Child support payments are ordered to minimize trauma to children by helping a lower income parent maintain the children’s lifestyle.  The parent with lower income sometimes wants more child support so she could use the money for her own expenses as her income is insufficient to pay them. In such a case, the paying parent may feel resentful because he does not want to pay child support so it could be used for the support of the other parent. Child support is generally paid to the parent that has residential custody of the children by the non-custodial parent.  However, child support may also be paid to the parent who has less money even if both parents have equal time with the child. It’s calculated based on the total income of the family and the percentage that each parent earns. Once that’s been established, it increases based on the number of children that require support. It sounds simple, but if one or both spouses is self-employed or works off the books, it can get very complicated. Self-employed parents often run a gamut of personal expenses through their businesses and/or pay friends and relatives inflated salaries to try to reduce how much child support they pay. When a parent works off the books, they’ll claim no income at all. If you believe your spouse is attempting to underpay child support, it’s important to hire an experienced New York City child support attorney that knows how to uncover hidden income. The attorneys at GourariLaw know how to work with parents to develop a child support agreement that’s fair or to prove the true income in court.