November 18

Mechanisms for Enforcing Payment of Child Support in New York

Mechanisms for Enforcing Payment of Child Support in New York

New York’s Domestic Relations Law (DRL) and the Family Court Act provide a number of remedies to enforce support obligations.

Garnishee (also known as Income Execution / Income Deduction Order) – A process by which payments for current and/or overdue support are deducted from a noncustodial parent’s wages or other income by the noncustodial parent’s employer or income payor. Additionally, a noncustodial parent’s pension can be levied.

Entry of Judgment – A money judgment will be awarded when a court finds that the noncustodial parent is in support arrears, regardless of whether the failure to pay support is willful or non-willful. A money judgment also acts as a lien against any interest in personal property or real property (such as a house) in the county in which it was filed

November 10

Terrell Owens’ Failure to Appear in Child Support Proceeding Results in Arrest Warrant

Terrell Owens’ Failure to Appear in Child Support Proceeding Results in Arrest Warrant

As a follow-up to an earlier post regarding a contempt proceeding brought against Terrell Owens for his alleged failure to make child support payments, Owens failed to appear in a California’s Contra Costa County Court on October 24, 2011 in a separate child support matter. According to a spokesperson, Owens attempted to adjourn the case but, for undisclosed reasons, he was unsuccessful.

October 31

Kim Kardashian Divorcing Kris Humphries and Doesn’t Want to Pay His Attorney Fees

Kim Kardashian Divorcing Kris Humphries and Doesn’t Want to Pay His Attorney Fees

According to TMZ, after 72 days of marriage, Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce from her husband Kris Humphries. Currently a free agent, Humphries played Power Forward for the NBA’s New Jersey Nets from 2009 to 2011. Kardashian’s petition seeks, among other relief, a declaration that each party is responsible for their own attorney fees.

In divorce actions, courts often have the power to order one spouse to pay the attorney fees of the other spouse in order to create a level playing field in the litigation and to assure that both parties have access to capable representation. This prevents the spouse with greater assets from “bullying” the other spouse into settling the case.

October 20

Child Support From an Anonymous Sperm Donor?

Child Support From an Anonymous Sperm Donor?

But what happens if a woman, who was artificially inseminated by the sperm of an anonymous sperm donation, determines the identity of the father and then petitions the court for child support from the father? The answer is that in New York, we do not yet have a conclusive answer. In, P.D. v. S.K., one of the very few cases on the topic of support from sperm donors, the Nassau County Family Court required a sperm-donor father to pay child support despite “numerous promises that he would have no rights or benefits in raising the child, nor any financial responsibilities.” It was especially important in this case, that father and mother, who had known each other prior to the donation, had agreed to the father’s sperm donation and that the father was active in the child’s life.

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