Under Maryland divorce statutes, both parents are responsible for the upbringing of their children. Thus, when spouses get divorced in Calvert County, Maryland, the Maryland divorce courts will order both parents to support their children. The parent awarded physical custody of the children will “pay” their child support in the form of housing, food, clothing, transportation, entertainment, etc. The non-custodial parent (the parent without physical custody of the children) will pay child support to the other parent either via check, cash, or some form of direct payment transfer.

However, child support in Maryland is often more than “writing a monthly check.” If you have questions about Maryland child custody, support, or divorce, call for a consultation with the attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. You can also contact us via our contact page. We are top-rated Maryland divorce and family law attorneys with offices in Waldorf, Maryland. Below is more information about base and additional child support in Maryland.

The “monthly check” mentioned above is only for the “base” child support that is required by the Maryland divorce statutes. See Md. Fam. Law Code, § 12-204(a)(2). Such child support is intended to cover the items listed above, like food and housing.

On the other hand, there are several forms of “additional child support” listed in the Maryland family law statutes that are not limited in amount. There are three common forms of “additional child support” that are ordered by Calvert County, MD, divorce courts. These are for day care expenses (when younger children are involved), for tuition and related education costs where the parents decide to use private schools, and costs for health insurance for the kids. Payment for such “additional child support” is extra and over and above the base child support represented by the “monthly check.” Other examples of “additional child support” include payment for transportation for the kids for travel between the homes of the parents and for extraordinary medical expenses where one or more children have special needs.

As noted, the Maryland divorce statutes contain Guidelines for how much a court should award for “base child support.” As such, there is, in practice, an upper limit to how much base child support a court can award. However, there are no Guidelines for “additional child support” and, as such, there is no upper limit on what could be awarded. The general legal guidelines are that the “additional child support” be based on the actual lived experience of the family and what is in the “best interests” of the children.

As with base child support, an additional child support is paid proportionally by the parents. In general, under Maryland’s child support scheme, each parent pays their proportionate share of child support expenses based on the parents’ joint income. So, if one parent earns 75% of the income, that parent will pay 75% of the child support. This applies to base child support and to any additional child support ordered by the Maryland divorce court.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 11701 Central Avenue, Suite 200, Waldorf, MD 20601.