What To Do If You Are Served With A Child Support Petition?

In New York State, you are obligated to support your children, it doesn’t matter if you are married or not. If one parent is not supporting their children or if you want a formal child support order, that is obtained through Family Court. The parent who wants child support, will file a “child support petition.”

If you are served with a child support petition, you need to know what to do and how to respond.

The petition will state the date, time and place where the petition will be heard. You need to appear on that date and time. If, there is an emergency or a valid reason why you cannot appear, then you need to make sure that you can get an adjournment of the court date. In those instances, it is extremely important to have an attorney appear for you to explain why you cannot appear on that date. If you simply do not appear, then the court can make a default ruling against you, which could seriously affect your rights and how much you have to pay in child support.

You will need to provide financial information and financial documents. Typically, you will need to provide: (1) your last year’s W-2 statement; (2) your most recent Federal and State income tax return; and (3) a recent paystub. You may also have to provide recent bank statements. It is important to have copies of these documents ready for the court and to have a copy for the petitioner.

If your income has recently declined, you will need to prove evidence of how much it has declined and why it has declined.

If child custody has not been officially established, you may to want to file a petition for child custody.

If you believe the child is not yours and you have not been acting as the father, then you may want to request a paternity test.

You have a right to present evidence and a hearing.  Therefore, there typically will be at least two court dates.

If you want legal advice on how to respond to a child support petition, then contact David Badanes and the Badanes Law Office. David Badanes has helped numerous clients in their child support petitions.

If you need an experienced child support attorney, please contact the Badanes Law Office at 631-239-1702 or email David Badanes, Esq. at david@dbnylaw.com. The Badanes Law Office has offices in Northport (Suffolk County office) and Garden City (Nassau County office).

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