Cary Child Support Lawyers
In North Carolina, both parents have a legal obligation to support their
minor child. Child support is a claim that either parent can bring to
court at any time prior to the time that the child support obligation
would end under the law. In general, child support obligations last until
the child turns 18 years old or is emancipated. In some cases, child support
can last until the child reaches age 20 if he or she has not graduated
from high school.
In the vast majority of cases, the amount of child support that a court
will order to be paid is determined by the North Carolina Child Support
Guidelines. In this sense, North Carolina child support “laws”
are most essentially defined by the Child Support Guidelines. The purpose
of child support is to meet the “reasonable needs” of the
child, including for healthcare, educational, and other basic necessities.
The North Carolina Child Support Guidelines offer a guide for reasonable
monthly child support based on each family’s unique factors, including
each parent’s income, amount owed for other child support obligations,
and the necessary expenses for the child. Child support is not automatically
divided and is allocated according to each party’s resources.
If you feel that the recommended child support amount is unreasonable,
your attorney must request in advance of trial (at least 10 days) for
special considerations to deviate from the Guidelines.
North Carolina Child Support Calculation: Parents’ Incomes
North Carolina courts require documents and records to assist in the calculation
of child support. Under the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines, child
support calculations are based on the parents' current gross incomes.
However, if a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court
may consider earning capacity (i.e., potential income) when computing
child support. This means that the court can assume an income amount for
the purpose of calculating child support, even when the parent is not
actually earning this income. In other words, the court can determine
that the parent should be earning a certain income and base the child
support amount on the income that the parent should be earning.
However, before making this determination, the court must first make a
specific finding that the parent is acting in “bad faith”
by remaining unemployed or underemployed. The court has relatively broad
discretion to determine if there has been “bad faith” in a
particular case. A common example of “bad faith” would be
quitting a job without a good reason close to the time of the child support hearing.
The Child Support Guidelines do not apply above a certain income amount,
if one or both parents have “high incomes” (defined as
combined income of the parents exceeding $300,000 per year). In these “high income”
child support cases, the court has much broader discretion to determine
the appropriate amount of child support to be paid to meet the reasonable
needs of the child. In these cases, the Child Support Guidelines worksheet
formulas and support schedules are not presumed to be reasonable and are
not required to be followed.
North Carolina Child Support Calculation Documents
In Wake County, every party to a Family Court action in which child support
is an issue has the duty to provide “Initial Disclosures”
regarding their income and expenses related to the child’s needs.
At the time a complaint for child support is filed, the plaintiff should
gather his or her financial documents, provide Initial Disclosures, and
file his or her Certification of Initial Disclosures with the court within
fifteen (15) days after the defendant is officially served with the complaint
for child support. For Initial Disclosures, both parties will be required
to provide three (3) months’ worth of pay stubs, income tax returns
for the last two (2) years, among a list of other financial disclosure
documents that may be applicable. Sanctions may be imposed for failure
to comply with these rules on the motion of a party or by the court on
its own motion.
How Long Does Child Support Last?
A parent’s obligation to pay child support continues until the child
reaches age 18 (unless the child is emancipated prior to reaching age
18). However, if the child is still in high school when he or she reaches
age 18, child support will continue after age 18 and until the child graduates.
However, the court may order that child support terminate prior to the
child graduating from high school if it determines that the child is not
making satisfactory progress toward graduation. A child support obligation
absolutely terminates at age 20, even if the child has not yet graduated
from high school.
A party by written agreement (or consent court order) may obligate himself
or herself to make child support payments in an agreed upon amount beyond
age 18 and after child support would have otherwise terminated. For example,
a parent may agree to pay for college education expenses. There is no
mandatory legal obligation for a parent to pay for college education expenses
or other expenses of an adult child after child support terminates. However,
if a parent voluntarily agrees to make such payments, the court will fully
enforce this agreement and obligation, so long as the written agreement
(or consent court order) is properly drafted and executed.
How Can Child Support Be Modified?
If there is an existing child support order in place, either parent can
petition the court to change its existing order of child support by showing
that circumstances affecting the reasonable needs of the child have substantially
changed since the time that the order was first entered. The North Carolina
Child Support Guidelines presume that there has been a substantial change
of circumstances if it has been at least three years since the entry of
the current child support order and the amount of child support ordered
under the existing order has changed by at least 15% .
North Carolina Child Support Tax Calculation
Child support is not taxable as income to the receiving parent and is not
a tax deduction for the paying parent (unlike alimony payments).
The North Carolina Child Support Guidelines assume that the parent who
receives child support is the parent that is entitled to claim the tax
exemptions for that child. According to the IRS code, the federal tax
exemptions for each child go to the parent who has the child the majority
of the time. In most cases, the parent that is receiving child support
is the parent that has the child the majority of the time.
However, in cases of 50/50 custody there may be circumstances where the
parent receiving child support is not the parent entitled under the IRS
code to claim the tax exemptions. In these cases, one should consider
asking the court to deviate from the Child Support Guidelines. These tax
exemptions can be claimed by either parent if both parents agree. If the
parents are able to agree on child support terms, often they will agree
to alternate claiming the tax exemptions for each child from year to year.
How To Calculate Your North Carolina Child Support Obligation?
To calculate approximate child support payments in North Carolina, use
the child support Worksheet* that best describes your child custody situation.
Child Support Worksheet A (Primary Custody)
Use this worksheet when one parent has primary physical custody of all
of the children for whom support is being determined. Primary physical
custody is defined under the Guidelines as having each child stay with
the parent at least 243 overnights per year.
Child Support Worksheet B (Joint/Shared Custody)
Use this worksheet when: (a) Parents share custody of all the children
for whom support is being determined, or (b) One parent has primary physical
custody of one or more of the children and the parents share custody of
another child. Parents share custody of a child if the child lives with
each parent for at least 123 overnights during the year.
Child Support Worksheet C (Split Custody)
Use this worksheet when primary physical custody of two or more children
is split between the parents so that one parent has primary physical custody
of one child and the other parent has primary physical custody of the
other child
Getting Started
Montgomery Family Law is seasoned in child support law firm in North Carolina.
If a child support agreement can be reached through negotiation (including
through mediation) we are well-equipped to create a fair and enforceable
child support settlement agreement. If necessary, we are also skilled
and aggressive at litigating child support with the North Carolina courts.
We know how to apply the nuances of North Carolina child support laws
and argue effectively to ensure that a fair and appropriate child support
amount is entered by the court.
Contact us today
for assistance at (919) 348-2317.
