In New York state, child support is determined by the Child Support Standards Act. the law sets forth formulas and factors the court may consider in determining support. To analyze your particular situation, go to childsupport.ny.gov and/or nycourts.gov.
Generally, the parent who has the majority of the custodial time is legally defined as the “custodial parent” and the person entitled to receive child support from the other parent. In New York, whoever has the majority of overnights with the child will be the primary custodial parent for child support purposes. If there is a shared custodial schedule, and the child spends 50 percent of his or her time in each household, the court will analyze each parent's income. The parent with the greater income will be deemed the “noncustodial parent” and be ordered to pay support to the lower-income parent or “custodial parent.” Under this scenario, the court has the discretion to adjust child support to an amount less than the full application of the law due to the shared parenting time schedule.
