per se, but is a statutory requirement under the NY Domestic Relations Law .
The number 17% is for only one child and it is calculated on the combined gross incomes of
both parents up to $80,000. After that, the Court has wider discretion to decide how much more
it will require. What makes matters worse, however, is that the residential parent does not pay his\her share because it is the non-residential parent who has to pay his\her share to the residential parent, and that is grossly unfair!

Leonard M. Weiner, Esq.\Divorce Solutions.