Charlotte, NC asked in Child Support for North Carolina

Q: Is going through child support enforcement agency better than getting an attorney to file child support for me?

We are on medicaid and I was told to go to legal Aid for help with filing child support. Whats the difference between the two (Free attorney and Child Support Enforcement) Are they both court ordered? which one is faster ?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Melissa Averett
Melissa Averett
Answered
  • Chapel Hill, NC
  • Licensed in North Carolina

A: It varies from county to county, but in general, if both parents are wage earners with W-2 documentation of income, child support enforcement (CSE) is the way to go. But if the person you are trying to get money from is going to be hard to find, or is self employed, or you are seeking retroactive child support, have a unincorporated separation agreement for child support, your combined income above the statutory limit for child support guidelines, or your child has extraordinary expenses such as private school, a tutor, medical expenses for disability, etc., then a private attorney would be better to establish the amount, then you can hire child support enforcement to enforce the amount. As far as faster, that really depends on the county, and how easy it is to get a court date. CSE represents the state. So they are great at enforcing a child support amount that has already been established so that the child stays off of state benefits. CSE has more remedies for enforcing a child support order than a private attorney, and they can enforce out of state by transferring the case to a CSE office in another state. In my experience, and again, it depends on the county, they are not as great at establishing the amount unless the case is very routine.

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