Manhattan Child Support Attorneys
You may have primary custody of your children, but you are not the only one responsible for providing for them. New York State law stipulates that both parents are responsible for supporting their children until they reach 21 years of age. That means ensuring that they do not go wanting for anything; it means expending a significant portion of your net wealth on them.
The non-custodial parent must pay child support. These payments are determined according to their income. If their income increases over the time, then they must report this increase and contribute more money accordingly. Some parents do not follow the law in this regard. They the money they are sending sufficient and rest content that they are being fair to their children.
This should not be allowed to stand. If you know that your ex is holding out on his own kids, then you must act decisively. Your first call should be to a child support lawyer. Lawyers specialized in this area of law will know how to proceed legally to get the child support order enforced.
Many non-custodial parents are suspicious of where the money they are providing actually goes. And they will use that as a pretext not to send any more than they do—even though they can afford to, and they are supposed to anyway according to New York State law. You may have had a number of arguments with your ex about this very matter. But you cannot allow yourself to be bullied and deterred from doing what is right for your children.
If the fortunes of the non-custodial parent have increased substantially over a short period of time, then their children are entitled to see the benefit of that boon. The difficulty lies in getting proof that they actually are making more money than they were previously. Because the two of you no longer live together all you have to rely on are rumors. But that is a good enough place to begin. If your children have told you things that hint at a more luxuriant and comfortable lifestyle for your former spouse, then you should hire a lawyer and let them investigate the matter further.
A child support lawyer will be able to employ investigators and accountants to look closely at the finances of your ex-spouse. They will be able to gather enough information to prove that your ex is not paying what they should to your children. Once you have the facts in hand, you will be able to go to the judge and get the child support order enforced.
You should also remember that non-financial support must also be supplied by your ex. Any benefits that they enjoy such as health care or other insurance should be accessible by their children. All of their assets and resources must be used to support their children in a way that is commensurate with the former’s value. Your children should not be denied any opportunity because they were not given the proper material support by one of their parents.
It is not pleasant to go into the courts and get such things enforced, but you must do it on behalf of your kids. You don’t want any more tension and anger brought into the relationship between you and your ex, but that may be necessary if you are to get what you need from them to raise their children. Hiring a child support lawyer is a necessary first step to make this happen.