Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

In Maryland, parents cannot agree to not support their children. The Maryland General Assembly decided that "the law and policy of this State is that the child's best interest is of paramount importance and cannot be altered by the parties. A parent has a legal obligation to provide support for the child [in proportion to their gross earnings]." In short, there are 3 parties to a divorce -- the husband, the wife, and the State. The husband and wife can't do anything regarding the divorce without the State being on board and the State will not allow the parties to short-change their kids. With that said, you are absolutely entitled to argue to the Court why the guideline should be not be strictly adhered to. Best of luck.******The above is intended for informational purposes only and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.******

From section 12-202 of the Family Law Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland: "There is a rebuttable presumption that the amount of child support which would result from teh application of the child support guidelines . . . is the correct amount of child support to be awarded." You have an uphill battle to persuade the court that a lower amount is appropriate. Furthermore, in the 1994 case of Walsh v. Walsh, the Court of Appeals ruled that, since child support is a right of the child, the parents cannot simply make a bargain to the child's detriment. If you argue that the child support should be lower simply because mom and dad agree to it, you're going to lose. If you argue that the child support should be lower because the obligor is paying other things, such as the mortgage on the house where the child is living, life insurance, college education expenses, medical expenses, visitation related travel expenses, you might have a bit more success. In addition, some Maryland counties are more flexible on the issue than others.