New York statutory Child Support Guidelines are presumed to be correct unless there is a showing that the amount is unjust or inappropriate. The court considers:

The New York guidelines show a monthly support that is based on the the percentage that the noncustodial parent contributes to the joint parental income. One child gets 17 percent of the combined income; 2, 3, and 4 children get 25, 29, and 31 percent, respectively.

According to the guidelines, for example, parents who have a total income of $10,000 per month and two children need 25 percent of $10,000. That means $2,500 per month in support. When the noncustodial parent earns $6,000 per month, he or she pays $1,500 per month. As it considers appropriate, the court may add expenses for health care or education or other factors.

The courts may also order a parent to provide health insurance coverage for the child.

Security may be required for the payments.

Extraordinary expenses are either add-ons, where the expense is added to the support payment, or deductions, where the amount is deducted, and indicated as either mandatory or permissive. Childcare is a mandatory deduction.

The child support guidelines are based on the presumption that the non-custodial parent should pay a certain percentage of his or her income each month to cover all expenses with the exception of additional expenses of childcare, uncovered medical expenses, and educational expenses.

These are usually prorated in proportion to each parent's income. The custodial parent is expected to pay for everything else.

Faced with missing child support payments, custodial parents have two enforcement tools: one, the administrative enforcement by way of the child support agency, and two, filing a court action to enforce compliance The administrative action does not require a court appearance, and it includes interceptions of tax refunds, unemployment or wages, suspension of the noncustodial parent's drivers license and filing a lien against his or her assets. The second can result in a judgment against the noncustodial parent or even a jail sentence or probation.

More information about New York Child Support Enforcement can be found at their website.

Generally, the obligation ends when the child reaches 21 years of age. A child over the age of 21 will also automatically be ineligible for child support if that child is removed from disability status by a court order.

The state child support guidelines will be followed, unless the parents agree to an amount other than that calculated by the guidelines, or the courts decide the guidelines are unjust based on the following considerations: