New York Child Support Attorney
Protecting Your Children, Protecting Your Rights
When two parents file for divorce, whether the divorce is highly contested or amicably resolved through settlement negotiations, it may be necessary to address the issue of child support. Your children are not ending a marriage, which is why the court will focus on the needs and support of the children. Without properly addressing this issue with the help of a knowledgeable divorce lawyer, both children and parents can face repercussions, including financial pressures.
Calculating Child Support Payments in New York
Regardless of what your particular case may entail, it is important to understand how child support will be handled by the court if you and the other parent cannot come to an agreement on your own. In New York, the courts determine child support based on the Child Support Act (CSSA). First, they start by applying the percentage of combined parental income, depending on how many children are involved. Currently, these percentages are:
- One child: 17%
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 29%
- Four children: 31%
- Five+ children: 35%
Next, they allocate support between the parents based on their respective incomes. “Income” refers to gross income reported, or what should have been reported on the parents’ income tax returns. In some cases, the court may also impute income based on the parent’s resources, including gifts and employee benefits.
Aside from awarding basic child support, courts may also order awards for any applicable costs related to healthcare, child care, additional education, and possibly other extracurricular activities, among other justifiable expenses. It is important to ensure that you are represented by an experienced attorney so you do not overlook anything. Lois M. Brenner, Esq. and our team have been serving and protecting NYC families for more than 35 years.
Contact Lois M. Brenner, Esq. today at (646) 663-4546 for more information about your situation.
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Lois is a “Rock Star” I was very worried about my daughter who was in a really bad marriage. I started researching divorce attorneys and found Lois Brenner. I called her, discussed my daughter’s horrible marriage and she agreed to meet with us. Since my daughter’s husband wanted out of the marriage too (he was cheating), Lois suggested she help them dissolve their marriage in mediation. To my surprise it worked out. Lois was able to keep my daughter and husband from fighting during their sessions, and she helped them resolve all their financial issues. Since I was paying the fees to help my daughter, not having to go to court saved us a great deal of money. As a father, I am truly grateful for everything Lois did. Her talks with me in the beginning of the process, to calm me down, really helped. I would highly recommend her to anyone thinking of divorce.- Graham (happy dad)
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We have Lois Brenner to thank for turning our marriage around. We hired Lois as our mediator when we were considering divorce. When we started working with her and she realized we wanted to try to keep our marriage together she suggested a postnuptial agreement to get our marriage back on track. Having the postnuptial agreement made us both accountable when it came to our issues. Having this doc in place is clearly helping us redefine our marriage in a better way. I don’t know if we will never get divorced, but for now we are respecting each others’ boundaries and are aware of the consequences if we don’t! It was really cool that Ms. Brenner suggested this method as an option. Most divorce attorneys would not have suggested a way for us to try to stay together. She is very talented and unusual in the best possible way. If we choose to take the divorce path eventually we will definitely hire her again. In the meantime we are making it work. She is amazing.- Joseph M
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I had read about Lois’ unusual divorce method in one of her blog posts. It was refreshing to see someone was working with the psychological issues in divorce. My husband is bipolar and getting him to agree to a divorce and commit to the process was tough. When we met with Lois she really understood him. She immediately identified his mental health issues, and because she has a psych background, she was empathetic to his needs and was skillful at guiding him through her divorce mediation process. It took a while but she really got us to a point where we could actually discuss things without my husband blowing up. Her method is unique and it really helped in our situation. She actually recommended a great psychiatrist who changed my husband’s meds at her urging (she has a medical degree too), and my husband is coping much better. We can’t thank her enough for her compassion and advice! If you need a divorce attorney, especially if mental illness is a part of the fabric of your marriage, go see Lois! Thanks Lois - Lorna P.
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“You are truly the best divorce attorney in New York!”- Christine
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I met Lois Brenner at a networking group. She spoke on divorce and mediation. At the time I was not in need of a divorce attorney but was so impressed I kept her information. Two years later I hired Lois Brenner and I am finally separated from a man who nearly destroyed my life. Although we were able to do this with her in mediation, it was not easy for me. She really kept me strong, and on top of myself. She was helpful with both of us, and encouraged each of us when needed. It was much better than going through the court system. It took a lot less time and saved us money too. I can’t say enough about her. She is a special attorney. I tell everyone who will listen how special she is.- Pilar
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Thanks to Lois Brenner our wedding went well because we had our prenuptial agreement in place. We literally had her draft our prenuptial agreement 2 weeks before our wedding. She was thorough, made suggestions to include things we hadn’t even thought of, and got it done really quickly. Thanks Lois :)- Tanya S
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Lois acted as the mediator in my divorce, and she was absolutely excellent. It was a very difficult time for me personally, but Lois made the process as easy and painless as it could possibly have been. She listened to each of us separately, and made thoughtful and helpful suggestions. She is fair, and seemed to genuinely care about finding a solution that was best for both parties. Lois is perfectly qualified to handle this type of situation, given her background in psychology. She truly understands people, and used this ability to keep my ex-husband and I calm, and smoothly navigate a few tricky situations. I felt very understood by Lois, and think that she not just a top-quality attorney, but also a very decent person. She is responsive, and answered my emails within a couple of minutes every time. Highly rated!
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Lois Brenner is a remarkable attorney and compassionate advocate for dads. She guided me when I was confused and didn't know what to do to get shared custody of my daughter. She encouraged me to stay strong and to fight, and she negotiated a much better custody arrangement than my previous lawyer. What great attorney. Thank you Ms. Brenner- Christoff