Child Support
Being a crime victim can have an impact on your ability to parent and care for your child’s physical, emotional and financial needs.
If you are a crime victim, you may:
- Need child support to help you provide for your children, or
- No longer be able to afford to pay the same child support.
This section tells you how to ask for child support or ask to lower the amount you pay.
What is child support?
Child support is money one parent pays to the other parent where the child lives most of the time. This helps make sure that both parents are sharing in the child’s care. The parent the child lives with most of the time is also called the custodial parent.
Child support includes:
- Cash
- Child care payments
- Health insurance
- Other health care costs
In New York State, you are responsible for supporting your child until they turn 21 years old.
How is the amount of child support calculated?
The amount of child support usually depends on how many children there are and both parents’ incomes combined. It can be confusing; this chart can help:
| Number of Children Supported | % of parents’ combined income |
| 1 | 17% |
| 2 | 25% |
| 3 | 29% |
| 4 | 31% |
| 5 or more | 35% or more |
Each parent pays a share of child support proportionate to their income.
Can I get child support?
You can get a child support order if:
- You never married the other parent.
- You are divorced or legally separated and the child lives with you most of the time.
- You live with the other parent but they refuse to help with the child’s costs.
- You are a foster parent. The court can order the child’s parents to pay child support.
How do I get child support?
To get a child support order, follow these steps:
- File a child support petition in the Family Court in the county where your child lives.
- Have the other parent served (given) a summons, petition, and financial disclosure form.
If you need help to start your Family Court case, contact the Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSEU).
Do I have to pay to file for child support?
No. It is free to file in Family Court.
What if it is not safe for me to let the other parent to know where I live?
When you go to court, tell the court clerk or the CSEU worker if you need to keep your address private from the other parent.
Please go to the “Keeping your Address Confidential in Family Court” page in the Safety section for more information.
What if the other parent does not pay?
If you have a child support order but the other parent does not pay:
- File a petition in Family Court to ask the judge to make the other parent pay, or
- Ask the Child Support Enforcement Unit (CSEU) to help you collect past due child support and health care costs. They can also help you:
- Find the other parent
- Establish paternity
- Set up new support orders
- Collect and pay your child support payments
Need help? The Court’s free Support Enforcement/Violation Petition Program can help you fill out your Family Court forms.
How do I change my child support order?
You can file a petition asking the judge to change the child support amount if:
- Your situation changes, such as losing your job or having another baby or
- The other parent’s situation changes, such as getting a higher paying job.
Need help? The Court’s free Support Modification Petition Program can help you fill out your Family Court Papers.
For more information:
Custodial Parent Information
Free Family Court Child Support Forms
New York CourtHelp