N.Y. FCT Law § 425

* § 425. Agreement to support. If an agreement for the support of the\npetitioner is brought about, it must be reduced to writing and submitted\nto the family court or a support magistrate appointed pursuant to\nsection four hundred thirty-nine of this act for approval. If the court\nor support magistrate approves it, the court without further hearing may\nthereupon enter an order for the support of the petitioner by the\nrespondent in accordance with the agreement, which shall be binding upon\nthe respondent and shall in all respects be a valid order as though made\nafter process had been issued out of the court. The court record shall\nshow that such order was made upon agreement.\n * NB Effective until August 18, 2026\n * § 425. Agreement to support; pilot program for use of alternative\ndispute resolution to obtain agreements to support. (a) If the parties\nreach an agreement for the support of the child and/or the petitioner,\nit must be reduced to writing and submitted to the family court or a\nsupport magistrate appointed pursuant to section four hundred\nthirty-nine of this act for approval in accordance with paragraph (h) of\nsubdivision one of section four hundred thirteen of this article. If the\ncourt or support magistrate approves it, the court without further\nhearing may thereupon enter an order and findings of fact for the\nsupport of the child and/or the petitioner or the respondent in\naccordance with the agreement, which shall be binding upon the parties\nand shall in all respects be a valid order and findings of fact as\nthough made after process had been issued out of the court. The court\nrecord shall show that such order and findings were made upon agreement.\n (b) The chief administrator of the courts shall promulgate rules to\nestablish and implement a pilot program for the provision of alternative\ndispute resolution and navigation services to litigants in child support\nmatters in the family court. The cost of the pilot program shall be paid\nfor with state funds appropriated for that purpose and may include\nfederal funds received by the state under title IV-D of the social\nsecurity act.\n (i) The pilot program, which shall be conducted under the auspices of\nthe community dispute resolution center program pursuant to article\ntwenty-one-A of the judiciary law, shall be located in at least two\ncounties in a city with a population of one million or more, and in at\nleast one other county in the state, and shall be available at no charge\nto parties in cases under this article. The program shall be equipped to\nprovide services that are culturally sensitive to, and in the native\nlanguage of, the litigants in the community.\n (ii) At the parties' initial appearance before the court, pursuant to\nsection four hundred thirty-three or subdivision two of section four\nhundred fifty-one of this article, in a participating county, the court\nshall advise the parties of the availability of the dispute resolution\nprogram and of their right to consult with counsel during the dispute\nresolution process
nts in the community.\n (ii) At the parties' initial appearance before the court, pursuant to\nsection four hundred thirty-three or subdivision two of section four\nhundred fifty-one of this article, in a participating county, the court\nshall advise the parties of the availability of the dispute resolution\nprogram and of their right to consult with counsel during the dispute\nresolution process. Unless the case is deemed inappropriate for a\nreferral to the dispute resolution program after a review of records in\naccordance with subdivision (e) of section six hundred fifty-one of this\nact, the court shall, if the parties consent to participate, refer the\nmatter promptly to the program.\n (iii) Prior to referring the parties to the program, the court shall\nissue a preliminary order of child support pursuant to section four\nhundred thirty-four of this article unless the petition is for a\nmodification of an existing order of support pursuant to subdivision two\nof section four hundred fifty-one of this article.\n (iv) Prior to referral pursuant to paragraph (iii) of this\nsubdivision, the court shall also issue an order directing the parties\nto provide financial disclosures in accordance with section four hundred\ntwenty-four-a of this part and to bring or transmit the required\ndocuments to the program.\n (v) The mediators, neutral evaluators or other facilitators shall\nreceive training in accordance with section eight hundred forty-nine-b\nof the judiciary law, as well as in the legal requirements in child\nsupport cases, including, but not limited to, the child support\nstandards act, possible deviations, requirements regarding medical\ninsurance and costs, educational and child care expenses, age of\nmajority and emancipation, shared and joint custody, grounds for\nmodifications of child support orders and the consequences of\nnoncompliance with child support orders. In order to resolve disputes\ninvolving complex financial issues, the program may, if possible,\ninclude among its mediators, neutral evaluators or other facilitators,\nindividuals with accounting or other financial qualifications and\nexperience.\n (vi) The program shall have the capacity to conduct proceedings\nelectronically, where appropriate, as well as in person, for the\nconvenience of the participants and shall provide a secure means for\nparticipants to submit and exchange relevant documents electronically.\n (vii) If the parties reach an agreement, the program shall refer them\nback to the family court in which their case is pending for the court to\nallocute the parties and to approve the agreement in accordance with\nsubdivision (a) of this section and paragraph (h) of subdivision one of\nsection four hundred thirteen of this article. If the program deems the\nreferral inappropriate due to its own screening for domestic violence or\nfor other reasons, or if parties do not reach an agreement or reach only\na partial agreement, the program shall refer them back to the family\ncourt in which their case is pending for the court to proceed with a\nhearing under this article. In all cases, the program shall transmit to\nthe court all financial disclosure documents that have been provided in\naccordance with section four hundred twenty-four-a of this part.\n (viii) In addition to or in lieu of alternative dispute resolution,\nincluding in cases in which an agreement is not reached, the program\nshall provide navigation services to the participants, including but not\nlimited to information regarding family court procedures, the objection\nprocess, child support enforcement services available through the local\ndepartment of social services, employment-related or job training\nprograms in the jurisdiction, and consequences of noncompliance with\nchild support orders
reached, the program\nshall provide navigation services to the participants, including but not\nlimited to information regarding family court procedures, the objection\nprocess, child support enforcement services available through the local\ndepartment of social services, employment-related or job training\nprograms in the jurisdiction, and consequences of noncompliance with\nchild support orders. The program shall also provide assistance to\nlitigants in preparation for the court appearance including, among other\nservices, in organizing and transmitting required financial disclosures.\nAdditionally, staff of the pilot program providing navigation services\nmay be located on-site at the family court in the pilot counties\nselected pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subdivision in order to\nprovide assistance in arranging the initial referral appointments,\nincluding ascertaining language access or other needs, and in explaining\nwhat documents are required to be brought or transmitted to the program.\n * NB Effective August 18, 2026\n