A judge in North Carolina is also permitted to deviate, upwards or downwards, from the guideline amount in cases where the guideline number is less, or more, than the child actually needs. If a party wishes a deviation from the Guidelines, there needs to be evidence supporting this variance.
Examples warranting deviation include the standard of living of the children, unusual necessary expenses, support taking an untraditional form, unusual visitation scheduling, extraordinary health care costs, special education fees, transportation expenses to facilitate long-distance visitation, and other demonstrable factors impacting on the amount owed. In a family with combined gross income in excess of $180,000, the custodial parent is usually the parent who requests an upward deviation from the guidelines.
Regardless of family income, the non-custodial parent (also known as the “obligor”) is often the one requesting a downward deviation. Deviation is completely within a judge’s discretion in North Carolina; it is neither mandatory nor automatic. Deviation may be ordered in an amount higher than the guideline amount of child support. Upward deviation typically occurs in families of wealth and/or in families where the children have unusual needs.
Deviation may also be ordered in an amount lower than the guideline amount. Downward deviation typically occurs when either the custodial parent does not require the full guideline amount to meet the child’s reasonable needs or when the non-custodial parent does not have the ability to pay the amount dictated by application of the straight Guidelines.
Either party may request the court to deviate from the Guideline amount. The request may be for an upward or downward deviation. Unless requested in the original pleadings, such a request must be by written notice at least ten days in advance of the hearing on deviation.
If such a request is made, the court is required to hold a hearing and examine evidence relating to the reasonable needs of the child and the abilities of each of the parties to provide the needed support. The court may then deviate from the Guidelines if it “finds by greater weight of the evidence that the 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 be otherwise unjust or inappropriate. . . .”
