What do fathers need to know about child support?

As any parent can tell you, divorce is exceptionally stressful. It can be even more stressful when one factors in financial considerations such as child support. Child support is an important part of a divorce, but that doesn’t mean it is stress-free. Indeed, there are certain things that all New York fathers should know about child support.

What should every dad know about child support?

Child support is determined based on a variety of factors, with the income and expenses associate with raising the child serving as the chief influencers. Many states have formulas that are used to directly make this calculation, thus making child support payments easier to understand and more predictable.

Other factors include the child’s standard of living and the ability of the non-custodial parent to make payments. As such, if you are a dad getting a divorce and working while your soon-to-be ex-spouse is unemployed, you can expect to pay more than a father who does not have a steady income.

Child support will not last forever: In most cases, it ends when a child becomes a legal adult or if you lose all parental rights. Also, child support payments are different than alimony, which is direct spousal support. These two payments are also calculated very differently.

It can be very difficult to work through this process on your own, and that is why it is so important that you obtain appropriate legal counsel to work with you as you come to a child support agreement.

Child support payments can be difficult, and there is no question that they can have an impact on your life. Thankfully, there are things you can do to make these payments fairer and ensure that they truly benefit the life of your child.