Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Pay or no pay?

Normally, even with 50/50 custody, there will be one party paying child support if the parties' income levels are unequal. This is not automatically the father, of course, and other items factor in (e.g., who is paying insurance for the child, daycare, etc.). In addition, if there was an agreement as part of the custody consent order that child support was waived, and if the parties' situations are relatively equal, the court will not upset the agreement. But you should be aware that both custody and child support can be modified at any time, based on changed circumstances. So if one party's income has changed (up or down) since custody was determined, either side could reopen this. Moreover, it is not uncommon that when one party seeks to adjust child support, the other party then seeks more child access time (to change the 50/50 balance) to prevent a reduction (or increase) in child support. We can explain more during a consultation. Our info is at www.marylandfamilylawyers.com. Thank you!

Re: Pay or no pay?

Child support is based on the Maryland Child Support Guidelines. In the guidelines, such things as income, daycare, insurance, extraordinary medical expenses and private school, among other things, are taken into consideration. Therefore, there is no bright line rule that you would not have to pay in a 50/50 situation.

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