Pursuant to GS 50-13.4(c1), the North Carolina Conference of Chief District Court Judges recently reviewed the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines. The Chief Judges considered comments and information from the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts in the form of a report from the national Center for Policy Research, recommendations from judges and practicing attorneys across the state, and suggestions from the public during a public hearing held on June 2, 2022. Following this review, the Chief Judges updated the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations to reflect current tax rates, the most recent Consumer Price Index and the current federal poverty level. In addition, the Chief Judges adopted a few changes to the substantive provisions of the Guidelines discussed below.
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Tag: child support guidelines
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It is time to review the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines
N.C. Gen. Stat. 50-13.4 requires the North Carolina Conference of Chief District Court Judges to prescribe uniform statewide presumptive guidelines for determining the child support obligations of parents, and to review the guidelines periodically (at least once every four years) to determine whether their application results in appropriate child support orders. The Conference of Chief District Court Judges currently is reviewing the statewide presumptive child support guidelines.
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Child Support: Extraordinary Expenses in Guideline Cases
The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently affirmed the trial court order in Madar v. Madar, (Dec. 31, 2020), that required both parents to pay costs associated with their child’s mental health treatment in a residential treatment facility in addition to their basic child support obligation pursuant to the Child Support Guidelines. The court held that the Child Support Guidelines give the trial court the discretion to determine when parents should be ordered to pay such ‘extraordinary expenses’ as part of their child support obligation. Because ordering the payment of extraordinary expenses does not constitute a deviation from the Child Support Guidelines, a trial court is not required to make findings of fact to support its decision that the expenses are reasonable and necessary or that the parties have the ability to pay.
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Amendments to Chapter 50B and to the Child Support Guidelines
Today’s post describes two unrelated but important developments in the area of family law. The first section of the post discusses legislative amendments to Chapter 50B regarding Domestic Violence Protection Orders that became effective December 1, 2019. The second section of the post discusses amendments to the Child Support Guidelines adopted by the Conference of Chief District Court Judges effective March 1, 2020 to bring North Carolina into conformity with federal child support regulations.