While the Judicial Departments of the New York Appellate Division and the State Court of Appeals are in tandem in their holdings concerning the manner in which lower courts are to handle split custody arrangements and child support, New York practitioners are reporting that lower courts recently have been misapplying the law.

Under the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) and the precedent issued by the Court of Appeals, when both parents have an equal amount of parenting time and child support is being sought, courts must apply a prescribed three-step process.