Is There Any Way Aroung The Maryland Child Support Guidelines

Expenses that may change the Maryland child support guidelines

The Maryland Child Support Guidelines carry a presumption of correctness. The relevant statute is below and is available at the following link. http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mdcode/

Md. FAMILY LAW Code Ann. § 12-202 (2013)

§ 12-202. Use of guidelines; modification of orders; review

(a) Use required; presumptions; departure from guidelines. —

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, in any proceeding to establish or modify child support, whether pendente lite or permanent, the court shall use the child support guidelines set forth in this subtitle.

(2) (i) There is a rebuttable presumption that the amount of child support which would result from the application of the child support guidelines set forth in this subtitle is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.

 What is a “presumption of correctness?”  It means that you can put forth evidence of the expenses for the child(ren) or for yourself but, unless that evidence is extremely compelling as described in section 12-202(a)(2)(iii), the court is required to set child support based upon the guidelines figures.  That section is enumerated below:

 (ii) The presumption may be rebutted by evidence that the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case.

 (iii) In determining whether the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, the court may consider:

    1. the terms of any existing separation or property settlement agreement or court order, including any provisions for payment of mortgages or marital debts, payment of college education expenses, the terms of any use and possession order or right to occupy the family home under an agreement, any direct payments made for the benefit of the children required by agreement or order, or any other financial considerations set out in an existing separation or property settlement agreement or court order; and

    2. the presence in the household of either parent of other children to whom that parent owes a duty of support and the expenses for whom that parent is directly contributing.

In a previous article we discussed expenses that might not normally be included in child support and which may have impact upon your case.. Those are the type of areas you want to explore if you think the guidelines are too low or too high by themselves. Those included transportation costs for the children or either parent to spend time with the children, special educational needs to name a few.

Child Support Modification in Frederick Maryland
Tim Conlon, Esquire for The Custody Place

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