Bossian v. Bossian (North Carolina 2022)

Parents can’t unilaterally modify child support orders. A parent is required to comply with the order even if it contains clerical errors. The father was found in contempt for failure to pay support. The final order included a purge payment and date for compliance. The mother filed a motion to correct clerical errors in the contempt order, and father filed a motion to for relief from the contempt order. The trial court granted the mother’s motion and denied the father’s motion. The trial court entered an arrest order but lowered the purge payment so the father could be quickly released. The father appealed the denial of his motion for relief, the granting of the mother’s motion, and the arrest order. The appellate court affirmed the orders. The father wasn’t deprived of due process when the trial court enforced the provisions of the order. The father was required to comply with the order regardless of clerical errors. Even though the child had lived with the father for some time, the parties never filed to modify child support. Unless the order is modified, the father’s failure to pay was willful.