Child Support Attorneys in Montgomery County, MD

Providing Clients With Legal Help for Child Support Matters

The state of Maryland understands that parents have a legal obligation to provide financial support to their child until the child’s 18th birthday. When a couple splits up, child support payments are meant to help parents share the costs of raising the child and providing for the child’s needs. However, child support rules are not always easy to understand, and it may be hard to figure out how much you will end up paying or receiving every month. Our attorneys assist clients with a variety of child support issues and explain what you need to know about child support in Maryland.

How Does Child Support Work in Maryland?

Child support refers to the monthly payments one parent (usually the non-custodial parent) makes to the other parent to help cover the expenses of raising the child. The money is paid to the custodial parent but is intended to benefit the child, not the parent. Child support payments may be used to cover necessities such as food, clothing, and education, as well as other needs the child may have.

Child support is typically ordered by a Maryland court when the parents of a child get divorced or legally separated, but it can also happen when an unmarried couple with children ends their relationship. In addition, some cases involving the establishment of paternity for a child born to unmarried parents may also result in court-ordered child support payments.

Does the Father Always Pay for Child Support in Maryland?

Traditionally, in child custody and support cases, the mother was viewed as the primary caretaker who would usually get custody of the children, and the father was seen as the breadwinner and thus would be the one providing child support payments due to the fact that the mother would likely struggle to find employment after having stayed at home with the children for so many years.

A lot has changed, and Maryland courts no longer rely on a biased notion of traditional gender roles. Instead, the courts typically make decisions based on what is in the child’s best interests. Usually, the non-custodial parent will have the responsibility of making monthly child support payments. The non-custodial parent could be the father or, in some cases, the mother. It all depends on what the court believes will be best for the children.

How Is Child Support Calculated in Maryland?

Child support payments are calculated following the state’s guidelines for child support. The guidelines factor in several aspects such as the number of children each parent support (including children from previous relationships), the number of overnights the children spend with each parent, which of the parents is responsible for health insurance and medical expenses, which parent provides payment for childcare or tuition for private education (if applicable), how far apart each parent resides from the other and the transportation costs resulting from visitation with each parent.

The guidelines are often updated and apply only to parents whose combined monthly income falls below a certain threshold. These are just a few examples – an attorney may be better equipped to inform you of what your child support payments may look like depending on your specific situation.

What Is the 92-Overnight Rule?

This rule is the legal threshold that determines whether the court uses the sole physical custody or shared physical custody formula to calculate child support.

Maryland defines shared physical custody as each parent keeping the child overnight for more than 25% of the year, which equates to at least 92 overnight stays. In shared custody cases, the basic child support obligation is multiplied by 1.5 times. This adjustment accounts for the duplicated costs of maintaining two separate households for the child.

To avoid a major dropoff, Maryland uses a graduated adjustment for parents with 92 to 109 overnights. The support amount decreases gradually as a parent nears 110 overnight stays. Once a parent reaches 110 overnights with a parent, the full shared physical custody formula applies without the graduated slope adjustment.

What Circumstances Can Extend Child Support Payments Into the Child’s Adulthood?

While child support typically terminates when a child reaches the age of 18, several specific legal circumstances can extend these payments past the child’s 18th birthday.

If a child turns 18 but is still enrolled in high school, the support obligation will continue until the child graduates or reaches the age of 19, whichever occurs first. A parent may also be required to pay child support for an adult child indefinitely if the child is deemed destitute. To qualify, the adult child must have no means of subsistence and be unable to be self-supporting due to a mental or physical infirmity.

For the destitute adult child status to apply, the mental or physical disability usually has to have existed before the child reached the age of 18.

Parents can also choose to include provisions in a signed separation or settlement agreement that extend support beyond the state’s legal requirements. This agreement often includes paying for college tuition, room and board, or other post-secondary educational expenses. When a voluntary agreement to extend support is incorporated into a court order, it becomes a legally binding obligation enforceable by the court.

Can Child Support Orders Be Modified?

Courts will typically calculate child support payments by taking into consideration many of the factors described above, and the payment amount is usually assumed to be correct and to reflect both parents’ current financial situations. But what happens when things change, and the non-custodial parent gets a raise or loses their job?

Parents may request modifications to their original child support order, provided they can demonstrate a material change in their circumstances that warrants the modification. Material changes may include (but are not limited to) when a parent’s income increases or decreases by at least 25%, when the child’s needs change or the child requires more intensive medical attention due to a new disability or illness, or when one of the parents becomes unemployed or is sentenced to jail or prison. Changes do not happen automatically, and either parent needs to submit a written motion to the court to request the modification. Consulting with a family lawyer is recommended before filing any documents with the court.

How Can a Child Support Attorney Help?

Child support is often a contentious aspect of a divorce, and it may be hard to understand exactly how a court makes determinations as to who should make child support payments and what the amount of those payments should be. It is not uncommon for clients to make mistakes during this step and end up with an unfavorable child support order, or simply let their emotions take over and rush into decisions that may prove unfavorable in the long run.

A child support attorney can help you better understand the entire process and inform you of your rights, so you can take steps more confidently and reach an outcome that is positive for you and your children. The legal team at Paré & Associates, LLC has represented several clients dealing with child support battles in Germantown, Silver Spring, and throughout Montgomery County, Maryland, and surrounding areas, and they have the knowledge and skills you need to reach a successful outcome for your child support case. If you have questions or are in the middle of a child support dispute, reach out to the attorneys at Paré & Associates, LLC, and request an initial consultation to see how we can help.