08 Feb How is Child Support Calculated in My Mediation?
Child Support Standards Act Cap on Combined Net Parental Income Increased Cap from $148,000.00 to $154,000.00
In New York State child support is calculated pursuant to the Child Support Standards Act. The Child Support Standards Act provides a calculation in order to calculate child support based upon the income of the parties and the number of children the parties have. The Child Support Standards Act also provides the exact percentage of the child support payor’s gross income that is to be paid based upon the number of children of the marriage. The percentages currently 17% for one child, 25% for two children, 29% for three children, 31% for four children and 35% for five or more children. However, even with such a straightforward calculation, a potential issue that can arise in divorce cases is whether or not the parties should consider child support over the Child Support Standards Act Cap on Combined Parental Income, hereinafter referred to as “CSSA Cap”.
Currently, as of March 1, 2020, the CSSA Cap is $154,000.00. Typically, the CSSA Cap is increased every two years on March 1st. Prior to the current cap the CSSA Cap was set at $148,000.00 on March 1, 2018. The cap is typically increased based upon the cost of living.
The issue stated above comes into play when the parties combined parental income is over the CSSA Cap. The parties’ combined parental income is the total income when you add both parties incomes together. For example, if one parent earns $75,000.00 and the other parent earns $100,000.00, the combined parental income is $175,000.00. The combined parental income in the example above is over the current CSSA Cap of $154,000.00. The parties are now faced with the decision whether or not to consider the combined parental income over $154,000.00 for child support purposes. If the parties agree to consider the combined parental income over $154,000.00 for child support purposes, another decision they are now faced with is how much income over the cap that they are going to consider.
There are several factors to take into consideration when determining whether or not to consider the combined parental income over the cap for child support purposes. Some of the factors are the financial resources and incomes of each parent, the financial resources of the children, the standard of living enjoyed by the children during the parties marriage and the non-monetary contributions that each parent will make toward the care and well-being of the child, just to name a few. The Court can also consider any other factor that they determine is relevant in the case when making their decision.
During your mediation sessions with Nassau County Divorce Mediation, the parties will discuss and negotiate with one of our mediators the issue of whether or not to utilize the combined parental income cap for child support purposes, and if so, how much income above the cap, if any, to consider. Please contact Nassau Divorce Mediation in order to schedule your free consultation.