Child Support

Paying Child Support in North Carolina

Published on: July 3, 2019 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How is the amount of child support decided in North Carolina?”

When a couple divorces, or otherwise separates, it is not uncommon for the parent without full custody of the child be required to pay child support to the parent primarily raising the child. Child support payments are supposed to help pay for the costs of raising a child and ensuring that the child’s needs are met. Housing costs, food, transportation, and other day-to-day living expenses are among the basic necessities that child support payments can cover. What happens, however, if the parent ordered to make the payments in not able to pay the required child support? When judges make a child support ruling, are there things that they must keep in mind?

Three Major Issues in Family Law Cases

Published on: February 13, 2019 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How will the judge divide our property?”

Every divorce and family law case is different because every family is different. There are different family dynamics, marital assets, and child custody disputes. While the specific facts of each case are different, there are commonalities among many family law divorce cases. The following are the three of the major issues that commonly arise in a divorce proceedings.

How do I Collect Owed Child Support in North Carolina?

Published on: December 5, 2018 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “Who pays for the children’s health insurance and co-pays?”

Adjusting to life with children after divorce can be difficult. Suddenly, after having spent the past years or months with a spouse sharing the responsibilities of parenthood, you are suddenly left caring for your children alone. One of the biggest changes after divorce is the family’s finances. Instead of the income of two parents supporting one household, there is now only one income. In North Carolina, child support payments are often ordered in divorce and child custody agreements to ensure that the children have the resources to be cared for, regardless of the marital status of the parents. While child support is an option, sometimes it is difficult to collect the child support owed. There are different ways that child support orders can be enforced.

Chicago Finally Abolishes Dual-Track Family Law Court

Published on: October 11, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

Legal battles over custody and child support are miserable for everyone involved. They take time, money and create enormous amounts of stress given the importance of the subject matter: your kids. Though unpleasant, the process should at least be uniformly unpleasant, meaning that everyone suffers equally as these issues are resolved. In Chicago, an outdated court system meant that not all family law issues were handled the same way, putting some families in a better position than others. Thankfully, that two-track system has finally been abolished and all family law matters will be resolved by one unified domestic relations court.

Change to Illinois Family Law Causes Concern

Published on: May 31, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How is the amount of child support decided in North Carolina?”

Family law is an aspect of our legal system that can sometimes seem immune to change. It can take years for the family law world to react to changes in society, and even longer for those changes to trickle down through the various states. One state that hasn’t changed its family laws in decades is Illinois. Legislators there have decided to finally tackle the outdated legal code and are in the midst of a multi-year overhaul.

Tennessee Judge Says Woman Has The Rights of a Husband

Published on: May 24, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What are my custody rights if the other parent moves?”

Though it’s gone smoothly in some places, other courts in more conservative states have had a bumpy road adapting to changed legal realities since the landmark same-sex marriage case decided by the Supreme Court in 2015. A good example of this is in Tennessee, where one same-sex couple has spent months and months fighting to get a divorce, something that has proven harder than many expected.

Insurance Company Offers Divorce Coverage

Published on: May 17, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How is the amount of child support decided in North Carolina?”

Most people know that it’s important to have health insurance. Same thing with car insurance or life insurance or homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance. We rely on insurance, in all its many forms, to protect us when things go badly and we encounter some financial setbacks that we aren’t able to cover on our own. It’s based on this premise that an insurance company recently announced it would begin offering divorce insurance, adding to the long list of insurance that a person could consider paying for.

Until Death Do You Part

Published on: December 22, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What children’s expenses are covered by child support?”

When you make the decision to divorce, you might understandably believe that what once was a lifetime connection to your former spouse gets severed. Though it’s true the nature of your relationship will change in many ways, some official and legal, some not so much, it doesn’t always mean that you’re able to neatly part ways. In some cases, when a former spouse dies you might find yourself embroiled in issues you thought were safely in the past.

Illinois Implements New Rules To Simplify Divorce Process

Published on: December 6, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “Do I need an attorney to get a Divorce in North Carolina?”

Anyone with friends or family who have been through the process have likely heard how difficult divorce can be. Even putting aside the emotional toll (a hard feat to accomplish), the costs, time, uncertainty and bureaucratic difficulties of divorce can be overwhelming, especially to those with limited financial resources. Legislators in Illinois realized this and made a big effort to roll out a host of changes to the state’s divorce process. These new rules aim to simplify and streamline divorce and custody proceedings as well as standardize the approach taken to awarding spousal maintenance (also known as alimony) and child support.

Can I Sue My Parent for Decades-Old Unpaid Child Support?

Published on: October 18, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What children’s expenses are covered by child support?”

MarketWatch shared a reader query this week from a man named Marc who wanted to know if he could sue his “deadbeat dad” for the decades of unpaid child support his father owed him and his mother. Marc’s father, from whom he has been estranged for the last 15 years, owes child support debt dating all the way back to 1956.