Self-employed parents must maintain careful records of their income sources and business expenses. These records serve as evidence during child support proceedings. The court may scrutinize bank statements, tax returns and business records to establish a comprehensive financial picture.
If the parent has no recent work history, a court will impute income of no less than the applicable minimum wage for a 40-hour workweek. Income will not be imputed to a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated.
In North Carolina, there is no exact amount to how far behind someone gets in child support before they go to jail. The court looks at all the circumstances, but it's possible that they could put someone in jail for owing a small amount.
If employers fail to submit payments in a timely manner they can be subject to enforcement action for noncompliance. Employers who submit checks that are returned for insufficient funds will lose their check writing privileges and face enforcement action per NC statutes.
Employers who do not withhold and send child support payments as ordered are subject to penalties in every state. These may include repayment of the amount of the child support plus penalties and fines.
The Guidelines set a minimum child support amount of $91.00 per child per month.