Cary Child Support Attorney

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.

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.