Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Change of occupation
I currently make around $32,000 a year at my job and have a child support obligation of $512.00 a month.Since the court order my sons mother has quit her job,pulled my son(2yrsold)out of day care and moved out of the state of MARYLAND. I have been on workers comp. for about a month and a half.(still paying the full support amount)I may not be able to return to my job due to medical reasons.If I have to get another job making $20,000-$25,000 a year,will I still be obligated to pay the full amount of my child support?Would I need to have medical records stating that I am unable to perform my duties?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Change of occupation
You're going to need to get into a bit more detail
and frankly you should really talk to a lawyer
about this.
First, you mentioned that your wife quit her job
but you don't say whether she has taken a new job.
If she has not, then you need to move immediately to
get your child support obligation changed since that obligation
is based on the combined adjusted actual income
of the two parties and then is split between the parties in
proportion to their individual incomes. If she is
no longer working then obviously your combined
actual income has dropped.
If she is still working, then things are a bit more
problematic. The reason is that the Court will only
consider changing the child support obligation if
the change in income will result in a 25% change in the
basic child support obligation. Of course, you are
only worried (as you should be) in how this affects
your portion of the obligation, so I'd give it a
shot.
As for her moving, I would get to court very quickly on
that issue. For convenience you should act before
another court gets a chance to exercise jurisdiction.
All of the above is way too much in the abstract and
I would *strongly* recommend that you seek the
advice of an attorney. If you are in financial
trouble because of your recent employment setbacks,
give me a call and if I can't afford to take the case
on a reduced fee basis, I work with an organization
that might be able to help you out.
Lowell Wilson
Law Office of Lowell G. Wilson
8335 Court Avenue
Re: Change of occupation
You need to immediately file a motion to reduce child support, and for review of custody and visitation. Material changed circumstances are your reduced income, mother voluntarily quitting her employment, and mother's move from Maryland.
I am a member of the Maryland bar, and can help you if you need assistance.
Olivier Long
Law Offices of Olivier Denier Long
10500 Sager Avenue, #B