Child Support

Who pays for extracurricular activities in a divorce?

Published on: September 1, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How much does it cost to get divorced, and how does the billing process work?”

Some of the best Olympians on the world stage are children of divorced parents. Michael Phelps, Ryan Locthe, Gabby Douglas, you name ‘em. In each case, their parents had to figure out not only how to navigate the challenges of co-parenting an Olympic athlete, but how to divide up the costs and burdens of Olympic training. Given that Olympic training, with the coaches, the equipment, the travel, can cost tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, this can be a monumental undertaking. Thankfully, most divorced couples don’t have to worry about paying to get their kids into the Olympics. On a less extreme level, couples do have to consider how to tackle extracurricular expenses. To learn more about how to go about dividing up these extracurricular costs, keep reading.

Paternity in North Carolina

Published on: July 19, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What rules are there for Father’s Right in NC?”

When it comes to paternity, the law in North Carolina has been designed to favor married couples. Married couples benefit because when a child is born to a married couple, the husband and wife are automatically viewed as being legal parents of the child. This can be a great thing in that it immediately bestows important rights and responsibilities on the couple, saving the hassle of having to establish paternity. The problem is that this can work against some couples, specifically, those where the child born during the marriage is not the biological child of the husband. In these cases, the father will have to fight a rather long battle to have the presumption of paternity reversed. To learn more about paternity and how it can prove problematic in certain custody/child support cases, keep reading.

Trying to Pay Child Support in Pizza Not a Crime, Says Italian Court

Published on: May 31, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What children’s expenses are not covered by child support?”

When he divorced his ex-wife Nicoletta Zuin in 2002, Nicola Toso agreed to pay child support for their daughter, who was then six (6) years old. He paid 300 euros, about $335, a month without an issue for years.

Private School Tuition CAN Be Included in Child Support Order If You’re Wealthy Enough

Published on: May 12, 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?”

In a case that is the first of its kind for our courts, the North Carolina Court of Appeals just ruled that a child support order can include private school tuition for families whose gross income exceeds the state’s Child Support Guidelines.

Does Reconciliation After Divorce Undo Settlement Agreement?

Published on: January 12, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matt Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question: “What does a “No-Fault’ divorce mean in NC?”

Most people think that once a divorce is over, it’s over. After all, you’ve spent substantial time and money trying to undo your ties to another person, why would you continue to have contact once you’re finally free? Sometimes though, things don’t go so smoothly, life’s messy after all, and lengthy relationships can be hard to leave behind. The question becomes, once you start to muddy the water, getting back in touch with an ex after the divorce is already signed and sealed, does that reconciliation undo the terms of the divorce or will the settlement agreement remain in effect? To find out more, keep reading.

Child Support In A North Carolina Divorce

Published on: November 10, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What children’s expenses are covered by child support?”

If you have children and are facing a divorce, you likely want to understand more about the child support system and how it works in North Carolina. Given that many people only go through a divorce once, this will likely be your first rodeo and, as a result, you may have a lot of questions. To better understand child support and how it works in North Carolina, keep reading.

Are Gifts Considered Income When Calculating Child Support?

Published on: November 3, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” Are overtime, bonuses, and commissions included in calculating child support?”

Everyone knows that income plays a role in divorce. It can impact not only child support obligations, but also spousal support and, in some circumstances, equitable division of assets. What is interesting is that income includes more than just what you earn from working. Income can be from investments, income can be from bonuses and income can also be imputed. Imputation occurs when a court decides that a person should be given credit for earning a certain income, even if it isn’t really being earned.

What happens if your former spouse stops paying child support?

Published on: October 20, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What children’s expenses are not covered by child support?”

If your former spouse stops paying court ordered child support it can create a lot of problems. You may depend on that money to pay bills and suddenly having that stream of money disappear can leave you scrambling. Thankfully, you have ways to extract the money owed from your spouse. There are many ways of doing this, but a common one is to pursue a wage garnishment. To find out more about how wage garnishment works in North Carolina, keep reading.

“Magic moment” to marry is really many magic moments, study says

Published on: August 11, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What children’s expenses are not covered by child support?”

A Duke University researcher who set out to test whether the adage that unmarried parents are most receptive to the idea of getting married in the “magic moment” right after a child’s birth was true found out the post-birth magic lasts longer than a moment.

Rape victim must pay child support, may or may not get to meet his daughter

Published on: September 19, 2014 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

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

Nick Olivas said he was a lonely, 14-year-old kid going through a rough patch when his 20-year-old neighbor raped him. He said he didn’t know at the time that under Arizona law, a child under 15 could consent to sex, making him a victim of statutory rape. He didn’t press charges against the woman, but now the State of Arizona is after Olivas to pay child support for the daughter he fathered with the woman.

Olivas said he and the woman went their separate ways. He graduated high school, attended college and became a Phoenix-based medical assistant. He said he was living his life and enjoying being young when, two years ago, he was served with papers demanding child-support payments for a six-year-old daughter.

Arizona—like Kansas and California—considers the circumstances of the daughter’s conception irrelevant for child-support purposes, said Mel Felt, director of the New York-based advocacy group the National Center for Men. In 1993, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that a 13-year-old boy who impregnated his 17-year-old babysitter was liable for child support, even though he had been legally unable to consent to sex. A California state court issued a similar ruling involving a 15-year-old boy whose 34-year-old neighbor was convicted of raping him.