Practitioner Post: Capping Child Support

The First Department recently reminded, yet again, that in determining where to cap parental income for child support purposes one should calibrate it to the actual needs of the child. Are we focusing too much on where the judges are putatively capping it for a particular county, rather than on the children's expenses? Should we be doing what the lower courts actually do or what they are supposed to do? And if we go by expenses, does that mean that we build in an increase when that five-year-old turns fifteen?

When we say that "NY County and Westchester are "now up to" 375K, what exactly do we mean? Because not every judge in the county will go that high. And when the monied spouse is making just over 375K they are less likely to do so than when s/he is making substantially over that amount. And is the custodial parent's income being taken into account in the so-called "combined parental income"? It is supposed to be yet many judges don't bother. So, again, do we do what the judges actually do or what they are supposed to do?

The easy answer to the ambiguity is that you lay everything out for the parties or the clients and let them decide. Yet there is a temptation to oversimplify, rather than to explain at length that although there is a "statutory formula" it is not nearly as predictable as one might think(even putting the (f) factors aside). I think we fear overwhelming them in the name of precision and thoroughness.