My question is if there are two kids, one recently graduated from high school and is leaving next month for the military. The other child will be 18 next month and an upcoming senior in the fall. What are the rules regarding going to court to have child support lowered and does the judge automatically request verification of income when you appear before the judge.
You should file a motion to modify child support, and list as your reason to modify that one child is aging out so that the figure can be reduced to only provide child support for one child. At the time of the hearing, you can also address that your other child’s support should terminate the following year due to age and graduation from secondary school. The court may be willing to put a specific end date in the new court order so it is clear when your obligation should terminate. The judge will run a new child support calculation, and you will need to provide verification of your income.
Ok if the second child who graduates next year, got in trouble as a juvenile for Minor B&E, if my ex is still paying for court costs, probation costs, will the judge expect those costs to be calculated with the new child support order or will the judge go solely on the income calculations from both parents. I am concerned that my ex will ask for more than what the calculations come up with based on the added costs she is paying because of his legal trouble. Thank you much.
These costs won’t be automatically factored into this child support guidelines. However, a judge has discretion to deviate from the guidelines. The language below is directly from the NC Child Support Guidelines:
“The court upon its own motion or upon motion of a party may deviate from the guidelines if, after hearing evidence and making findings regarding the reasonable needs of the child for support and the relative ability of each parent to provide support, it finds by the greater weight of the evidence that application of the guidelines would not meet, or would exceed, the reasonable needs of the child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate.”
Your ex could make a motion asking for a deviation from the guidelines based on the court/probation fees she is paying for your younger child.