Hello everyone, I hope you all had good holidays.

I made a post a while ago about child support on r/Divorce. Feel free to check it out to get some more context.

My question right now is relatively straightforward, but I've been struggling to find a clear answer from my Lawyer or anywhere else. I want to know how to challenge the default child support calculation in New York State.

I make just over $100k per year. In 2021 my ex made about 30k, including some under the table work. I take home about $5800 per month.

Earlier this week I got the first divorce offer on paper from my lawyer. It includes a child support payment of about $2000 per month.

For reference, I pay about $2100 for my mortgage, electricity, car insurance, internet, cell phone, propane, wood pellets, gas, groceries, and a small amount for some streaming services. My kids are with me 50% of the time (2-2-3 schedule). Basically, $2100 covers all the necessities.

In addition to that $2100 I pay about $2400 per month for various loans. These include student loans, car loans, personal loans, and some credit cards. About 75% of that debt is related to the house, we had to fix a lot of stuff that surprised us. The remaining 25% is fun stuff over the years. All of these loans will be paid down in 2-5 years. For the love of god I hope the student loans are forgiven (I qualify for the full $20k which would wipe them out).

Lastly, the previous year we were together we spent about $800 per month on all household expenses related to the kids (food, clothes, gas, medical bills, school supplies). I understand that value will grow as the kids get older, they are 7 and 5 right now.

So that leaves me with about $1300 per month left over. If I have to pay $2000 per month, I will go bankrupt. I'm already living pretty frugal due to a bunch of unexpected expenses in the last year, after we broke up. I don't think I can squeeze anywhere near $700 from my budget to break even.

So, my question is - how do I challenge the "default" calculation? Do I have to negotiate with my Ex directly? Do I have to plead to a judge? Do I have to start paying for a month or two and then appeal?

I am not against paying some support, just not the default calculation.

I know I should get this answer from my lawyer. I have already asked her and I'm waiting for a response. I live in a very rural area and she is swamped, so communication has been slow. I know what everyone says here isn't gospel. But I need to just understand the high-level process and possible options.

I feel like 50/50 custody and time with the kids should play a part in the calculation. I also pay the kids health insurance. I also pay they're school taxes. My ex lives five minutes away but happens to be in a different school district.