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Child Support

Asheville Child Support Lawyers

Ensuring that children have the financial benefits they need to live their best lives possible in North Carolina

Every day and every month, the bills for your child come due. There’s the mortgage or rent so your child can have a home. The cost of food always seems to be going up. Every time your child grows another size, you need money for your child’s clothes. Other costs for children include computers, school lunches, mobile phones, healthcare, dental costs, and many other expenses. The cost for parents to live apart is much more than the cost to live together.

At Epperson Law Group, PLLC, our lawyers work to ensure parents financially support their child in as close a lifestyle as before the separation/divorce. Our Asheville child support lawyers will help you obtain just and fair child support orders, enforce those orders, and modify them when necessary.

How can we help?

Areas of Focus

 

What factors determine the amount of child support in North Carolina?

North Carolina determines the amount of child support based on specific guidelines. For the most part, the guidelines examine the income of each parent. Generally, the Buncombe County Family Court does not examine the expenses.

Our Asheville child custody lawyers handle child support based on the following three classifications:

The guideline factors include the following:

  • Each parent’s income. This amount includes wages, salary, self-employment income, business income, and imputed income.
  • Any support obligations for other children.
  • The number of children is common to both parents.
  • The child custody order and the parenting plan
  • Any special needs of your child. These expenses may include healthcare, education costs, and childcare.

At Epperson Law Group, PLLC, we work with accountants, appraisers, and other financial experts to determine the “true” value of your co-parent’s income, We review tax returns, business returns, rental income, investments, your co-parent’s style of living, and any other income sources to ensure they are not deliberately trying to hide or reduce their income in order to pay less support.

Generally, the income of a co-parent’s new spouse is not part of the support calculation.

Judges can use other factors and their discretion in high-income cases (when the combined income of both parents is more than $300,000 per year).

Who is responsible for paying child support in Asheville?

Each parent must support their child/children according to their income and the factors we discuss above. Generally, the parent who has less physical custody time pays support to the parent with more physical custody time. Some exceptions may apply, such as when the parent who cares for the child for more days during the year earns substantially more than the other parent.

What expenses does a child support order pay?

The North Carolina courts generally do not monitor how the parent who receives child support spends the money – provided the child is healthy and happy and their basic needs are being met. If a parent doesn’t pay the rent, buy clothes, or feed their child, that’s a problem that must be resolved. The parent who receives support can keep an accounting of the expenses, but there is no general requirement for them to do so.

Child support payments should pay for the following expenses for your child:

  • Home expenses, including utilities
  • Clothing
  • Food and drink
  • Health insurance
  • Child care
  • Transportation
  • School and after-school functions
  • Entertainment
  • Childcare
  • Activities with friends
  • Any special educational or health needs of your child
  • Other expenses depending on the parent’s lifestyle

How long does a child support order last?

Generally, the duty to pay child support ends when your child turns 18 unless both parents agree that their child should attend college or obtain other post-high school education. The duty to pay child support may also terminate if your child marries at age 17 or joins the military. Additionally, the duty to pay child support may continue until your child turns 20 if they are still in high school – provided your child is making academic progress. Parents may also have a duty to pay child support for a child’s lifetime if the child has a disability.

Can a child support order be modified in Asheville?

At Epperson Law Group, PLLC, we seek to modify child support orders (or contest modifications by a co-parent). To qualify for a modification, the parent who requests the change must show that there is a significant change in circumstances that justifies an increase or a decrease.

These changes include:

  • The income of either parent changes
  • The health of a child or parent changes
  • A parent becomes a parent again
  • A child develops special needs
  • A parent is deployed
  • A parent is in jail

Generally, the request for a modification can be made if the current child support order is at least three years old and the new support order, according to the guidelines, would change the amount of the order by 15% or more.

How does child support work when parents aren’t married?

Parents must support their child/children whether they are married or not. If parents are not married (or divorced), then paternity may be an issue. Usually, the courts determine paternity by the use of a DNA test.

Can a parent stop child support payments if their visitation rights aren’t being honored?

No. The parent who pays support cannot stop paying child support if the co-parent is not complying with a parenting plan or a visitation order. The parent’s remedy is to seek enforcement of the parenting plan/visitation order. Both parents must put the needs of their child first.

If a parent fails to pay child support, our Asheville child support lawyers will file a motion with the court to compel payment. The court can then order that the obligor parent’s wages be attached or garnished. The court could also sentence the obligor parent to jail until they make arrangements to pay any arrearages.

Do you have an Asheville child support lawyer near me?

At Epperson Law Group, PLLC, our family lawyers meet parents at our Asheville office located at 1998 Hendersonville Rd, #25 Asheville, NC 28803. We also speak with clients by phone and through video.

Our attorneys understand that your child’s financial needs are a top priority.

Talk with our Asheville child support attorneys now

Your child deserves the best that both parents can afford. Paying for your child’s development shouldn’t be a chore – it should be a joy. At Epperson Law Group, PLLC, our family lawyers have helped numerous parents and children obtain and enforce the child support orders they deserve. Our family lawyers understand how to show your co-parent’s income and how to obtain an enforceable child support order. We help enforce orders so that the child support payments are made on time.

We represent both the parents who receive support and the parents who pay support – depending on which parent is our client. To schedule a free consultation, please call us or fill out our contact form.