New York Law Journal, June 25, 2026 —
At the end of 2021, New York State passed legislation that enables parents in New York to petition for extended child support for adult children over the age of 21 who are developmentally disabled under New York law.
The Honorable Stacy D. Bennett’s recent decision in JMC v. VC III (unpublished, March 2026, Sup. Ct., Nassau Cty.) explains how the laws in New York are applied to the facts, and the burden of proof that is required, when a petition for extended child support is filed.
In JMC, the parties signed a settlement agreement in 2007 and were thereafter divorced. At the time, they had three unemancipated children. On September 21, 2021, the parties’ son (“J”) was deemed emancipated under the settlement agreement and the father stopped making child support payments on his behalf to the mother.
Relevant to this discussion is the mother’s motion dated Feb. 1, 2023 seeking an award of child support until J turns 26 “on the basis that he suffers a developmental disability.” In support of her motion, the mother provided the court with a psychological evaluation of J completed by the Genesis Outreach Autism Center (which identified J as having an educational classification of autism), medical records showing that J suffers from “Developmental delay” and “Autistic Disorder,” as well as other medical records showing assessments of J having “ADHD, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Impulse Control Disorder, Autistic disorder” and “long term use of therapeutic drug.”
The mother stated that J is “entirely dependent” on her for “prescription management, supervision, manage team of doctors’ appointments, integrate into society, teach activities of daily living and independent living skills, keep him safe during behavioral episodes.”
The father did not refute that the parties’ son has an autism diagnosis, or that he resides with the mother and has functional limitations. His opposition papers did, however, allege, inter alia, that the mother’s application asserted “bare … legal conclusions … without providing any substantive proof.”
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