Hickory Child Support Lawyer

Even as you’re undergoing a divorce or separation, Hickory child support attorneys make it easy for you to contribute to your child’s future. Specifically, we can help you understand how North Carolina law can impact your upcoming child support payments.

North Carolina does not demand that each parent provide the same amount of financial support to a child. The state’s approach is more nuanced. We can assess your child’s financial needs and determine what ability you and another parent have to meet those needs, based on your circumstances at the time you discuss child support.

We specifically turn to North Carolina’s Child Support Guidelines for help establishing your baseline child support payments. You can also expect a court to issue you child support worksheets A, B, or C as you discuss upcoming payments. You can go through these documents with a child support attorney and ask any questions you may have about your financial future.

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North Carolina’s willingness to divide child support responsibility between parents based on a parent’s current income is, under the best of circumstances, considerate of the financial stressors that may impact your life. In general, the state will consider the following factors when first establishing your expected payments:

• Your monthly income
• The possibility for an increase in income, including fluctuating investments
• The child’s needs, including schooling, healthcare, and daily essentials
• Planning for emergencies
• The child’s standard of living

While courts do take the possibility of a change in your income into account when calculating child support payments, these payments are most often fixed courtesy of the data you provided at the time of support negotiations. If you want to modify your child support payments, you may have to work with a child support attorney to take your case back to court.

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The first time you agree on child support payments, you still need to go to court to get the applicable documents enforced by a judge. Should you find yourself disagreeing about the nature of your child support payments later in life, you may also be expected to return to court to argue your case.

Altering Child Support Payments as a Child Ages

Drastic life changes can feel like they come out of nowhere. If you abruptly find yourself unable to provide your child with the child support payments you used to, you can request that a court modify the amount of support you’re expected to pay. 

You must file a Motion to Modify if you want to alter your child support order. Upon bringing your motion forward, be prepared to present financial information detailing why you believe you can no longer make the payments that you used to. You can work with our child support lawyers to make this case to both a judge and to your child’s other parent.

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