How does child support work in Maryland?
Key Takeaways
- Child support in Maryland is based on a shared income formula.
- The best interest of the child can affect the shared income formula.
- The formula takes things like monthly costs and respective financial responsibilities into account as well.
- There are consequences for attempting to avoid paying child support.
How child support is determined in Maryland depends on the parents’ income. For couples who make a combined monthly salary of less than $30,000 per month, the state uses a shared income formula set by the legislature. For parents making more than that, Maryland courts determine child support based on the child’s needs. Or, if it’s in the best interest of the child, the courts can step up the shared income formula to accommodate the higher incomes.
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The shared income formula
The calculation to determine child support factors in:
- Each parent’s monthly income, including earnings, bonuses, benefits and alimony.
- Each parent’s monthly costs, including child care expenses, child support payments for other children and health insurance premiums.
- Which parent carries the cost of medical insurance.
Do I have to pay child support?
You can’t get out of paying child support by purposefully avoiding work or being paid less than what you should earn. If the courts decide that you’ve “voluntarily impoverished” yourself, they can determine an income based on what you could earn given your education background and employment history. They’ll use that income to determine the amount of child support.
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