Category: Child Support

 Income for purposes child support calculations pursuant to the Maryland Child Support Guidelines is defined by the Family Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland as actual income. This includes, but is not limited to, salary, wages, pension income, social security benefits and disability insurance benefits.

 Withdrawals from one’s IRA accounts are also deemed to be income to a party pursuant to the Family Law Article as they are taxable income. However, issues have arisen as to whether the amount in a payor’s IRA can be deemed a potential source of income for the payor. Along with that comes the question that if the payor chooses not to take any withdrawals from this account, would that refusal lead a court to believe that the payor is purposefully diminishing his income in order to pay a lower amount of child support. If the Court deemed this to be true, then the income (annuitized) could potentially be imputed to the payor for child support purposes.

There is no definitive answer to the above issue. Courts in other jurisdictions have been reluctant to impute annuitized IRA income to the payor that were not actually made, especially those withdrawals that would trigger an early withdrawal penalty. However, an argument can be made that this income could be imputed to payors who have reached the age in which penalty-free withdrawals are permissible, or if the payor has no other available income and the child is in need (best interest of the child).

 Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC is an Annapolis-based family law firm serving clients throughout the state of Maryland. If you have a child support calculations questions, please contact our firm to reserve a consultation time at our office.

During the process of your divorce, any issues regarding child support were decided in your divorce decree, a court-ordered document. However, if your ex-spouse remarries into an improved financial situation, are you still responsible for the same amount of child support?

This is a good question. With spousal support, a change in financial circumstances for either spouse can trigger a modification order. However, this isn’t the case with child support. The ultimate goal of child support is to allow both parents to provide equitably for their children. Remarriage typically will not change child support payments, either for the person paying them or for the person receiving them. Even when parents remarry, their responsibility to their children does not change.

Unless a court is provided with significant financial information that speaks to the need for a change, child support orders remain effective until the children become legal adults – no matter the relationship status of their parents. Therefore, while it is potentially possible that your child could receive additional support if your ex-spouse remarries, the more likely response is “no.”

Modifications to child support orders

Child support only factors in the parent’s income, not a new spouse. It doesn’t count who else contributes to the household or how much money they make – the parent’s income is the only factor.

That being said, if you bring in more money that significantly increases your personal income by at least 25%, then your ex-spouse may want to modify the child support agreement. (The same is true if the positions are reversed.) A modification can be made if there has been a “material change in circumstances” for that parent or the child. Other reasons why a child support order may be modified, either to increase or decrease the amount paid, include:

• Additional expenses are required for a child’s healthcare, such as those associated with a long-term illness or severe injury.
• Significant loss of income of the paying parent, such as the loss of a job.
• One parent is being sentenced to jail or prison.

If you are paying or receiving child support and are planning on remarrying, talk to the attorneys at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC. We’ll work to ensure your financial interests are protected. For a consultation at our Annapolis office, please call 410.921.2422 or fill out our contact form.

According to Maryland law, a parent’s child support obligation ends at age 18 if the child has graduated from high school, or age 19 if the child is still enrolled in high school. Parents are not obligated by law to pay for post-secondary education costs unless both parents have agreed to do so in a marital settlement agreement.

If your child has recently celebrated their 18th birthday and you would like to terminate your child support payments, you should consult with a Maryland family law attorney who can help you with this process. If you have signed a marital settlement agreement at the time of your divorce, you want to make sure that you are clear on the terms.

If you are paying child support for more than one child, and one of the children turns 18 and graduates from high school, then your obligation to pay support for the older child will end, but you will continue to owe support for the younger children. Your Maryland family law attorney can also help you prepare a petition to request that the court establish a new payment amount now that one of the children is on their own.

If your child leaves home and joins the military before they turn 18, if they get married, or simply move out on their own, then you may no longer be obligated to support them financially. You would be required to petition the court to end your child support payments because the child has become emancipated.

Special circumstances

There are circumstances under which a parent might still be obligated to support their child beyond the age of 19. If the child suffers from physical or mental disabilities and is unable to support themselves, your obligation to support them financially may continue on for the remainder of the child’s life.

The family law attorneys at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, P.A., have more than 30 years of combined experience representing countless families like yours resolve their child support challenges throughout Maryland. Please contact us to reserve a consultation today at our Annapolis-based office.

It’s been a few months since we focused attention on the issue of child support. In a post back in November, we sought to provide some insight into some of the frequently asked questions about this important facet of family law.

Much of what that post focused on had to do with who may be eligible for child support and the state and local government offices in Anne Arundel County positioned to help make sure that support is fulfilled smoothly and effectively. But in some instances, payers may be reluctant to meet their obligations and enforcement measures are needed.

It may be that an attorney’s help is required. When that’s the case, you want to be sure you are confident that your advocate has solid experience with collection processes and the various tools that are available to ensure that children get the financial support they need for their well-being. And what might they be? Here’s a list as provided by Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration.

• Interception of federal or state tax refunds: This applies if an obligated payer is behind. State refunds can be pursued if the arrears are $150 or more. Federal refunds may be collected if the amount is $500 or more.
• Passport blockage: An obligor who is $2,500 or more behind on child support could be blocked from leaving the country until the past-due amount is paid.
• Driver’s license suspension: This leverage can be brought to bear if child support is 60 days or more overdue.
• Professional license suspension: There are many careers that require state licensure; doctors, lawyers, nurses, and even commercial truck drivers. Authorities may suspend a license until all child support arrearages are paid.
• Wage garnishment: This is typically done through a wage withholding order through a payer’s employer.

There are other methods available, including the possibility of having a payer incarcerated under a contempt order from the court. But that might not be the ideal solution if the objective is to support recovery.

First of all, every parent needs to remember that — whether he or she is the payer or the recipient of child support — child support is the legal right of the child. In other words, child support is for the costs associated with a child’s upbringing, and it is not for the custodial parent who receives those funds. Knowing this can help parents stay level-headed and realistic not matter which side of the issue he or she happens to be on.

In the state of Maryland, most parents who are required to pay child support are non-custodial parents. They pay their support obligation to the parent who has custody. The court, usually calculates the amount of that support based on the paying parent’s level of income. If the parent earns more money, he or she will likely be required to pay more in child support.

Considering that around 50 percent of married couples end up divorcing these days, and considering that 25 percent of kids are born from non-married couples, the policing of child support decrees become an increasingly important service provided by the government. In the event that the paying parent falls behind on his or her child support obligations, the court (and the police) may at some point intervene. The state of Maryland takes child support seriously and it will aggressively pursue payments from any parent who has fallen behind, regardless the reason for one’s lateness.

For parents who are owed child support in Maryland, it may be necessary to seek the assistance of a family law attorney to get the money they and their children are owed. Similarly, a parent who has fallen behind on child support may wish to consult with a legal professional to find out what his or her rights are and how to resolve the problem.

Source: FindLaw, “Child support basics” Oct. 13, 2014

Whether a Maryland parent is on the receiving or paying end of child support, a bankruptcy ruling could affect those payments. Depending on one’s unique situation and financial circumstances, though, a bankruptcy ruling could affect child support obligations in different ways.

For example, what if an ex-spouse declares bankruptcy and tries to say that he or she is no longer responsible for child support payments? Generally speaking, this is not possible because monthly support obligations cannot be discharged or placed on hold through bankruptcy. If a spouse tries to use bankruptcy proceedings as an excuse for not paying the support, then state courts can apply various legal methodologies to enforce that payment — whether it be wage garnishing, income tax return confiscation, or the threat of arrest.

What about unpaid back child support? Can this get wiped out through the bankruptcy process? The answer to this question is most definitely, “no.” Unpaid support, just like other categories of debt, cannot be dissolved through bankruptcy proceedings. In certain circumstances, if an ex-spouse is no longer able to afford his or her child support due to financial problems, the ex-spouse can petition the court to modify and reduce his or her monthly obligations. However, even if this happens, it will not affect any amount of child support that was previously owed.

Maryland residents who want to know more about how their bankruptcy filing — or an ex-spouse’s bankruptcy filing — might affect their child support decree may wish to speak with a family law and bankruptcy law attorney. Indeed, those who are behind on support obligations, who also have large outstanding debts in addition to their support owed, might benefit from bankruptcy proceedings. While child support debt cannot be dissolved through bankruptcy, by resolving other types of debt it could serve to free up income and capital to better meet one’s support obligations in the future.

Source: FindLaw, “Child support and bankruptcy” Oct. 06, 2014