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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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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Everything you said about mediation was true. My husband and I really connected in a positive way working out the details of our divorce in mediation with you. The arguing was endless but we finally heard each other. You have a lot of patience. The property discussions made everything so emotional. You kept us focused and stopped us from rehashing the past. We tell everyone about you. Hopefully none of our friends will divorce but if they do we will tell them they need you.- Tom & Philip R.
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I am a highly successful money manager and before meeting Lois Brenner, hiring a divorce attorney was a disaster. Two previous divorce attorneys really wasted my funds, and had no savvy when it came to asset and property distribution. Lois Brenner finally fixed the mess I was in. She and her team of financial experts, including attorney Matthew Ehrlich were able to prepare an asset and property distribution that was realistic, keeping in mind tax ramifications, and important distributions and allocations. They negotiated a thorough and financially sound divorce settlement. If you have a lot of assets, just any divorce attorney won’t do. You really need someone with a lot of knowledge. Lois Brenner and Matthew Ehrlich were really impressive. Thanks!!- Michael C.
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Lois was an absolute pleasure to work with. She worked on a prenuptial agreement for me. Our very first conversation put me at ease. She was interested in my upcoming marriage and wedding. She assured me the prenuptial agreement could be drafted quickly. She made intelligent recommendations to address some of my complex financial decisions. She also made sound suggestions to protect my multi-million dollar portfolio. Our wedding is coming up and will be a lot smaller than we originally thought due to COVID-19, but Lois Brenner got our prenuptial agreement done in time, and made it a lot more pleasurable experience than I thought it would be. I would recommend Lois to anyone seeking a truly skilled attorney to draft their prenuptial agreement.- Glen Mearns
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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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When I first decided to hire a divorce attorney, I thought a male attorney would be best. Lois Brenner really surprised me. Although she has written a divorce book on women’s rights, she is totally an advocate for men as well. She really understood how much I loved my kids, and listened and understood all the horrible things my wife was doing to destroy their relationship with me. She didn’t miss a beat and really went to bat for me. She reached out to my wife’s attorney every time my wife made any attempt to disrupt my visiting our kids and always demanded the best results. She made herself available, even when she was on vacation! Lois has been there every step of the way in these difficult circumstances. I highly recommend her.- Sam
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"Like at First Sight!" We consulted Lois on the best, most cost-effective way to get divorced. First, she extended a free in-office consultation to us. It was supposed to be one hour; it was an hour and a half. She was gracious, didn’t rush us, explained thoroughly all the ins and outs of going to court, and answered thoroughly lots of our questions. She also shared lots of great information on divorce mediation, which we really knew nothing about, and now we have decided mediation will be the best route for us. We knew in the first 10 minutes that we really liked and trusted her. We are starting our mediation process with her next week. We are really looking forward to working with her. We feel strongly she is the best person for us.- Jen
