The Marital Laws resources define child support in North Dakota. In North Dakota, Child support is an ongoing payment by one parent to assist the other parent with the financial support of their children.
Child support payments are often determined during the process of dissolution of a marriage through divorce, though the only requirements for requesting child support payments are the establishment of paternity and maternity.
Child support is dealt with on a state level, and North Dakota has a set of specific child support guidelines. North Dakota is one of the minorities of states that uses the “percentage of income” method for calculating child support payments.
What is the Child Support Formula in North Dakota?
North Dakota’s child support formula accounts for parents who share custody of a child, and support payments are connected to the custody split. Other special circumstances under North Dakota’s child support law consist of extraordinary medical and college costs. These costs may be additions to the basic North Dakota child support order.
Furthermore, the department of human services establishes the child support guidelines to assist the court in deciding the amount a parent will be expected to pay toward the child’s support. It is rebuttable that the amount of child support resulting from applying child support guidelines is the correct amount. The department will accept and collect reliable information from any source to establish child support guidelines.
Moreover, child support can be arranged out of court by a mutual support agreement between the parents or can be decided in North Dakota family court through a child support order. In North Dakota, several factors are considered when determining the amount of child support to be paid in court.
For instance, under the income share model, the court uses economic tables to estimate the monthly cost of raising the children. The non-custodial parent pays a percentage of the calculated cost based on their proportional share of both parents’ combined income.
This method of calculating child support is simple – a set percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income is paid monthly to the custodial parent to cover basic child support expenses. The percentage paid may be different if the non-custodial parent’s income alters.
How Does Having Shared Custody of the Child Impact Child Support in North Dakota?
All states have a method of modifying the amount of child support owed in cases where the custody agreement provides for joint or shared custody of a child between both parents.
For example, North Dakota law accounts for shared custody of a child directly in the child support formula used to calculate payment amounts. This implies that, in cases where custody is shared, the amount of child support paid by the paying parent will be decreased according to the time they have custody of the child.
How are Medical Costs Treated by Child Support in North Dakota?
North Dakota has specialized guidelines for sharing a child’s extraordinary medical care costs that are separate from and in addition to basic child support payments. Extraordinary medical costs are costs formed by things such as illness, hospital visits, or costly procedures such as getting braces.
Unlike most states, North Dakota has no special provisions for childcare costs in its child support guidelines. Child care costs are lumped into other costs of providing for the child when child support calculations are being calculated.
However, North Dakota state law does allow courts to order the non-custodial parent to contribute to their child’s college education upon graduating high school. Whether post-secondary education support is ordered and the amount that may be ordered varies depending on the situation.
How is Child Support Enforced in North Dakota and What is the Role of Child Support Lawyers?
In the state of North Dakota, child support is enforced by the state child support agency. The state agency handles the location of non-custodial parents, enforcement of support orders, and the handling of unpaid child support arrears.
The judge starts with a guideline amount when deciding how much child support to award. This is an amount the judge gets off of a chart that sets how much a parent has to pay based on that parent’s gross income and how many children the parent has to support, among other factors. The judge assumes that the guideline amount is appropriate, but each parent can argue that the amount should be more or less, and the judge will consider the best interests of the child when making the final decision.
North Dakota Child Support lawyers also play a role in this. They can guide you in your case and answer specific questions regarding the child support amount or the calculation of the amount. It is important to seek help from a professional, especially in cases where it becomes challenging to understand the laws and guidelines in the area.
What is the Duration of Child Support Payments?
Usually, a child support order lasts until the child reaches 18. But, if your child is enrolled in and attending high school when they turn 18 and still residing with you, you will continue to receive child support until whichever of these events occurs first:
- Your child graduates from high school (in which case the order lasts until the end of the month in which they graduate); and
- Your child turns 19.
Lastly, for the child support to continue until your child’s graduation, you may need to file an affidavit with the district court in the state that your child will still be in high school when they turn 18, the school they will be in, and the expected graduation date.
Can the Child Support Amount Be Modified?
The Women’s Law Organization highlights the process of modifying child support payments. If your child support order is being enforced by the state child support agency, the order will most likely be evaluated by the child support agency every three years. If, upon review, the child support agency decides that the order provides for child support payments in an amount that is inconsistent with the amount that would be required by the child support guidelines, the child support agency has the option to seek an amendment of the order.
But, if the child support payments are less than eighty-five percent of the guidelines amount (or more than one hundred fifteen percent of the guidelines amount), the child support agency is required to request an amendment of the order. Aside from the child support agency’s review, which usually takes place every three years, a parent paying child support or receiving child support can file to amend the order to match the child support guidelines.
However, if the petition for an amendment is filed within one year of when the most recent order was entered, the party seeking the amendment must demonstrate a substantial material change of circumstances.
When Do I Need to Contact a Lawyer?
If you reside in North Dakota and have questions about child support, do not hesitate to contact your North Dakota child support attorney in your area to help you. Your attorney can inform you of your rights and provide the legal guidance and assistance needed for your specific case.
