Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
child support: effect of receipt book proceeds
Brief relationship ends, 1 month later woman announces pregnancy, parties never marry. Paternity confirmed. Father sells property owned prior to meeting the mother and receives significant proceeds paid out in 3 payments. (Not salary, not royalties, not dividends nor interest -but proceeds of sale) Is this income for purposes of child suppport determination?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: child support: effect of receipt book proceeds
For divorce purposes the house is excluded. To be eligible for an exclusion, your home must have been owned by you and used as your main home for a period of at least two years out of the five years prior to its sale or exchange. The required two years of ownership and use during the five�year period ending on the date of sale do not have to be continuous. You can meet the ownership and the use tests during different two year periods. However, both tests must be met during the five�year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange.
Transfers between spouses that are incident to divorce are not treated as a gain for taxation purposes.
Child support payments are neither expenses or income. The child is a deduction on a tax return based on the time that the child lives with a parent.
Re: child support: effect of receipt book proceeds
It is within the discretion of the judge to consider capital gains as income for the purpose of making a child support award, but it's not automatic. So if the money received by the father represented a gain on the sale of the property, it's potentially subject to an award.