Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Back Child Support

By Elliott Scheinberg
November 29, 2005

The Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) was enacted to promote New York's public policy concern that both parents contribute to their children's support — and in response to federal law that mandatory support guidelines be in effect as a predicate to eligibility for federal funding. Panossian v. Panossian, 201 A.D.2d 983 (4th Dept., 1994); Rakoszynski v. Rakoszynski, 174 Misc.2d 509 (1997). It is settled law that agreements that contract away the obligation to pay child support are void as against public policy and, thus, unenforceable. Strenge v. Bearman, 228 A.D.2d 664 (1996). Although seemingly straightforward, the narrowly defined statutory scheme regarding the retroactivity of child support has been indirectly, yet, significantly broadened as a result of recent judicial authority involving unrelated issues.

Statutory law provides that child support is “effective as of the date of the application therefore (DRL ' 236B(7), DRL ' 240(j), and FCA ' 449),” which leaves two categories of custodial parents severely constrained in any attempts to retrieve child support for unpaid periods: 1) those in Family Court seeking pre-application date support, and 2) those in post judgment/order proceedings (in Supreme or Family Court) following a de facto change of custody where the new custodial parent seeks support for the gap of time between the actual change of custody and the application for support. While parents in divorce actions with no extant support awards have recourse for back support via a cause of action in necessaries, relief is now newly available to the two aforementioned categories of parents who would otherwise have continued to remain hamstrung in their efforts to obtain child support.

Read These Next
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It Image

Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

A Lawyer's System for Active Reading Image

Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.

The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners Image

Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.