Absolute Divorce and Child Support

I have been fighting divorce proceedings for over 3 1/2 years. We finally have an ED settlement and alimony settlement

I was sent the absolute divorce paperwork but our child support order is is pending through child support enforcement and permanent custody order is pending.

Is it okay for me to sign the ABSOLUTE divorce with pending issues?

My daughter turned 18 and graduated in June from high school. My ex never paid the appropriate child support on the temporary order when I was pursuing a divorce from bed and board. I am hoping that child support enforcement will recoup payments. Is that possible. He was only paying 500.00 for two children and should have been paying 1010.00 based on the alimony budget information.

He wants to move to a week on week off with our youngest child 13. We currently have a 225. I need to keep my son close and ensure his schooling is going well. Is there a child support decrease with a week on on week off. It must be because he keeps badgering me about it.

Also, he wants his mother to keep our son for two weeks this summer, does that give him more days for child support and custody issues. I dont trust him.

My ex says that he should stop paying child support for my daughter and calculate only for my son and I need to give him my income. He lied and manipulated his income for the alimony and sure he will do the same now. He claimed he lost his job, (right after our initial child support hearing. He got a new job and made a point to tell me that he is making less and am not getting as much as I think. I believe it was intentional.

Is severance, unemployment, and retirement withdrawals all considered income to determine child support.

An absolute divorce does not affect custody or child support, so it is fine to proceed with the absolute divorce since equitable distribution is resolved.

It is possible that the child support enforcement agency can help you collect past due child support for your 18 year-old.

A week on/week off custody schedule is more typical for older children and teenagers. As it relates to child support, a week on/week off schedule is exactly the same as a 2-2-5 schedule. Both give each parent exactly equal time.

Any custodial time in the schedule that is allotted to him (including time with his mother), would be counted as overnights for child support. However, you could argue that since the child will be with a grandparent, that child support should not change merely because of those two weeks in a year.

Severance pay, unemployment, and retirement withdrawals are considered income for child support purposes.


Anna Ayscue

Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest

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