Maryland parents who are in the middle of a child support payment dispute may have a lot of questions about the state’s child support services program. Indeed, the state of Maryland offers a special child support services program to help parents enforce their child support decrees. So what are the most important questions you should have answers to?
Who can receive child support services? Generally speaking, any person who serves as custodian of a child under 18 is eligible for child support services. Biological parents, uncles, aunts, guardians, grandparents and other individuals taking care of a child could be eligible for the services. Some of these services include helping parents establish paternity, getting a child support court order and collecting unpaid child support. Other services include helping child support payers to sign up for the voluntary wage withholding program and helping parents ask for a modification to their child support amounts.
Parents may also want to know how they can find information about their pending child support matter. The Maryland Child Support Administration can be contacted by way of a toll-free number. Parents can speak with a representative from the Customer Care Center to answer their questions. If that representative cannot effectively answer the questions, then your child support services case specialist will review your case and follow through with appropriate action. Parents will receive an update within 20 days following such a request, but they will be contacted within two days if the matter is a priority.
Invariably, parents will also want to know how much child support they need to pay. Maryland uses a special income shares model when determining child support amounts to be paid. These guidelines factor in the incomes of each parent, child health insurance costs and the number of children and a wide variety of other factors to determine the amount of child support to be paid. For a complete picture relating to your child support issue, parents may wish to consult with a qualified Maryland family law attorney.
Source: Maryland Department of Human Resources, “Paying Support: Frequently Asked Questions” Nov. 04, 2014
