In Cortland County, New Justice Services has worked to develop a support mediation program. Like Custody/Visitation mediation, clients now have the option to mediate their support cases outside of the Family Court.
In New York State, the Child Support Standards Act establishes specific requirements that must be fulfilled during child support mediations. Clients have the option to agree to a certain amount of child support, but New Justice is required by law to calculate what is called the Basic Child Support Obligation. The method for calculating the Basic Child Support Obligation is established in the Family Court Act Section 413 (b) (5). New Justice has the obligation to ensure that clients are aware of their specific child support obligation under the law, before clients can enter into a written agreement to any alternative child support amount.
If clients are on public assistance or Medicaid, New Justice cannot provide support mediation services. Medicaid and public assistance recipients must go through Family Court to establish or modify child support for their children.
Clients attending mediation may choose one of three “tiers” or approaches to the enforceability of their agreements.
Tier One Agreements are strictly private understandings reached between the parties which do not address the support guidelines and is not going to be filed with the court. Such an agreement must be a “private payment” arrangement that does not involve the support collections unit in any way. Such agreements may be workable for the parties involved but they may not necessarily be enforceable if brought to the court. If such a Tier One agreement is brought to court for enforcement, it is possible that the entire agreement will be set aside and a new order created based upon the support guidelines and the threshold requirements as established by law.
Tier Two Agreements are private payment agreements where the party paying support will pay the custodial parent directly with no involvement from Support Collections Unit. These agreements are forwarded to Family Court to be filed for an enforceable order of support through the court.
Tier Three Agreements are agreements where the payments are made and enforced through the Support Collections Unit. These agreements are forwarded to Family Court to be filed for an enforceable order of support through the court.
Clients should be advised that when the actual agreed upon child support amount is different (either more or less) than the Basic Support Obligation, reasons for the deviation must be provided to the Family Court Support Magistrate. An example might be when the non-custodial parent is undertaking to relieve the custodial parent of the financial burden of child care, feeding of the child or the expenses related to extra-curricular activities.
Parties are free to negotiate the details of addressing any arrears owed to involved parties in child support payments.
Parties with legal representation are responsible for notifying their attorneys of their participation in mediation, as well as having them review any agreement reached. New Justice will not communicate with a party’s attorney.
Mediation can help find solutions for issues such as:
- Establish Support
- Modify a Current Support Order
- Address health insurance issues and cost
- Address the cost of child care
Why use mediation?
- It’s Free
- Private
- Informal
- Confidential
- Voluntary
- Can be Legally Enforceable without having to appear in court
- Meeting Times Flexible
- Attorney’s Optional
For more information on Support Mediation, please call (607) 753-6952.
For Directions to the New Justice Services Office in Cortland, Click Here.
To view a copy of the Child Support Standards, Click Here.
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