Report on proposed OCA legislation regarding stipulations and agreements for child support in Family Court and matrimonial proceedings
SUMMARY
The Matrimonial Law Committee provided comments on legislation proposed in the Report of the Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee to the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts of the State of New York, dated January 2016, to amend F.C.A. §413(1)(h) and D.R.L. §240(1-b)(h). As noted in the Proposal, the intention of the amendment is to address the procedures to be followed where the required Child Support and Standards Act (“CSSA”) language is omitted from an agreement regarding the payment of child support. The Committee shares the Proposal’s concern over the current lack of specificity, and it does not have an overall objection to the Proposal, including the requirement that upon a finding of noncompliance, a hearing must be held to determine an appropriate amount of child support. The Committee’s only concern relates to certain language in the Proposal that appears to be unintentionally overbroad, and which is likely to have unintended negative consequences.
