Child Custody and Child Support

The key words in North Carolina for determining arrangements involving the children are "best interest of the child."

CHILD CUSTODY
Mediation
If a custody action is filed with the Court, the parties are usually required to participate in a mediation session before the case goes to trial.  While the parties are required to participate in the mediation, they are not required to come to an agreement on custody terms and the mediator has no authority to impose a custody arrangement. Any agreement that the parties might reach in such a child custody mediation session will become a court order.

Legal Custody
"Joint legal custody" describes a common and presumptive arrangement where both parents are required to collaborate in decision making involving major issues for the children. Typically, one parent will be designated as having primary physical custody, with the other parent having secondary physical custody or visitation. There is no presumptive residential schedule, and courts welcome mutually agreeable residential arrangements.

Physical Custody
A parent with whom the children reside for more than 183 overnights per year is said to have has primary physical custody, with the other parent having secondary physical custody or visitation. The number of overnights that the children spend with each parent throughout the year is one of the factors to be considered in establishing an appropriate amount of child support. 

CHILD SUPPORT
If the parties are unable to agree upon an appropriate amount of child support, a Judge will make this determination after considering income and perhaps expensive evidence. In almost every case, one parent will be ordered to provide monthly child support payments to the other parent. The court will almost always calculate the amount of child support using the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines.  

The Guidelines are based on the gross incomes of the parents and the number of nights that the children spend with each parent. A Judge is permitted to deviate from the resulting child support figures but only if extraordinary circumstances warrant such a deviation. 

Modification of Child SupportBoth child custody and child support are issues that can be raised initially or be modified at any time prior to a child’s reaching age 18, is emancipated or graduates, depending on the circumstance. Either parent can petition the court to change its prior custody or support order based on proving that there has been a substantial change in the overall circumstances affecting the welfare of the children.

Termination of Child Support
All child support obligations continue until the child reaches the age of 18, unless the child is legally emancipated sooner. If the child is attending primary or secondary school when he or she reaches age 18, the court will order support payments to continue until graduation, unless the child fails to attend school on a regular basis or reaches age 20, whichever occurs first.  

A parent may agree to pay child support beyond these time periods but the court does not have the authority to require a parent to pay for a child's college education. Also a Court does not have the authority to require a parent to maintain life insurance for the benefit of a child.

Tax Consequences
Unlike post-separation support and alimony, child support is not taxable as income to the recipient parent and is not a tax deduction to the paying parent. Parents often negotiate child support amounts to take into account tax consequences concerning income, dependency exemptions, and other income tax matters related to child support. The Guideline amounts are based on the assumption that the primary custodial parent claims dependency exemptions for the children.

Any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this Web site is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.