Matrimonial

CHILD SUPPORT

The Child Support Standards Act sets the criteria for child support. Just as our taxes are determined by consulting a tax table, so is the amount of child support one can expect to pay or receive determined by the CSSA. When this law was adopted, the idea that child support could be negotiated became a thing of the past.

A parent with one child will be required to pay seventeen percent of his or her gross income less the amount deducted for FICA and local (city) income tax. Two children raise this percentage to twenty five and three to twenty nine per cent. The child support dollar is an after tax dollar to the paying parent and not taxable to the parent who receives the payment.

In addition to support, parents are also required to contribute pursuant to a pro rata ratio based on their respective incomes to cover the cost of child care expenses, unreimbursed medical and dental expenses as well as special educational expenses (dancing lessons, SAT courses, etc.).

Bernstein Philip M Attorney
Address: 595 Stewart Avenue
Garden City, New York 11530
Phone: (516) 222-0440
Fax: (516) 222-2971
Email: philaw@optonline.net

In New York, children must be supported until the age of twenty one unless they are first emancipated which happens as a result of full-time employment, military service or marriage. Generally, support will continue to age twenty two if a child is a full time college student.

The income against which the CSSA percentages are applied was originally capped at eighty thousand dollars but courts now regularly exceed that amount and will apply the CSSA formulas up to the range of one hundred fifty thousand dollars. Sometimes a parent with an obvious ability to generate a substantial income will claim to earn much less. Even if the numbers bear this out, courts will often impute income at the level it is reasonably believed the parent is able to earn.

Even where a settlement has been made between the parents, it is necessary to provide the court with complete information as to assets and income including the latest tax returns and pay stubs. While courts have leeway to deviate from the percentages mandated by the CSSA, sufficient reason must be given before this will happen. Generally, it must be shown to the court’s satisfaction that such a deviation from the CSSA percentages is in the best interest of the children of the parties.

For further information in regards to the CSSA please click here

EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION

Often, one of the most difficult aspects of a divorce is to define the assets of the marriage and to agree upon the portion each spouse is to receive. Unlike community property states where all assets may be subject to a 50/50 split, New York mandates a division of marital property based on a plan of equitable distribution. Assets accumulated by one party before the marriage and not commingled with the assets of the other spouse may be excluded from the marital estate. Also, inheritances and the proceeds of some legal actions such as personal injury cases may also be exempt. That portion of a pension earned during a marriage belongs to both parties.

Any property accumulated from the date of the marriage to the date the action for divorce was commenced is normally considered to be marital property. Some assets are best described as hybrids. An example of this is a home which one spouse owned prior to the marriage but which both parties have maintained (for example by contributing to the cost of renovations and repairs or by making mortgage payments). In such instance it is necessary to first ascertain the value of the property on the date of the marriage and the valuation when the couple divorces. The increase in value is a marital asset to be shared by the parties.

Sometimes a valuable asset acquired by one party before the marriage appreciates substantially over the course of the marriage purely because of improved market conditions. Examples of this are jewelry, fine art and unimproved real estate. The increase in value of such assets is not regarded as marital property because neither spouse did anything to bring this about.

Family businesses, especially those where a lot of cash is involved, generally present the most substantial problems. It is often impossible for a husband and wife to agree upon the value a business. It may be necessary to retain a forensic accountant to do an appraisal. The legal fees in such contests can be astronomical and the rancor can reach incredible heights. It is always better and cheaper to strive for an amicable settlement in these cases before a family is literally ripped apart and most of the assets end up with the lawyers.

The law wants to preserve the status quo during a divorce and not let the monies spouse starve the other spouse into settling on the cheap. Courts will lessen the sting of prolonged litigation over a business by directing the monies spouse to pay for the services of his or her partner’s appraiser and attorney. Although the law provides that these fees may be recovered at the end of the action, in reality this hardly ever happens. Another temporary measure taken by matrimonial courts during prolonged litigation is to direct the monies spouse to continue to support the household at the same level as before the action was commenced.

The corners we cut in business often come back to haunt us when we go to court. The shrewd businessperson who manages to bury his or her income by living on large sums of unreported cash is often severely compromised. Judges will frequently refer substantial failure to report income to the IRS. Many a matrimonial case has come to a screeching halt and a lucrative settlement for the innocent spouse when an incident of blatant tax fraud has surfaced.

Some of the services we offer are:

Divorce:

• Contested -Uncontested
• Custody & Visitation
• Separation Agreements
• Free Consultations