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The appeals court said Loren did not prove the children were constructively emancipated. She made some contact efforts, but she did not arrange therapy or take real steps to use her parental access rights. She also failed to show the father blocked her access to the kids, so alienation did not excuse her support duty either. However, the court agreed the original calculation was wrong. The Support Magistrate used the parents' full combined income instead of stopping at the legal income cap. The appeals court lowered Loren's monthly payment from $1,720 to $815 for the two younger children.
Loren and Richard Langenhahn divorced in 2021. They have four children. Richard had residential custody. Loren had parental access and paid child support. In 2022, Richard asked the court to raise Loren's child support payments. Loren asked the court to end her payments, or at least lower them. A hearing officer, called a Support Magistrate, ordered Loren to pay $1,720 per month for the two younger children. Loren argued the children had cut her off, so she should not have to pay. She also argued the calculation used too much of the parents' combined income. She objected, but the Family Court denied her objections. Loren then appealed.
Two legal questions came up. First, did the two younger children count as 'constructively emancipated'? That means a child of working age fully cuts off a parent, so support may end. Second, was Loren's support amount calculated correctly under New York's child support formula, which caps how much combined parental income counts?
This case shows two important rules. Cutting off contact with a parent does not automatically end that parent's support duty — courts look closely at who caused the breakdown. It also shows courts must follow the statutory income cap formula carefully, even when parents earn a lot above it.
Talk to a licensed family law lawyer in New York.