For parents who are divorcing in Charles County, Maryland, one of the more difficult tasks is to determine the exact amount of child support that will need to be paid. The monthly child support payment is based on the joint incomes of the parents and a mathematical formula from the Maryland divorce statutes. To the extent that a parent wants to be ordered to pay as little child support as possible, there is healthy attention paid to finding as many deductions and income exclusions as possible in calculating “income.” The opposite is true for any parent expecting to receive payments from the other parent.

The Maryland divorce statute is pretty clear on what types of monies “count” as “income.” But, there are some areas of vagueness. For example, one of the more important “unknowns” is whether “gifts” are to be deemed as “income.” Maryland lawmakers either could not decide or chose to let the courts decide. Thus, essentially, the Maryland divorce courts are given the authority to make that determination based on the facts of the individual case. That is, gifts are sometimes “income” and sometimes not. If you need help with gifts and income, contact the experienced Charles County, Maryland, Family Law and Child Custody Attorneys at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland, and provide Child Support legal services in Charles County and other parts of Southern Maryland.

With respect to gifts, for a better understanding, consider the following three scenarios. As noted, Maryland divorce courts will make a case-by-case decision on whether gifts are income for purposes of calculating monthly child support payments.

Scenario 1: One of the grandparents has been given $1,000 to one of the parents each month for several years to help with expenses.

Likely result: The monthly payments will likely be deemed “income.” Courts will look to many factors in evaluating the question of gift-as-income. These include timing, regularity, amount, and reason for the gift. Here, the timing is consistent and regular, the amount is the sam,e and the purpose is to help with living expenses. All of these aspects are similar to income and, thus, likely these gifts will be deemed income.

Scenario 2: Same, but the gift is $12,000 at Christmas.

Likely result: This will be a more difficult decision since the gift is once a year and comes at a traditional time of gift giving. Guess: since the gift is specified to be every year, our guess is that the gift will be considered income because of the purpose, the timing, and the regularity of the gift. If the gift were only for one year or sporadically given, then our guess would be that the gift would not be deemed income.

Scenario 3: Occasionally, a family member — maybe three or four times a year — gives money to one of the parents to help with their struggling business. The amounts are different each time, sometimes large amounts, and other times small amounts, and the parties prepare loan documents (like promissory notes). The family member expects repayment. The parent-borrower has made payments on the loans, but not many and not regularly. But, the family member lender does not “push” for repayment.

Likely result: Other factors that a Maryland divorce court will consider when making a decision about a gifts-as-income include whether the gifts are made in the form of loans, whether repayment is expected, and whether traditional loan papers are prepared. In this scenario, because these factors are present, likely, the court willlikely  determine that the gifts/loans are NOT income.

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 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.