North Carolina Child Support Laws
Go to another North Carolina divorce page.

The following is a summary of North Carolina child support laws, and is by no means intended to be an all-inclusive description of what to expect in your particular case. In some cases, the exact text of the statute may have been simplified and/or modified to provide for easier understanding. For a more specific understanding of the laws, you should consult the full North Carolina Statutes and/or consult with an attorney about how the law might apply to your particular situation.

 

Gross Income and Deductions.
The basic child support obligation is determined using a schedule, based on the parents' gross income. Gross income means a parent's actual income from any source, except benefits received from public assistance programs. Except as otherwise provided, income does not include the income of a person who isn't the child's parent, regardless of whether that person is married to or lives with the child's parent.

Child support payments actually made by a parent under any preexisting court order, separation agreement or voluntary support arrangement are deducted from the parent's gross income to determine the current child support obligation. Actual payments of alimony should not be considered as a deduction from gross income but may be considered as a factor to vary from the final presumptive child support obligation.

A parent's financial responsibility for his or her natural or adopted children who currently reside with the parent (other than children for whom child support is being determined in the pending action) is deducted from the parent's gross income. Use of this deduction is appropriate when a child support order is entered or modified, but may not be the sole basis for modifying an existing order.

 

Additional Expenses Included in Basic Child Support Obligation.
Reasonable child care costs that are, or will be, paid by a parent due to employment or job search are added to the basic child support obligation and prorated between the parents based on their respective incomes.

The amount that is, or will be, paid by a parent for health (medical, or medical and dental) insurance for the children for whom support is being determined is added to the basic child support obligation and prorated between the parents based on their respective incomes.

Other extraordinary child-related expenses may be added to the basic child support obligation and ordered paid by the parents in proportion to their respective incomes if the court determines the expenses are reasonable, necessary, and in the child's best interest.

 

Health Insurance.
The court may order that uninsured medical or dental expenses in excess of $250 per year or other uninsured health care costs be paid by the parents in proportion to their respective incomes.

The court may order either parent to obtain and maintain health (medical or medical and dental) insurance coverage for a child if it is actually and currently available to the parent at a reasonable cost. If health insurance is not currently available to a parent at a reasonable cost, the court may enter an order requiring the parent to obtain and maintain health insurance for a child if and when the parent has access to reasonably-priced health insurance for the child.

 

Imputed Income.
If either parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, child support may be calculated based on the parent's potential, rather than actual, income. Potential income may not be imputed to a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated or is caring for a child who is under the age of three years and for whom child support is being determined. The amount of potential income imputed to a parent must be based on the parent's employment potential and probable earnings level based on the parent's recent work history, occupational qualifications and prevailing job opportunities and earning levels in the community. If the parent has no recent work history or vocational training, potential income should not be less than the minimum hourly wage for a 40-hour work week.

 

Deviation from the Guidelines.
The court shall determine the amount of child support payments by applying the presumptive guidelines. However, the court may consider evidence that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate, or would not meet or would exceed the reasonable needs of the child, considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support. In these cases, the Court may vary from the guidelines.

 

Child Support Termination Date.
Child support terminates when the child is emancipated or reaches the age of 18, whichever occurs first, except: if the child is still in primary or secondary school when the child reaches age 18, support payments shall continue until the child graduates, otherwise ceases to attend school on a regular basis, fails to make satisfactory academic progress towards graduation, or reaches age 20, whichever comes first, unless the court in its discretion orders that payments cease at age 18 or prior to high school graduation.

 

Learn more about general child support laws.

 

If your divorce is uncontested, we would love to guide you through the process from beginning to end. Learn more about how our uncontested divorce services can help you through your divorce.

Other pages on North Carolina laws:
General North Carolina Divorce Laws
Alimony Divorce Laws in North Carolina
North Carolina Child Custody Laws
North Carolina Child Support Laws
North Carolina Laws on Property Division

 

© Help Yourself Divorce 2002-2008

 

IMPORTANT: Help Yourself Divorce is a paralegal service, not a law firm. Please don't rely on this information for legal advice. Seek help from an attorney if you need legal advice.

This information has been summarized from the North Carolina statutes. You can find the full-text version of these and other North Carolina divorce statutes online here: North Carolina Divorce Laws.