Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

164 Judy Reichler
Appendix B
Child Support Blockbuster Cases
Tompkins County Support Collection Unit o/b/o Chamberlin v Chamberlin,
99 NY2d 328 (2003).
Held that, when a cost-of-living adjustment is sought by the SCU and
challenged by one of the parents, Family Court Act § 413-a directs the court
to review the order to determine if an adjustment was warranted based on the
child support guidelines, and not merely whether a cost of living adjustment
should be applied. This adjustment was distinct from a modification based
on a change in circumstances, so the parties’ right to seek modification was
not impermissibly expanded.
Gravlin v Ruppert, 98 NY2d 1 (2002).
Reiterated the standards for modification of a child support order based on
a written agreement, previously established in Brescia (based purely on the
needs of the child) and Boden (an unforeseen change in circumstances and
a concomitant showing of need), and held that a complete breakdown in
the visitation arrangement, which effectively extinguished respondents’
support obligation and had been the reason for deviating from the CSSA,
constituted an unanticipated change in circumstances that created the need
for modification of the child support obligations.
Clara C. v William L., 96 NY2d 244 (2001).
Established that a family court’s perfunctory approval of a “516 paternity
compromise agreement,” without any determination as to its adequacy, fails
to satisfy the requirements of the statute so that the putative father may not
invoke the statute to bar a proceeding for a declaration of paternity and an
increased support order. The court specifically did not consider the
constitutionality of this statute or pass upon the continuing viability of
Bacon v Bacon (46 N.Y.2d 477), decided nearly a quarter-century ago.
Dutchess County Department of Social Services o/b/o Day v Day,
96 NY2d 149 (2001).
Established that CSSA must be used to determine support from parents even
when child is in foster care and it is a govenmental unit that is seeking