Charlotte Child Support Lawyer

Any person or entity with custody of a minor child may seek support for that child from the parents of the child. Although a non-parent with custody of a minor child may request and receive support for the child, a parent with custody cannot request and receive child support from a non-parent third party unless that third party has assumed the obligation of support in writing. The only exception to this rule is when the parents of the child are minors themselves. In this situation, the grandparents may be responsible for the support of the grandchild until such time as the actual parents have reached the age of majority or are emancipated.

  

Important considerations used to calculate child support:

 

• The reasonable needs of the child for his health
• The reasonable needs of the child for his education
• The reasonable needs of the child for his maintenance.

To properly determine the above considerations, due regard must be given to the following:

 

• The estates of the child and the parties
• The earning of the child and the parties
• The conditions of the child and the parties
• The accustomed standard of living of the child and the parties
• The childcare an homemaker contributions of each party
• Any other pertinent facts of the case. 

North Carolina typically requires that child support be calculated by application of the North Carolina Child Support Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) and that these guidelines apply a rebuttable presumption in all legal proceedings involving the child support obligation of a parent. The guidelines presume that the parent who receives child support is entitled to and does claim the child (ren) for all tax exemption purposes.

The guidelines use a mathematical formula to arrive at a basic child support obligation which depends upon the combined monthly gross income of the parents and the number of children at issue. For purposes of the guidelines, income is defined as a parent’s actual gross income from any source, including but not limited to the following:

• Income from employment or self-employment such as salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance pay
• Ownership or operation of a business, partnership, or corporation
• Income from rental properties
• Retirement or pensions
• Trusts
• Annuities
• Capital gains
• Social security benefits
• Workers’ compensation benefits
• Unemployment insurance benefits
• Disability pay and insurance benefits
• Gifts and prizes
• Alimony or maintenance received from persons other than the parties to the case.

Child support may be calculated on a parent’s potential, rather than actual, income under certain circumstances. These circumstances are:

• The parent must be either voluntarily unemployed or underemployed to the extent that he cannot provide a minimum level of support for himself and his children
• The parent is physically and mentally capable of providing the minimum level of support for himself and his children
• The voluntary unemployment or underemployment is the result of the parent’s bad faith or deliberate suppression of income in order to avoid or minimize his child support obligation.

North Carolina’s Guidelines also take into account pre-existing child support obligations for other children not living with the parent as well as responsibility for other children that do reside with the parent. Additional adjustments may be made by the Court for work-related child care costs, health insurance costs, and extraordinary costs. Extraordinary expenses contemplated by our laws when calculating child support must be reasonable, necessary, and in the child’s best interest. These expenses may include:

• Expenses related to special or private elementary or secondary schools to meet a child’s particular educational need
• Expenses for transporting the child between the parents’ homes.

An order for child support may be modified or vacated at any time upon the request of the Court and showing of a substantial change of circumstances.


Payments for child support shall terminate upon the earliest of the following conditions:

• The minor child turns eighteen (18) years of age
• The minor child becomes emancipated
• The minor child dies
• If the minor child is still in primary or secondary school when he reaches age 18, support payments shall continue until the child graduates or otherwise ceases to attend school on a regular basis, fails to make satisfactory academic progress towards graduation, or reaches age 20, whichever comes first, unless the court in its discretion orders the payments to cease at 18 or prior to high school graduation
• The parent responsible for paying child support dies
• The custody of the minor child is changed for the party who was paying the support obligation.

Contact Charlotte Child Support Lawyer Sir Ashley J. Harrison to schedule a consultation to discuss your situation.

Charlotte Speeding Ticket Attorney

Getting a traffic ticket in Charlotte, North Carolina, whether you live in North Carolina or driving through, is an unpleasant experience.  A speeding ticket affects your driving record, your finances and most importantly your insurance prices.

If you have received a Mecklenburg County, Charlotte is speeding ticket or any other Charlotte traffic violation you may have a number of questions dealing with your insurance, license and driving record.

Hiring a Charlotte traffic attorney at The Law Offices of Sir Ashley Harrison, PLLC to handle your Charlotte speeding ticket or any other Mecklenburg County traffic violation is a simple way to ensure your traffic violation is handled properly and professionally. Our experienced traffic attorney will handle your Mecklenburg traffic violation efficiently while always keeping your insurance rates, driving privilege and expense as our main focus.

North Carolina consists of 100 counties. Each county has their unique way of handling  speeding tickets or other traffic violations. A number of our clients receive their Mecklenburg County traffic tickets on I-85, I-77, 277, or 485 or they receive a Charlotte speeding ticket.  Our Mecklenburg traffic attorneys have the experience and know how to handle your traffic violation.

Every Mecklenburg traffic ticket is handled in Charlotte, where the District Court is located. A Charlotte attorney of The Law Offices of Sir Ashley J. Harrison, PLLC will appear on our clients’ behalf and handle their speeding ticket or other traffic violation. Call, stop by the office, or schedule a video conference to speak with a traffic lawyer about your Mecklenburg speeding ticket. The consultation with the traffic lawyer is free. The traffic lawyer will go over your case with you and explain the penalties you are facing and how The Law Offices of Sir Ashley J. Harrison, PLLC can help resolve your issue.

At The Law Offices of Sir Ashley Harrison, PLLC, we take the time to listen to our clients to help guide them through the legal process. We work each case from every angle to put our clients in the best possible position.  Depending on your traffic violation we can even handle your case without you being present in court.

Mecklenburg police officers hand out more Charlotte speeding tickets than any other traffic ticket. A Charlotte speeding ticket affects not only your license, but also your insurance costs. North Carolina driving privilege works on a point system. Points on your license will result in an increase in your insurance costs. Points on your license, depending on the number of points, will result in the suspension of your driving privilege. What most people are not aware of is that a single Charlotte Mecklenburg speeding ticket can result in the suspension of their driving privilege.  That is why it is best to speak with a Charlotte traffic attorney who will explain the best way to handle your ticket.

In most cases we will let you know your cost up front so there will be no surprises. We frequently work with both in state and out of state clients and for our clients’ convenience, we accept payment over the phone with debit, Visa or MasterCard.

Call (704) 851-1747 to make an appointment to speak with a Charlotte Speeding Ticket Attorney, or stop by the office during regular business hours. We will schedule an appointment that meets your needs.

Charlotte DWI Defense Attorney

A DWI is a serious criminal offense with very severe consequences and requires an effective defense from an experienced criminal defense attorney. In North Carolina, a DWI arrest can result in a loss of a driver’s license and driving privileges. A driver’s license suspension can be hard when one depends on the ability to drive to work and school. A commercial driver’s license (CDL) suspension, revocation or cancellation can be extremely damaging to an individual who needs the use of a CDL to earn a living.

Individuals arrested for drunk driving and charged with a criminal DWI should contact a Charlotte criminal defense attorney for guidance as to the steps to take to ensure the protection of their constitutional rights following an arrest.

 

DWI arrests are very common throughout North Carolina and especially in the Charlotte area with over 4,000 arrests in Mecklenburg County alone. However, it is possible that law enforcement did not follow proper procedures. There are several questions to ask regarding the validity of a DWI arrest:

• Was the stop of the vehicle valid?
• Can the state prove that the accused was driving the vehicle?
• Was there probable cause for the arrest?

A driver found guilty of a DWI can face a jail sentence, large fines and court fees, probation, license suspension, community service, and court mandated counseling programs. The courts may increase penalties if there are multiple DWI convictions, a child was present in the vehicle at the time of arrest, or if a DWI collision resulted in injuries or deaths. Our firm is skilled in defending DWI cases and dedicated to helping drivers achieve the best possible outcome of their case. Make an appointment today for a consultation with a criminal defense lawyer.


A DWI in North Carolina can result from a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) on a breathalyzer test of .08 or above, from impaired driving as observed by law enforcement, from drug-impaired driving, or a combination of drinking and drug-impaired driving. Drug-impaired driving can be caused by illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, or other controlled substances, from the use of prescription drugs, as well as over-the-counter drugs which can result in drowsiness or other debilitating effects on the nervous system and motor skills.

If law enforcement pulls you over on suspicion of a DWI, you are required to submit to a chemical test based on implied consent laws, which are part of your agreement when issued a North Carolina driver’s license. If you refuse to take a breath or blood test, your driving privileges will be suspended by the DMV for a minimum of 30 days with an additional 12 months. If your BAC is .08 or higher as a residential driver or .04 or higher as a commercial driver, the test results will be submitted as evidence of your offense to the court. Having a skilled and dedicated Charlotte DWI lawyer in your corner as soon as possible can make a drastic difference in how your case evolves throughout the legal process and in its final outcome.

Contact a Charlotte DWI defense attorney from our office if you have been charged with a DWI.

DWI Aggravating Factors

 

When you are being sentenced for a DWI in North Carolina, the judge will at first consider the circumstances surrounding your arrest prior to making a sentencing decision. If there were any aggravating factors in your case, then it can increase your DWI penalties.

If a person was arrested for their first DWI with a BAC of just above .08%, and they didn’t cause any property damage, no bodily injury and they did not have anyone in the car with them at the time of their arrest, then they would face much lighter penalties than somebody who was arrested for DWI with a BAC over .15%, who had a DWI conviction in the last seven years, who caused an accident and seriously injured the driver of the other vehicle.

Aggravating factors include: 

• A prior DWI conviction within the last 7 years;
• A child under 16 in the vehicle at the time of arrest;
• Serious bodily injury to another person as a result of the DWI;
• DWI while driving on a suspended license for a prior DWI;
• BAC above 0.15%;
• Reckless driving or an accident;
• Revoked driver’s license; and
• Illegally passing a school bus.

When a judge is determining the punishment, he or she will examine if there were any “aggravating” factors involved in the DWI case.

To learn more about the possible penalties that you are facing, as well as your potential defenses, contact a Charlotte DWI defense attorney from our office if you have been charged with a DWI.

DWI Penalties in North Carolina

 

Many factors can determine the severity of penalties imposed by the courts in a DWI conviction. A first time misdemeanor DWI where the driver cooperates with law enforcement and there is no accident may receive a lighter sentence. Drivers with multiple DWIs face increased penalties with each offense. A DWI offense that is the fourth one in 10 years is an automatic felony with harsh punishment including vehicle seizure. DWI accidents with major property damage, injuries, deaths, or hit and run accidents are the most serious DWI offenses. The penalties can vary depending on the circumstances of the DWI but the most common penalties are as follows:

• Imprisonment
• Large fines, court fees and costs
• License suspension or revocation
• Probation
• Community service, counseling and alcohol education

To learn more about the possible penalties you are facing, contact a Charlotte DWI defense attorney from our office if you have been charged with a DWI.

Legal Terms You Should Know in Family Law

Depending up the status and condition of the living standard of either spouse who had agreed to get the divorce and live separately there are certain laws that have been implemented which consists some of the legal terms that must know in case of family law.

Thus, according to Sir Ashley Harrison Attorney who has more than a couple of decades of experience in practicing judicial. Thus, here are some points that you must put focus that can help you according to Sir Ashley Harrison to get aware of the legal terms you should know in family law to assure your rights:  

Provision

  
There has been a law that has given provision to such that even at a time of divorce or after divorce either of the spouse can support each other with a financial help even also in many nations the property is being negotiated in terms of alimony depends on many factors and circumstances.

Custody

While at a time of devoicing the most affected result or impact is in the children which are going to suffer a loss of any one of their parents after divorce. Thus, according by law that the future of the child must not be hampered the term custody of the child is divided into two parts, seeking the physical as well as legal custody. Thereby assuring financial as well as physical care.

Equality Distribution

According to Sir Ashley Harrison on the basis of equality distribution to seek that the either of the may not seek and any kind of crisis in their living standards. Thus, for this reason, there are many guidelines for distribution of property has been set up such that an equality could be maintained between both the partners.
 

Marital property 

Adding support for the above point equality distribution, marital property explains that not the property of real estate, but also there will be the equal distribution of other assets like the business, retirement accounts, bank and investment accounts and much more.
   

Separation Date

Among other family law factors, this could be the most important factors as the date of separation states that when the two parties are legally separated from each other. Thus, this date helps to determine many factors such as alimony award, marital property and much more.
 
These were the few points that you have to consider according to Sir Ashley Harrison Attorney by which you can help someone to meet the legal right at the time of divorce or legal separation. These certain points that could help you get aware of legal terms that you should know in family law.