Maybe you and your spouse are planning to negotiate a child support agreement on your own, with the help of your legal representatives. If you can’t agree on a fair amount, a judge will make the decisions about child support.
Either way, it’s important to know what North Carolina law says about child support. There are numerous misconceptions about child support, so it’s important to know the facts.
What’s the purpose of child support?
When co-parents separate or divorce, both are generally responsible for supporting their children until they’re 18 (20 if still in high school) unless a parent has lost their parental rights. It’s intended “for the purpose of meeting the reasonable needs of the parent’s child for health (including health insurance premiums), education and maintenance” (including food, clothing and shelter).
Is child support necessary if the parents share custody?
In the not-so-distant past, fathers typically paid child support to their child’s mother because that’s who the child lived with (at least primarily) and the father generally had the larger income. Today, parents are more likely to share custody. Further, the co-parents’ income is more likely to be comparable or the mother may earn more.
One parent can be ordered to pay child support to the other based on a number of factors, including:
- Both parents’ income
- How many nights the child spends with each parent (if custody is shared)
- The cost of basic support and other expenses like special medical care or extracurricular activities
Support is influenced by the realities of whether one parent has sole custody, parents have joint custody or there’s a split custody arrangement (where each parent has custody of one or more children).
Child support and custody/visitation
Parents often think that child support and custody are mutually dependent. If the paying parent isn’t abiding by the child support order, they believe they can deny them their custody or visitation time. If the parent receiving support isn’t cooperating with the custody or visitation agreement, the paying parent often believes they have a right to withhold support.
Neither is true – or legal. Both monetary support and parenting time are intended to be in the best interest of the child. If a parent isn’t paying the ordered support, the other parent has a variety of legal options to get that support.
Child support is often one of the most consequential aspects of any parental break-up. If you have questions or concerns at any point, it’s important to rely on experienced legal guidance to protect your and your child’s rights.
