Child Support Lawyer in Fayetteville, NC

Child Support is calculated by the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines. The guidelines take into account each parent’s gross incomes, child care expenses, health insurance expenses and extraordinary expenses when calculating the amount owed by the non-custodial parent to the custodial parent. The custodial parent can seek child support by initiating a case through North Carolina Child Support Enforcement, by filing their own complaint for child support or by hiring an attorney to file a complaint for child support. You do not have to have a child custody order in place in order to seek child support, but it can be helpful. Child Support can also be paid voluntarily by the non-custodial parent, but this could present enforcement issues in the event of non-payment or late payments. By statute, child support terminates when the minor child becomes emancipated. Terminating events include, but are not limited to, the child turning eighteen (18) or graduating from high school, whichever occurs later.