How to File an Objection or a Rebuttal for a Child Support Order – 10th Judicial District

This guide has been adapted for Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

If you disagree with your FINAL child support order, you have the right to object. This means you can ask the court to look at the facts of your case again. This is called filing an objection.

Either party in a child support case is allowed to object. Here, party refers to either the person paying child support or the person who is being paid.

No. The person who made the child support order was a support magistrate (MAH-jis-trate). Support magistrates make decisions about child support cases. When you object, a Family Court judge reviews, or looks at, your case.

You need a copy of the signed child support order. You also need a copy of the Findings of Fact that the support magistrate used to decide the order. A Findings of Fact is a written statement by the support magistrate of the facts they thought were important for making the decision. If you do not have these documents, you can ask the Family Court clerk how to get copies.

1. Contact the Family Court to request the objection form. The form and instructions are also available on the Nassau County Family Court’s website. The addresses and phone numbers of the local Family Courts are below.

Family Court – Nassau County
1200 Old Country Road Westbury, NY 11590
(516) 493-4000

Family Court – Central Islip
400 Carleton Avenue Central
Islip, NY 11722
(631) 740-3800

Family Court – Riverhead
Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex
210 Center Drive, 2nd Floor
Riverhead, NY 11901
(631) 852-3905/6

2. Type or clearly print in black ink the name and docket number of your case on the objection form. The docket number is the special identification number that every case gets. The name of the case is usually written as “the name of petitioner (pe-TI-shun-er) vs. the name of the respondent (re-SPON-dent).”

3. On that same form, write out the reasons you disagree with the order. These are your objections. Be sure to make it clear what part or parts of the order you do not agree with.

4. Make copies of your objections and any supporting papers that you have.

5. Serve a copy of your objections to the other party in your case. You can serve the objections in person or through the mail. Make sure to have the person who served the papers sign the Affidavit (aff-i-DAV-it) of Service and get it notarized. An Affidavit of Service is a piece of paper that shows the court that you had the papers served in the correct way. Notarized means the person who serves the papers must sign the affidavit in front of a notary public. For more information on how to do this, please see the Family Legal Care guide “Serving Court Papers.”

6. Take the original copy of your objections, the child support order, the Findings of Fact, and the signed and notarized Affidavit of Service back to the clerk at the Family Court.

Probably not. The judge might ask for a transcript of your child support hearing. A transcript is a written report of everything that was said at the hearing.

If the judge asks for a recording or transcript, you can ask the clerk of the court how to get one. If you cannot afford to pay for it, ask the clerk how you can get one for free.

Even if the judge does not ask for a transcript or recording, either party may ask for one. The party that asks for it has to pay for it.

You must file your objections with the court within 30 days of the date the order was made. If the order was mailed to you by the court, you have 35 days from the date the order was mailed to file your written objections.

Yes. Even if you file an objection, you must continue to pay the amount of child support ordered until the judge makes a new order.

The person served with objections can file a rebuttal (re-BUT-tul). A rebuttal is a response to an objection.

1. You can file a form called a Rebuttal to Objection to Support Magistrate Order. Contact the Family Court to request the rebuttal form. The form and instructions are also available on the Nassau County Family Court’s website.

2. Type or clearly print in black ink the name and docket number of your case on the piece of paper.

3. On the same form, write down the date you got the objections from the other party.

4. Write down the objections you do not agree with and why.

5. Make copies of your rebuttal.

6. Serve the other party in your case with a copy of your rebuttal. You can serve your rebuttal in person or through the mail. You MUST serve your rebuttal and file an Affidavit of Service for the rebuttal and the original copy of the rebuttal with the court within 13 days of getting the objections.

The judge is supposed to make a decision within 15 days from when the rebuttal was filed, or within 15 days from when the rebuttal was supposed to be filed if a rebuttal was not actually made. Do not be surprised if it takes much longer than this to receive a response. Many times, judges take longer than 15 days to write the decision. Also, many times a rebuttal is not filed. Just because a rebuttal is not filed does not automatically mean that the judge will agree with your objection(s).

You will get a letter from the court with the judge’s decision. If the judge changed your order, the change may start from the date that the child support petition was originally filed. If the order was reduced, this means you may get a credit towards future payments. If the order was increased, you may owe arrears (a-REERS) to make up the difference from what you were paying to what you are now required to pay. Arrears means unpaid child support.

You can file an appeal with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. For more information on how to file an appeal, contact your local Family Court or the Appellate Division where you are filing your appeal. Also see the Family Legal Care guide, “Appealing Family Court Orders.”

This document should not take the place of a consultation with a lawyer. Family Legal Care encourages all individuals involved with the Criminal and Family Court systems to consult with a lawyer.