Child Support in North Carolina: A Brief Overview of the Latest Guidelines 

The most current guidelines took effect at the start of 2019 and cover all of the most common situations. A quick look at some of the most frequently applicable details could help clarify how child support obligations are determined in North Carolina. 

Perhaps the most important issue to understand is that the guidelines established by the Conference of Chief District Judges are exactly that. While judges statewide are encouraged to hew closely to the included recommendations wherever appropriate, they are also granted a fair amount of leeway. 

As such, even a significant deviation from the guidelines will not necessarily be seen as a reason to have a child support determination declared invalid per se. While adherence to the currently operative guidelines does establish a "rebuttable presumption," the first word in that phrase should not be overlooked. 

North Carolina's current child support guidelines are meant to apply in fairly straightforward fashion to most situations that crop up, in practice, in court. At the same time, they also include special provisions that cover cases where particularly low or notably high levels of income alter the picture: 

One of the most frequently invoked special clauses of the current guidelines covers situations where the usual child support obligations could force a parent into poverty or worse. Many parents whose adjusted gross income comes in at less than 110 percent of the federal poverty level can expect a minimal monthly child support obligation of $50. The guidelines also encourage judges to reduce child support obligations for low-income parents where childcare or health insurance expenses are already being paid. 

The table that North Carolina judges are encouraged to use to determine child support obligations covers only combined parental income levels of up to about $360,000 per year. Above that amount, judges are advised to make sure that the needs of children for "health, education, and maintenance" will be covered in a fashion appropriate to the assets and income of the parents. 

In the vast middle ground where exceptions like those above do not apply, things become quite a bit more predictable. North Carolina's system is based on a nationally recognized model developed by the federally funded Child Support Guidelines Project. 

That group's key conclusion was that children are always best served when both parents are required to contribute toward their support. Another important finding was that the combined amount of money spent supporting children after divorce should track closely with the figure that was previously typical. 

The current child support schedule that North Carolina judges rely so heavily upon was developed by applying these conclusions to recent economic data provided by Colorado's family-focused Center for Policy Research. As such, parents should generally find their assessed obligations to be fair and reasonable, when all these issues are taken into account.