When it comes to child support in Maryland, calculations are based on gross income from any source. This includes salaries, pensions, social security, tax refunds, awards and verdicts, severance pay and alimony received. The state of Maryland follows the “revenue sharing model” which requires both parents to contribute to the care of their children in proportion to their earnings. In order to impute income to a parent for child support purposes, the court must determine that they have been voluntarily impoverished and could work but choose not to. If the court finds this to be true, they can “impute income” to them.
Unfortunately, some parents are more interested in avoiding their child support obligations than actually supporting their children. The new child support guidelines in Maryland have caused some confusion among lawyers, courts and parents. To ensure that the benefits of the new guidelines are fully harnessed and risks are mitigated, it is important to be familiar with the current debate and confusion. Custody X Change can help calculate parenting time accurately so that alimony has the fairest outcome for your children. If a parent does not pay child support, the Office of Child Support Control can take action against them such as suspending their driver's license or intercepting tax refunds. Parents can receive support on behalf of their children under 18 (or 19-year-olds still in high school).
The amount of child support issued by the court depends on the information used to calculate alimony; an experienced lawyer can ensure that the court does not overestimate your income or underestimate that of the other parent. In general, the parent who has primary physical custody of the children (the custodial parent) is the one who will receive child support. Advocates for the new child support guidelines argue that existing guidelines have not been revised which has caused custodial parents to bear a greater burden due to increased family expenses. Usually, the court will order child support based on the guidelines unless someone can show that it would be unfair and inappropriate in a particular case. Child support guidelines try to estimate the percentage of income that parents would spend on their children if they lived together. It is important to understand how these calculations work so that you can ensure your children receive fair and appropriate support.
