What Can Child Support Be Spent on in Maryland?

Child support payments in Maryland are supposed to be spent for the direct benefit of the child or children involved. Broadly speaking, these would be expenses related to housing, clothing, food, medical costs, school expenses, entertainment, vacations, etc. In theory, an ex-spouse should be spending child support payments on the child/children and should not be spending the money on themselves. But, in practice, it can be difficult to say for sure that an ex-spouse is spending child support on themselves. Maryland divorce courts do NOT require that a spouse receiving child support provide any accounting of how the money is spent. Such would certainly be impractical and unreasonable given the time and resource limitations of Maryland divorce courts. Imagine how difficult it would be if child support payments had to be itemized like an employer’s expense reimbursement form.

Another practical problem is separating out the child support money from other income that the custodial parent might have. If all income is deposited into one bank account, how can it be said that this particular dollar was child support as opposed to income from a job?

As long as the child or children are being adequately cared for, the Maryland divorce courts are not going to spend much time even if it is proven that some child support money has been spent on things for the parent.

That being said, there ARE some extreme cases where Maryland divorce courts will take notice if child support payments are being diverted to use by the ex-spouse. Generally, these circumstances involve neglect of some sort. If it can be shown that the child or children are suffering neglect because so much of the child support money is being diverted to the personal use of the ex-spouse, then the Maryland divorce courts will step in to investigate and, potentially, remedy the situation. Likely, what must be shown is this:

• Child support payments as ordered were sufficient
• Payments were actually made
• Child or children are suffering neglect through such things as failure to pay rent/mortgage, to buy food and clothing, to pay utilities, etc.
• The child support money is being substantially used for the personal use of the custodial parent

Maryland divorce courts will take a particularly harsh view if it can be proven that the custodial parent has been neglecting the child/children and the use of the child support has been for “adult” materials such as alcohol, drugs, etc.

Can I find out how my ex-spouse is spending the child support money?

If you have legitimate reasons — and some evidence — to believe that your ex-spouse is diverting child support payments to personal use (to the detriment of the child or children), then you can ask the Maryland divorce court for approval to investigate how your ex-spouse is spending the money. You might be able to obtain an accounting, copies of bank statements, credit card bills, etc.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce 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, Divorce lawyers. Our address is