What are the rules pertaining to unwed parents and child support if the parents do not live together?

Q: Girlfriend of 2 years is pregnant. This will be our first child together. She has 4 with her ex husband. They’ve been separated for 4+ years. The divorce and custody battle is still ongoing. She lost custody of the kids and has supervised (weekly) visits with only the youngest one. If the situation arises that we are not together anymore (I wasn’t in favor of her keeping the pregnancy) what would be the child support payments be? I earn ~100k/year and she earns 85K. Are there any steps that a guy should take to protect his assets in this situation should the relationship go awry?

A: The analysis of child support doesn’t change based on whether you’re married or not. The fact that she has other children she’s (potentially) paying child support for also wouldn’t change the analysis. Thus, if she has primary custody of the child, then you’d generally pay 17% of your adjusted gross income. Assets don’t play a large role in the child support analysis (as it’s based mostly on income), but make sure if you’re deriving income from your assets that you cease doing so & immediately re-invest any potential dividends/interest back into the account. Schedule a consult with a Westchester Family Law attorney for a full assessment.