{"data":{"id":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-50-31","jurisdiction":"us-nc","citation":"N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-31","heading":"Definitions.","body":"As used in this Article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:\n(1)\t\"Child support case\" means the part of any civil or criminal action or proceeding, whether intrastate or interstate, that involves a claim for the establishment or enforcement of a child support obligation.\n(2)\t\"Dispose\" or \"disposition\" of a child support case means the entry of an order in a child support case that:\na.\tDismisses the claim for establishment or enforcement of the child support obligation; or\nb.\tEstablishes a child support obligation, either temporary or permanent, and directs how that obligation is to be satisfied; or\nc.\tOrders a particular child support enforcement remedy.\n(3)\t\"Expedited process\" means a procedure for having child support orders established and enforced by a magistrate or clerk who has been designated as a child support hearing officer pursuant to this Article.\n(4)\t\"Federal expedited process requirement\" means the provision in Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(2), that requires as a condition of the receipt of federal funds that a state have laws that require the use of federally defined expedited processes for obtaining and enforcing child support orders.\n(5)\t\"Filing\" means the date the defendant is served with a pleading that seeks establishment or enforcement of a child support obligation, or the date written notice or a pleading is sent to a party seeking establishment or enforcement of a child support obligation.\n(6)\t\"Hearing officer\" or \"child support hearing officer\" means a clerk or assistant clerk of superior court or a magistrate who has been designated pursuant to this Article to hear and enter orders in child support cases.\n(7)\t\"Initiating party\" means the party, the attorney for a party, a child support enforcement agency established pursuant to Title IV, Part D of the Social Security Act, or the clerk of superior court who initiates an action, proceeding, or procedure as allowed or required by law for the establishment or enforcement of a child support obligation. (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 993, s. 1; 1987, c. 346.)","path":["Chapter 50. Divorce and Alimony.","Article 2. Expedited Process for Child Support Cases."],"source_url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-31.html","current_through":"S.L. 2026-30","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T18:04:22Z","sha256":"2dc67b11fdd1d943497e2375196069d037d3fa0537b4d7297114a3c2a569f2ed","source_id":"us-nc","stale":false,"prev":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-50-30","next":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-50-32"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}