In most cases, child support is determined by using the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines are presumed to be the amount that would spent on the child on a monthly basis if the parties remained together. The guidelines are based on each parties' income, and the number of children. The guidelines also factor in the costs of daycare, health insurance, child support payments for other children, and other extraordinary expense.

In North Carolina, there are three "schedules" used in calculating child support under the guidelines. The most common is used when one party has primary physical custody (in other words, the child(ren) live with one party subject to the other parties visitation). The second is used when the parties have "joint" physical custody. This occurs when one party has the child(ren) most of the year, but the other party has visitation at least 123 days during the year. The third schedule is used when the parties have "split" custody. This occurs when there is more than one child, and one child lives with one parent, and the other child lives with the other parent.

A party can show that the guidelines should not be used if their actual expenses exceed the guidelines or below the guidelines. This is called a request for a deviation. If a party can convince a judge that the guidelines should not be used, then the judge may choose not to apply them and order a different amount of child support. Of course, the parties can always agree to an amount of child support that differs from the guidelines. Few judges will interfere with this type of decision unless they are convinced the needs of the child(ren) are not being met.

Finally, once a judge has entered a child support order, only a judge can change that order. Any agreement you make with the child's other parent that changes the terms of the child support order entered by the court is not valid unless and until a judge signs a new order that includes the changes. A lot of clients get in trouble this way when the other parent agrees to lower the amount of support either verbally or in writing after the court has already entered an order. Then when the parties stop getting along with each other, the party who is supposed to pay support often will find themselves in court for failing to pay the child support as ORDERED. Or if you are the party receiving the support, the other party may not follow through on their promises, and you will not be able to enforce those promises. The fact that the other party agreed to a reduction or any other change outside of court is not a defense, and is often difficult to prove anyway.

If your income has changed, you probably need to file a motion to modify your child support. In the meantime, you need to pay as much of your child support as often. If a judge does grant your modification, they can only make the change effective from the date you filed your motion to modify the support, not the date your wages decreased. If you wait too long, you will only get further behind. If you are being summoned to court on a motion for contempt for failing to pay child support, you must have a valid excuse for failing to pay the amount as order. If you pay little or nothing, and the judge finds that you could have paid more, you will likely be held in contempt and you can be put in jail for either 30 days, or until you pay the amount owed. Telling the judge that you couldn't pay your support because you had to make your car payment or some other bill will not be considered a valid excuse. In the eyes of the court, your children come before your car or any other bills you have, and remember, they can't put you in jail if you don't make your car payment, but they can, and often will, if you don't make your child support payment.

All of this said, I represent many clients who are behind on their child support payments, and I am often successful in keeping them out of jail. But this depends a lot on you making an honest effort to pay what you owe.