Family cases can involve several separate questions: who is a legal parent, where a child lives, when each parent sees the child, who pays support, and whether anyone needs protection. One answer does not automatically settle all the others. An informal agreement may help day-to-day cooperation but may not change an existing court order.
New Jersey route. The Superior Court, Chancery Division, Family Part handles family cases. An FD non-dissolution application is commonly used for parentage, custody, parenting time, and support outside an active divorce case. An existing divorce case may require an application under its FM docket instead. Use the current initial or modification packet and check the proper county and docket. NJ initial FD packet; NJ modification packet.
New York route. Family Court handles support, parentage, custody, visitation, and family-offense matters. Supreme Court grants divorces. A pending divorce can affect where related applications belong. Do not start duplicate proceedings without checking the existing case. Starting a Family Court case.
DC route. Superior Court’s Family Court handles domestic relations; its Parentage and Child Support Branch handles parentage and support matters. The Family Court Self-Help Center provides procedural information and referrals. Filing a motion does not itself change the amount due under an existing order. DC parentage/support; DC self-help.
Across all three jurisdictions, keep copies of signed orders, not just messages describing an agreement. Support duration, emancipation, college contributions, genetic testing, parentage presumptions, and rights of nonparents differ. Do not infer them from another state’s rule.