Calculating NY Child Support With 50/50 Joint Custody

By Sari M. Friedman, Legal Counsel 
Fathers' Rights Association – NYS & Long Island

In New York State, who pays child support in a 50/50 joint custody arrangement since there there is no one "custodial parent"? Generally, the lower-earning parent will be treated as the “custodial parent” and the higher-earning parent will end up paying child support. Continue reading for more details about child support in NYC, Long Island, and all of New York.

In an earlier article we wrote about the Court of Appeals decision in Bast v. Rossoff 91 N.Y.2d.723. In this case, the Court held that shared custody arrangements do not alter the scope and methodology of the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA).

The act, passed in 1989, states that the three-step statutory formula for calculating NY child support must be applied in all shared custody cases.

Related Reading:

• Child Support & Extra Curricular Activities
• Child Support & College Expenses
• Interstate Child Support Laws
• New Child Support Law
• When Is My Child Emancipated?

Contact a Child Support Lawyer Today! Serving Long Island, NYC & All of NYS.

How Much Is Child Support in NY?

New York State child support is calculated using the NY child support calculator formula. NYC.gov also has an online NY child support calculator. You can use their child support calculator to help you get an idea of how much child support may be required for your case in NY.

The three-step formula for calculating NY child support is:

1. Calculate the combined income and each parent's pro-rata share of the same
2. Use the correct percentage of total income CSSA says should be devoted to child support:
   1. 17% for one child
   2. 25% for two children
   3. 29% for three children
   4. 31% for four children
   5. 35% for five or more children
3. Calculate each parent's share thereof.

The non-custodial parent is directed to pay a pro-rater share of the child support obligation unless the court finds the amount to be unjust or inappropriate based on consideration of specified factors in Section F of CSSA.

The problem is that Bast (in Bast v. Rossoff) does not specifically address how to apply the CSSA in cases of equal shared custody. Indeed, the Bast case did not recognize cases of equal shared custody.

In Equal Shared Custody, Who Is the Custodial Parent?

The Appellate Division, 3rd Department did address the shared custody issue in Baraby v. Baraby 250 A.D 2d 2201, and the Appellate Division, 4th Department addressed it again in Carlino v. Carlino 277 A.D. 22d 897.

In Baraby, the third department stated the parent with the larger income would be deemed the non-custodial parent for purposes of calculating support under CSSA. The parent with the non-custodial designation must be directed to pay his or her pro rata share of the child support obligation to the other parent unless the statutory formula yields a result that is unjust or improper. In that situation, the trial court can resort to the "Paragraph F" factor in CSSA and order an amount that is just and appropriate under the circumstances.

The 4th department in Carlino, citing the Baraby case, which said in a 50/50 shared custody arrangement, if the parent with the larger income demonstrates that expenses incurred in having equal time substantially reduces the cost the parent with the lesser income has to bear as non-custodial parent, then the court should find that it would be unjust or inappropriate to award the statutory amount. Instead, the court should determine a proper support amount based on the specific expenses and the degree such expenses have been substantially reduced as a result of the time spent with the non-custodial parent. That court, as in Baraby, also remanded the case to the Trial Court for a hearing to calculate support in accordance with its decision. It found the Trial Court record lacked sufficient requisite information necessary to make the calculation.