NC DVPO The on-the-record requests
- 🎙️ "I request that this hearing be recorded" — and 📋 written findings. Standard practice for every hearing on this site; appeals die without them.First words
- 🧮 "I ask to verify each worksheet input on the record." The five lines that decide everything: (1) each party's gross monthly income, (2) which worksheet — A, B, or C (the 123-overnight line), (3) work-related childcare costs, (4) the child's portion of health/dental premiums, (5) extraordinary expenses and pre-existing support obligations. State your documented figure for any line you dispute and hand up the document.Line by line
- 📊 If the court varies from the Guidelines: "I request the findings § 50-13.4(c) requires." Deviation — up or down — is lawful only with findings on the child's reasonable needs, the parents' relative abilities, and why the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate. No findings, no valid deviation.Deviation findings
- 💼 If imputation is raised: income can be imputed only on a showing of bad-faith voluntary unemployment or underemployment — ask for findings on bad faith and on the earning-capacity figure's basis. (If you're the one alleging it: bring the job history, prior pay records, and qualifications that prove capacity.)Bad faith required
- 📅 "I ask the order to state the effective date, the first payment date, and the arrears calculation." Retroactive support and on-the-record arrears math prevent the most common post-hearing disputes. If you've made voluntary payments, present proof and ask for the credit on the record.Dates + math
- 🏦 Ask how payment will run: income withholding through the State Collection and Disbursement Unit creates the official ledger that protects both sides. Cash in parking lots protects no one.Withholding
If it's a contempt (show cause) hearing
- The element that decides it: present ability to pay. Civil contempt requires findings of willfulness and present ability to comply. If you genuinely can't pay, your defense is documentation: termination letter, medical records, the dated job-search log, bank statements — and proof you paid what you could. If you're enforcing, the converse: lifestyle and spending evidence contradicting the claimed inability.
- Ask for the purge conditions on the record — a contempt order must state exactly what payment "purges" the contempt; make sure the number and deadline are findings, not assumptions.
- If your income dropped and you haven't filed to modify — say so and file that day. The court can't retroactively fix vested arrears (§ 50-13.10), but a pending modification motion changes the conversation and the future. Full guide.
The documents to bring (three copies)
- Last 3 months of pay stubs; last 2 years of tax returns with W-2s/1099s; self-employed: business returns, P&L, 12 months of bank statements.
- Health-insurance benefits statement showing the child's premium portion (the with-vs-without-child difference).
- Childcare invoices/receipts; documentation of extraordinary expenses; proof of other support paid under order.
- Your overnight count with the parenting-time journal behind it (the Worksheet A/B line), and your own calculator printout as a working reference.
- Payment ledger and proof of every voluntary payment, if arrears are in play.
Conduct notes, support-specific
- It's arithmetic, not character. Judges decide these hearings on documents; outrage about the other parent spends your time and buys nothing. Dispute numbers with numbers.
- Never link support to visitation in front of a judge — they are independent obligations, and connecting them out loud damages whichever side does it.
- Don't agree to a number in the hallway you haven't run through the worksheet. Consent orders are enforceable the moment they're entered, and "I didn't understand the math" is not a modification ground.
- Objections — unauthenticated pay claims, hearsay about income, speculation about earnings: quick guide.
- Before leaving: read the order, confirm the worksheet is attached or incorporated, calendar the 30-day appeal window and any review dates.
Your support flow
Before this: understand the process · run the numbers · gather the financial documents. After the order: modification, arrears & enforcement. Always: deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
What should I ask for at a child support hearing?
That the hearing be recorded; line-by-line verification of the worksheet inputs (incomes, worksheet choice/overnights, childcare, insurance, extraordinary expenses); § 50-13.4(c) findings if the court deviates from the Guidelines; the effective date and arrears math stated in the order; and payment by income withholding through centralized collections.
Can the judge order more or less than the guideline amount?
Yes, but only with findings — on request, the court hears evidence of the child's reasonable needs and the parents' relative abilities, and must make findings justifying any deviation and the amount ordered (§ 50-13.4(c)).
What happens at a child support contempt hearing?
The court decides whether non-payment was willful and whether you have a present ability to pay or purge. Documented genuine inability — with proof of partial payments and a real job search — is a defense; voluntary underemployment is not. Purge conditions must be specific.
What documents should I bring to a support hearing?
Pay stubs (3 months), tax returns with W-2s/1099s (2 years), business records if self-employed, the child's insurance premium breakdown, childcare receipts, your overnight count, a payment ledger, and your own guideline calculation.