Every child has a right to receive support from both parents, even if those parents are separated, divorced, or never married. Maryland child support represents a legal obligation requiring one parent to provide financial assistance to the other parent for the care and well-being of their children.
The Maryland Child Support Administration works with both parents to provide the financial, medical, and emotional support children need to grow and thrive. Both parents have a legal duty to support their children based on their ability to provide that support, and this obligation cannot be waived simply because parents agree between themselves.
Child support is intended to cover various expenses related to raising a child, including housing costs, food, clothing, education, healthcare, childcare, and other necessities. The goal is to ensure children maintain a reasonable standard of living despite their parents no longer living together as a family unit.
Maryland Child Support Guidelines
Since 1990, Maryland has used child support guidelines that provide a formula for calculating the amount of child support based on a proportion of each parent's gross income. These guidelines apply unless a party can demonstrate that their application would be unjust and inappropriate in a particular case.
The child support calculation uses an income shares model. This approach attempts to estimate the percentage of income that parents would spend on children if the parents were living together. The model considers multiple factors to determine a fair amount of child support that reflects both parents' financial contributions.
The court will usually order the amount of child support that the guidelines indicate is correct. Deviating from the guidelines requires showing compelling reasons why the calculated amount would be unfair or not in the children's best interests.
Factors Used in Child Support Calculation
Maryland child support calculations consider numerous factors to determine the appropriate amount of support.
Actual Monthly Income
For most people, actual income includes salary or wages from employment. However, income encompasses much more than just paychecks. It can include bonuses, commissions, Social Security benefits, workers' compensation benefits, alimony received, rental income, investment income, and other types of revenue.
Actual income does not include temporary cash assistance, food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, and other benefits from means-tested public assistance programs. These need-based benefits are not counted when calculating child support obligations.
Adjusted Actual Income
This figure represents the actual income minus certain deductions. These deductions include pre-existing child support that the parent pays for another child from a different relationship and alimony that the parent actually pays. This adjustment recognizes existing legal obligations that reduce available income.
Additional Expense Factors
Beyond basic income figures, Maryland child support calculations incorporate several specific expenses:
- Work-Related Child Care Expenses: This includes costs for daycare, before and after school care, or summer camp that parents incur while working or attending school to gain employment skills. These expenses are added to the basic child support obligation.
- Health Insurance Expenses: The cost of health insurance premiums for the children is factored into the child support calculation. Typically, the parent who provides health insurance receives credit for this expense.
- Extraordinary Medical Expenses: These include reasonable expenses not covered by insurance, such as orthodontia, dental treatment beyond routine care, asthma treatment, physical therapy, psychological counseling, or other specialized medical needs. These costs are typically divided between parents in proportion to their incomes.
The Child Support Calculation Process
The Maryland child support guidelines follow specific steps to calculate the amount of child support a non-custodial parent must pay.
Step 1: Determine Each Parent's Actual Income
Both parents must disclose their complete income from all sources. This requires submitting financial statements under penalty of perjury.
Step 2: Calculate Adjusted Actual Income
Each parent's actual income is adjusted by subtracting any pre-existing child support payments for other children and alimony payments.
Step 3: Combine Adjusted Incomes
Both parents' adjusted incomes are added together. This combined amount is used with the guidelines chart to determine the "basic child support obligation" - the amount parents would theoretically spend on the children if living together.
Step 4: Add Additional Expenses
Health insurance costs, daycare expenses, and extraordinary medical expenses are added to the basic obligation. The calculation also factors in the "self-support reserve," an adjustment ensuring that the parent paying child support maintains at least 110% of the 2019 Federal poverty level for an individual. This generates the "total child support obligation."
Step 5: Allocate Responsibility
The total child support obligation is divided between parents in proportion to their incomes. The non-custodial parent is typically responsible for paying their percentage directly to the custodial parent.
Custody Arrangements and Child Support
The amount of time each parent spends with the child significantly influences the child support calculation. Maryland recognizes different custody arrangements that affect support obligations.
Primary Physical Custody
When one parent has the children most of the time (more than 75% of overnights), the standard child support calculation applies, with the non-custodial parent making payments to the custodial parent.
Shared Physical Custody
This arrangement exists when each parent keeps the children overnight for more than 25% of the year (92 or more overnights annually). A modified formula applies for shared custody situations that can reduce the amount of child support compared to primary custody arrangements.
Intermediate Arrangements
For situations where a parent keeps children overnight for more than 25% but less than 30% of the year, specific formulas based on the exact percentage apply. These formulas recognize the increased expenses both parents face when children spend substantial time in each household.
Maryland Rule 9-206 contains worksheets that the court uses to calculate child support based on these different custody arrangements.
Using the Maryland Child Support Calculator
The Maryland Child Support Administration provides an online calculator that estimates the amount of child support under current guidelines. This free tool is available to anyone and provides a helpful estimate of potential child support obligations.
However, the calculator has limitations. It does not reflect all possible deviations and adjustments a court may allow. The calculator provides an estimate, but the actual child support order may differ based on factors the calculator cannot capture, such as extraordinary circumstances or agreements between parents.
Parents can access this calculator through the Department of Human Services website. Using the calculator before attending court or mediation helps parents understand realistic expectations and prepare for discussions about child support.
Imputed Income and Voluntary Impoverishment
A parent cannot avoid child support obligations by intentionally earning less money than they are capable of earning. This concept is called voluntary impoverishment. If a parent freely chooses to be without adequate resources, and factors beyond their control do not compel their reduced income, the parent is considered voluntarily impoverished.
If the court finds a parent owing child support has voluntarily impoverished themselves, the court may "impute income" to that parent. This means the court will calculate child support as if the parent earns an income they are capable of earning, even if they are not currently earning that amount.
To decide whether to impute income and how much, the court examines several factors:
- The parent's age, physical and mental condition
- Educational level, special training, and skills
- Employment and earnings history
- Record of efforts to obtain and retain employment
- Employment opportunities in the parent's community
- The job market status and prevailing earning levels
- The parent's assets and actual income from all sources
- Criminal record and other barriers to employment
- Any other factors impacting ability to obtain funds for child support
For example, if a parent with a medical degree chooses to work part-time in an unrelated field earning minimum wage, the court might impute income based on what that parent could earn working as a physician.
When Child Support Can Differ from Guidelines
While Maryland courts typically follow the child support guidelines, certain circumstances allow deviation from the calculated amount.
Lower Than Guidelines Amount
It is difficult to convince a court to set child support below the guidelines amount. To request a lower amount, you must demonstrate why the guidelines amount is unjust or unfair and why lowering the amount would serve your children's best interests.
The court considers all relevant factors in determining whether the guidelines amount is inappropriate. For example, a non-custodial parent might need to temporarily reduce support payments to allow time for education or training that will lead to higher future income and greater long-term support for the children. However, any reduction must still serve the children's best interests.
Higher Than Guidelines Amount
If the combined amount of both parents' incomes exceeds $30,000 per month, the court is not required to use the guidelines formula. Instead, the court can set the amount of child support based on the actual needs of the children.
For high-income families, the guidelines may not adequately reflect the lifestyle and expenses children experienced before separation. In these cases, courts have discretion to order higher support that maintains the children's accustomed standard of living.
Opening a Child Support Case
There are multiple ways to establish a child support order in Maryland.
Through Court Cases
You can include a request for child support as part of a divorce case or custody proceeding. The divorce decree or custody order will include provisions for child support. This approach addresses all family matters in a coordinated way.
To open a standalone child support case, file a Complaint for Child Support with the appropriate circuit court along with a financial statement. The complaint initiates the legal process that leads to a child support order.
Through Child Support Enforcement
Your local child support enforcement office can open a child support case for you or help enforce an existing child support order. The Maryland Child Support Administration provides services to help parents establish paternity, locate absent parents, establish child support orders, and collect child support payments.
Child support enforcement services are available to any parent who needs assistance, regardless of income level or whether they receive public assistance.
Required Financial Documentation
When requesting or responding to a child support case, parents must submit complete financial statements to the court. These documents serve crucial purposes in determining fair child support amounts.
- Financial Statement Forms
Maryland provides two versions of financial statements depending on circumstances. If the combined gross monthly income is $30,000 or less, parents complete the Financial Statement (Child Support Guidelines). For combined income exceeding $30,000, the Financial Statement (General) is required.
- Accuracy Requirements
You must fill out financial statements completely and honestly. These documents are signed under penalty of perjury. Lying on financial statements can result in criminal perjury charges, as well as incorrect child support orders that may later be corrected to your detriment.
- Information to Include
Financial statements require disclosure of income from all sources, the nature and extent of property holdings such as bank accounts, investments, and real estate, and all financial obligations, including debts and other support obligations.
Both parents must submit financial statements. The court relies heavily on these documents when calculating child support, so completing them accurately serves everyone's interests, especially the children's.
Elements of a Child Support Order
A Maryland child support order includes specific elements that establish clear terms and conditions for support payments.
Basic Support Payments
The order specifies the amount of monthly child support the paying parent must provide to the custodial parent. A typical child support order might read:
"Father/Mother [name] is ordered to pay directly to Father/Mother [name] for child support of [children's names], the sum of $[amount] per month per child for a total of $[total amount], payable one-half on the first and one half on the fifteenth day of each month, said payments to continue until each such child shall die, reach majority, become emancipated or until further order of court."
Important aspects of this language include that payments go directly to the custodial parent (not to the children), the court retains authority to modify the order if circumstances change, and support continues until specific conditions are met.
Additional Support Elements
Child support orders often address more than just monthly cash payments:
Health Insurance: "As and for additional child support, Father/Mother [name] is ordered to maintain his/her children as beneficiaries on his/her health and life insurance policies available through his/her employment. Father/Mother is further ordered to pay for one-half of all uninsured medical, dental, and ophthalmologic services provided for the children."
Childcare Costs: Orders may specify how parents share daycare or after-school care expenses, either dividing costs proportionally or assigning specific responsibilities.
Other Expenses: Support orders can address transportation costs for visitation, private school tuition, extracurricular activities, music lessons, and other aspects of children's day-to-day lives.
This flexibility allows courts to create support arrangements tailored to each family's circumstances and the children's needs.
When No Support Order Is Appropriate
In limited circumstances, Maryland courts may decline to establish a child support order. These situations recognize that ordering support would be futile or inappropriate.
A court may decline to establish child support when the parent who would have the obligation to pay:
- Lives with the child and is contributing to the child's support, OR
- Is unemployed, has no financial resources to pay child support, AND meets one of these conditions:
- Is incarcerated or expected to remain incarcerated for the remainder of time they would have a legal duty to support the child
- Is institutionalized in a psychiatric care facility and expected to remain institutionalized for the remainder of the support period
- Is totally and permanently disabled, unable to obtain or maintain employment, and has no income other than Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits
- Is unable to obtain or maintain employment in the foreseeable future due to compliance with criminal detainment, hospitalization, or rehabilitation treatment plans
Even in these situations, courts may establish a child support order at a nominal amount (such as $10 per month) to maintain the legal obligation that can be increased when circumstances change.
Modifying Child Support Orders
A child support order is not set in stone. Courts retain jurisdiction to modify support orders when circumstances substantially change. Either parent may petition the court to increase or decrease child support.
Significant Changes
Modifications typically require showing a substantial change in circumstances, such as a significant change in either parent's income, changes in the children's needs, changes in custody arrangements, or loss of employment through no fault of the parent.
Review Process
Either parent can file a motion to modify child support. The court will review current financial statements and apply the current guidelines to determine whether modification is appropriate.
Three-Year Review
In Maryland, either parent can request a review of the child support order every three years, even without showing a substantial change in circumstances. This recognizes that children's needs and parents' financial situations naturally evolve.
Special Circumstances in Child Support
Several special situations affect how Maryland child support works in practice.
Support Beyond Age 18
Maryland law requires continuing child support payments for children who turn 18 while still enrolled in high school. Support continues until the child graduates, turns 19, or is no longer enrolled, whichever comes first.
Parents can agree to pay for college expenses, and if that agreement is incorporated into a court order, it becomes enforceable child support. However, courts cannot order parents to pay for college expenses without such an agreement.
Tax Treatment
Child support payments have specific tax implications that differ from alimony:
- Parents making child support payments cannot deduct those payments from their income when filing taxes
- Parents receiving child support payments do not include those payments as income when filing taxes
These rules apply to both federal and Maryland state income taxes.
Multiple Families
When a parent has children from multiple relationships, the court considers existing child support obligations when calculating support for additional children. A parent already paying child support for one child receives credit for that obligation when determining support for other children, though the court still ensures all children receive adequate support.
Getting Legal Help with Child Support
While Maryland allows parents to represent themselves in child support cases, the complexity of calculations and potential long-term financial implications make legal consultation valuable.
When to Consider an Attorney:
- Complex income situations involving self-employment, investments, or variable income
- Disputes about imputing income or voluntary impoverishment
- High-income cases exceeding $30,000 combined monthly income
- Requests to deviate from guidelines amounts
- Modification requests involving significant changes
- Enforcement problems when the other parent lives out of state
Free Resources Available:
- Family Court Help Centers throughout Maryland provide free legal information
- Maryland Court Help Center offers phone assistance
- Local child support enforcement offices provide services
- Online resources including forms, calculators, and instructions
Even if you choose self-representation, consulting with a family law attorney for limited advice about your specific situation can help you understand your rights and obligations.
The Maryland Child Support Administration and court system provide resources and support to help parents fulfill their obligations to support their children financially. By working cooperatively when possible and using available legal tools when necessary, parents can ensure their children receive the support they need and deserve.