Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

160 Judy Reichler
Counsel should prepare for the two most popular arguments noncustodial
parents raise for reducing the amount derived from application of the percentages:
the costs of visitation and the needs of other children.
A noncustodial parent may be able to receive a reduction in support for
extraordinary expenses incurred in exercising visitation or for the increased
expenses of extended visitation — but only if the child is not receiving public
assistance and only if the increased expenses substantially reduce the custodial
parent’s expenses. Even if the parties have joint custody, or the parents equally
share their time with the child, the court must first establish the amount of child
support by utilizing the percentages before reviewing the expenses and other
circumstances of the parents to determine if a reduction in support is warranted,
keeping in mind the duplication of costs that is often required when custody is
shared by the parents.
The noncustodial parent may also receive a reduction in support if he has
other children he is obligated to support, but not pursuant to a court order. This
reduction is only available if the court reviews the resources of the other parent
of those children and determines that resources available to support the other
children are less than the resources available to support the child under
consideration.
Whenever the court varies from the formula, the court is required to include
in the order the factors it considered and the reasons for the level of support
ordered. Except in the case of temporary orders, this requirement may not be
waived by either party or counsel. 20
Sanctions for Failure to Disclose
Even though complete financial disclosure is compulsory, resistance is
common. Noncompliance with compulsory financial disclosure is punishable by
granting the custodial parent the relief requested or by precluding the obligor
parent from offering evidence about his ability to pay. 21
It will be your job to see that the other parent is not rewarded by refusal to
disclose financial information.