Template 11 – No Sidebar

In New York State, a child can receive child support until the age of 21. Sometimes the child support can be ended earlier. Some examples of when it can end earlier are if the child joins the military or gets married.

At your court appearance, a support magistrate (sup-PORT MAJ-is-trayt) will hear, or listen to, the case and make an order for child support. The order for child support is a piece of paper that tells you how much support you have to pay, how often you have to pay it, and where to send it. A support magistrate is similar to a judge and has the power to make decisions about child support and paternity (pa-TERN-i-tee) cases. A paternity case is about who the father of a child is.

In New York State, a child can receive child support until the age of 21. Sometimes the child support can be ended earlier. Some examples of when it can end earlier are if the child joins the military or gets married.

If you work “off the books” or do not receive regular paychecks, the court may base your income on one of the following:

• What you earned before
• What the court thinks you could earn
• What the standard of living is in your household

The amount the court decides on is called an imputed income (im-PYU-ted IN-cum). The court then uses this imputed income to decide how much child support you have to pay.