Child Support

Child Support and Post Separation Support Obligations Not Affected by Religious Beliefs

Published on: June 22, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Recently, in the case of Shippen v. Shippen, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a civil contempt finding against a husband who failed to pay child support and post-separation support to his ex-wife.

Shortly after the child support payments were ordered, John Lee Shippen joined the Twelve Tribes of Israel, a religious community that prohibits its members from earning outside income or owning personal assets. Instead, the sect’s members farm and provide services to one another in exchange for food and housing.

The court found that Mr. Shippen’s failure to make payments was “willful” for the purposes of the contempt order because he had the mental and physical ability to comply with the order. Mr. Shippen alleged that he acted in good faith based on his sincerely-held religious beliefs that prevented him from earning income. The court concluded that the fact that the defendant’s religious beliefs may be sincerely held is irrelevant to his obligation to pay alimony and child support.

Divorce Predictor #6: You have a daughter.

Published on: May 7, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

If you have a daughter rather than a son, you are nearly 5 percent more likely to divorce, according to research conducted by the Council on Contemporary Families. This statistic also multiplies with each new birth in the family. Researchers theorize that this statistic exists because fathers tend to become more invested in family life when they have boys.

View and Print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Spring 2010

Published on: March 15, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

In this issue of our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter, we take a look at post-divorce issues such as automatic child support payments and changing beneficiaries on insurance policies and accounts. We also take a look at how taking a lower paying job will not always reduce child support or alimony payments. Finally, since it is tax time, we address which parent is entitled to take the tax deduction for a child in a split custody arrangement.

Click here to view and print our Charlotte Divorce Lawyer Blog Family Law Newsletter – Spring 2010:

CHARLOTTE DIVORCE LAWYER BLOG FAMILY LAW NEWSLETTER SPRING 2010

Modification of Child Support Appeal Dismissed as Interlocutory by North Carolina Court of Appeals

Published on: February 28, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

On October 20, 2009 the North Carolina Court of Appeals dismissed a father’s appeal of an Order modifying child support because it was interlocutory.

The trial court entered its Order modifying child support which required the parties to submit (within 20 days) to the court an affidavit detailing the golf related expenses incurred for the children. It would seem that the parties expended significant sums of money on golf which the trial court wished to consider in rendering its final Order.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals held that, because the Order modifying child custody did not fully dispose of the case, that the Order was interlocutory and not subject to appeal.

Lack of Financial Stability Contributes to Divorce

Published on: February 20, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to an article entitled Five Ways to Save Your Marriage published last week by CNBC, positive financial behavior contributes greatly to the long-term stability of marital relationships. Certainly, this does not come as a surprise to married couples in Charlotte working through these tough economic times.

Conversely, and also not surprisingly, according to reports by the National Marriage Project at University of Virginia, the negative effects of poor money management are one of the leading causes of divorce. Couples who do not manage their money well and contribute to savings together are more likely to accumulate marital and individual debt, which puts a great deal of stress on a marriage.

The National Marriage Project’s 2009 State of Our Unions report indicates that debt accumulation contributes to a sense of financial unease, which in turn increases a couple’s likelihood of fighting over both financial and non-financial matters.

Imputation of Income in Calculation of Child Support Considered by North Carolina Court of Appeals

Published on: February 16, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

The majority of child support cases in Charlotte are determined using the North Carolina child support guidelines. This is essentially a formula which takes into account a number of basic factors in determining the appropriate amount of child support. One of the most important variables in the child support formula is the income of both of the parents. So, what happens when one of the parents intentionally reduces their income? The trial court may impute income to that parent for purposes of calculating child support.

This issue was recently before the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the case of Thomas vs. Thomas. The trial court imputed $4,000.00 per month of income to the father based upon his actual income (earning $975 per month working part time) in relation to his expenses and the fact that he was living off of, and significantly depleting, his investments in order to maintain his standard of living. The trial court found that the father would be unable to support himself and the children if his investments continued to decrease and that the father acted willfully and in bad faith in refusing to seek “gainful employment” to make up for his investment losses. The Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s imputation of income to the father as proper.

Self Support Reserve Addressed in Child Support Calculation by North Carolina Court of Appeals

Published on: February 14, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

The North Carolina Child Support Guidelines provide for a self support reserve. Meaning that, for parents who have an income below a certain threshhold, the formula works differently. On the chart of incomes in the child support guidelines, those with incomes below that threshhold will fall into the “shaded area.” of the chart. Under the guidelines, absent a deviation, the lowest monthly child support obligation that a parent can have is $50 per month.

In the recently decided case of Allen vs. Allen, the North Carolina Court of Appeals addressed a number of issues. One of the issues addressed in this case was the proper application of the self support reserve. In this case, the mother was ordered by the trial court to contribute toward the children’s private school tuition.

Ultimately, the North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling and held that, while the mother’s income did fall within the shaded area and child care and health insurance premiums are therefore not included in the calculation, the mother’s obligation for the children’s extraordinary expenses is unaffected by her low income.

Mecklenburg County Working to Take Over Child Support Enforcement

Published on: January 23, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

As we have discussed here previously (Mecklenburg County Child Support Cases Affected? Some North Carolina Counties Scrambling for Planned Child Support Enforcement Takeover), North Carolina will no longer bear the responsibility for enforcing child support obligations. Mecklenburg County is one of the counties which currently relies on the state for child support enforcement. The Charlotte Observer reports that Mecklenburg County is evaluating various options for taking over the responsibility for enforcement of its child support cases. Starting July 1, 2010 Mecklenburg County and 27 other counties must take over the enforcement of child support payments for the cases pending in their respective counties.

The issue comes up again for the County commissioners again on Wednesday. Thus far, the evaluations have focused primarily on whether to privatize the service. The lowest bid thus far from a private contractor was $600,000.00. The cost for implementing the program utilizing a consultant and county staff would cost approximatley $1.5 million dollars. Some appear to be in favor of hiring a private company to handle the child support enforcement for at least the first two years while others question whether a private company can be as effective as the current system.

Grappling with Bankruptcies in Divorce

Published on: January 17, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

According to the Charlotte Observer and the Associated Press, bankruptcy filings in 2009 numbered 1.4 million and are up 32% nationwide.

These tough economic times cannot help but make divorce cases, which can be very difficult when times are good, all the more difficult to manage, settle and take to trial. When real estate prices were up and properties could be liquidated easily,

it was often just a matter of deciding how much of the equity each spouse would receive. Times have changed.

Child Support Modification during this Recession

Published on: January 15, 2010 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Although families are certainly feeling the impact of a recent downward turn in the economy, nationwide trends indicate that those parents who are paying child support are being hit the hardest. In most cases in North Carolina, child support is calculated using a formula. One of the most important variables in the calculation is the income of each of the parents. Because the amount of support a non-custodial parent is required to pay is usually based on his or her income, a nationwide 10% unemployment rate has made it a near impossibility for many supporting parents to meet their children’s needs.

In North Carolina, child support orders are never final. Child custody and child support orders can always be modified in the case of a substantial change in circumstances affecting the wellbeing of the child – this can include changes in the paying parent’s financial situation. Often, existing child support orders can be modified when a substantial change in circumstances has occurred that renders the non-custodial parent unable to continue to pay the original amount owed. If a parent voluntarily modifies his or her earning capacity, such as in the case of taking a lower paying job, courts are sometimes hesitant to modify child support obligations. However, in the case of a parent who finds his or herself suddenly unemployed and are seeking new employment in good faith, child support obligations can often be modified.