Both Mother and Father on Unemployment---What now?

North Carolina Divorce Law Divorce and Separation Answers
1

I have several questions today:

  1. The mother has one child and the father has the other child. Both mother and father are on unemployment due to job loss. When entering the income in the child support calculator, Do they both enter the amount they receive from Unemployment or does the father enter the amount he receives and the mother zero?

  2. While unemployed and searching for a job in his field, the father does odd construction jobs when he can get them for a little extra cash. The jobs are not consistent and weighted out, the father brings home an additional $150.00 a week cash. Does he need to include this money in the child support calculator if the work is not consistent and paid in cash?

  3. The mother will only receive unemployment for the next 6 weeks. She recieves child support now but will need other means of income. If her parents give her money monthly and they support her, does she have to include this in the child support calculator. For instance, if her parents give her $1,200 a month to live on, do we put that in the child support calcuator?

  4. If the father lands a job, that is base salary plus commission. Assuming it could take awhile to ramp up and earn that commission, what does one put in the child support calculator…the base salary or projected income?
    My concern is that the projected income might never reach what’s projected. Also, commissions are only paid out when the sale is done and completed. So is it right for the father to have to pay money every month on income that’s not there basis a projection?

Thank you.

2

Both parents need to enter the amount of unemployment they are receiving in the child support calculator, along with an average of any other income. Income from parents is also includable so long as it is consistent.

As for commissions and bonuses what I have seen the courts to is award a percentage of bonus pay as child support, the percentage would be based on the child support calculation percentage of the earning parent’s pro rata share of income given on the worksheet.