Do You Still Have To Pay Child Support During Covid-19?

My phone has been blowing up with questions from people wanting to know if they still need to pay child support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, during this crisis many people have had hours cut, are temporarily furloughed or have been laid off altogether. 

On top of that, the courts in New York are closed (with the exception of specific emergency actions) and are not accepting filings. So you cannot file a petition to modify or get any guidance at all from a support magistrate at this time. 

In normal circumstances New York case law requires a parent seeking a modification of child support to demonstrate 1) a substantial change in circumstances, such as a substantial change in income, 2) Three years have elapsed since the order was entered, last modified or adjusted or 3) an involuntary change in either party’s gross income up or down by 15% or more since the order was entered, last modified, or adjusted. 

In practice, temporary change may not be sufficient to warrant a modification. A parent who loses their job under ordinary circumstances must demonstrate evidence of diligent efforts to secure new employment and must prove they are unable to earn income similar to what they earned before. Often, even if a parent is earning less or no income, the court may impute their previous income and support remains the same until they are employed again. While downward modifications do happen, they certainly require a very specific set of circumstances. 

In addition, if a parent is unable to find comparable employment to his or her prior salary, that parent should be prepared to provide the court with evidence of their good-faith efforts to find equal employment.

So what do you do?

Your Court Orders Are Still In Effect 

I cannot emphasize this enough - court orders are still in effect so you continue to have an obligation to pay child support despite the pandemic. If you don’t adhere to the order you may be in contempt of court and you will still be responsible for arrears. 

Pay What You Can 

Your best course of action is to pay what you can. If you are still working and making your full salary pay the full amount of support. Your children still need to be supported financially and if your financial situation changes in the near future and you are up to date on your payments, the custodial parent may be more flexible in temporarily accepting lower payments. 

If you lost your job or had your income cut, step one is speaking to the parent receiving support and coming to an agreement on a temporarily reduced support amount. The courts are closed, so they can’t file a violation petition at this time so they may be open to receiving something over nothing. 

If they don’t agree and you at least pay what you can, it will go more favorably for you when the courts reopen and you seek a modification or they seek enforcement. So, do what you can.

Make A Good Faith Effort To Find Employment 

If you are unemployed and plan to seek a modification once it is possible, you are going to have to show the court you were making a good faith effort to seek employment. Keep proof of all the places you’ve applied to and keep any rejection letters. You may not get the level of employment you had pre COVID-19, but if you show you have made the effort to get some sort of income, the Support Magistrate may be more sympathetic to you. 

Get A Modification As Soon As Possible 

If you lost your job or have had your hours cut you are going to want to file for a child support modification as soon as possible. Even though the courts are closed, now is the time to consult with an attorney about your options and get the paperwork started. Once the courts open there is going to be a backlog of cases so you want your petition at the top of the pile so your case can be heard as soon as possible. If you get a modification, per the current law, you will only get it modified as of the date of filing, so timing is important. If you recently lost your job you may have the funds to pay an attorney but the longer you wait the less likely that will be. 

So think strategically and talk to a New York Child Support attorney about filing your modification as soon as possible.