How is child support calculated?

Child support in New York and New Jersey is calculated based on a lot of factors but most importantly the amount of income of the father and the mother. Both the father and the mother have an obligation to support their children and the obligation will be prorated between them based on income and assets. Both in New York and New Jersey they have formulas known as the Child Support Guidelines Act, which they plug in and try and come up with general suggestions as to how much the support should be in a given case based on the age of the children and the number of the children.