If you have a child support matter in Wake County, North Carolina, Attorney Jaime Williams can represent you during the process.
Child support decisions are almost entirely based on the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines. The guidelines mandate a strict schedule of payments based on the combined income of the parents. The Court can deviate from the guidelines. However, the Court must make specific findings of fact upon which it bases the deviation.
Typically, child support is calculated based on the gross monthly income of each parent, the monthly work-related child care expenses, and the monthly cost of health insurance and extraordinary expenses.
Extraordinary expenses are defined as:
a) uninsured medical expenses that exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00),
b) medical expenses for costs that are reasonably necessary for orthodontia, dental treatments, asthma treatments, physical therapy, and any insured chronic health problem,
c) expenses relating to specific educational needs of a child, and
d) transportation expenses for the child to travel between the parents’ homes.
Private educational expenses are not included unless the child’s educational needs cannot be satisfied in a public school setting. The court does not have the authority to order payment for a child’s college education.
Parents incomes are compared to determine the proportion of responsibility for each parent (i.e., 70/30 division). Generally, costs such as uninsured medicals and child care costs are split at this proportion.
The Court will impute income to a parent who is found to be voluntarily depressing his or her income or who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
Court-ordered child support is payable until the child turns 18, or, if the child is still attending school regularly, until age 20.
Contact Our Attorneys
Jaime Williams focuses her practice on family law in Wake County — divorce, child custody and support, alimony, post-separation support, separation, pre-nuptial agreements, name changes, and appeals.
You are welcome to contact us regarding your family law issue.
To schedule a consultation to discuss a family law issue, please telephone us at (919) 789-4677 or complete the contact form below.