Opinion
April 1, 1991
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Nassau County (De Maro, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
It is well established that voluntary payments made by a parent for the benefit of his or her children and not pursuant to a court order may not be credited against amounts owing under such order (see, Horne v. Horne, 22 N.Y.2d 219; O'Brien v. O'Brien, 136 A.D.2d 531; Fabrizio v. Fabrizio, 125 A.D.2d 634; Soltow v Soltow, 47 A.D.2d 652). The trial court properly refused to credit the husband with voluntary payments made on behalf of the children for camp and clothing and on behalf of the wife for "club and other items" towards the sum of money owing under the pendente lite order.
There is no merit to the husband's claim that he ought not be required to make payments for the two girls when they are not with their mother, as the wife's expenditures for each child are unevenly distributed throughout the year and the suspension of support payments for a brief period when the children are not with her would be inequitable (see, Frank v. Frank, 65 A.D.2d 599). Bracken, J.P., Kooper, Lawrence, Balletta and O'Brien, JJ., concur.