Does Child Support Change if My Child’s Other Parent or I Get Married?

In most cases, no, child support amounts will not change if you or your child’s other parent gets married. This is because the court’s policy is that the only people financially responsible for your children should be you and the other parent. It is not your new husband or wife’s responsibility to financially support your children from a previous marriage or relationship. The same goes for the children’s other parent. Just because they married someone who makes a lot of money, does not mean that your child support amount is going to go down.

There are some exceptions to this rule. One common exception is if two people are getting married because they are having another child. If you or your child’s other parent is having another child, the additional child is a factor in child support calculations.

Another common exception would be if the court finds that they can “impute” income on the newly married party. This happens when one party quits their job to stay at home or because they are no longer required to work with their new spouse’s income level. The courts will still “impute” income, or create a child support amount based upon what you or the other party could be making.

If you have more questions on child support or child custody in North Carolina, please call our office at 980-225-1832 to set up a low-cost consultation. You can also email us at Info@DuncanLarsonLaw.com.