Maryland Child Support Modification Montgomery Lawyer

Modification of child support is any change made to a child support order. If a parent believes there has been a significant material change in the circumstances that should cause a modification in child support after it has been ordered, they may file a formal request to the court and change the terms of the child support. Any parent, whether they are the paying parent or the receiving parent is allowed to file a request a modification the child support order.

In Maryland, in order for a modification of a child support order to be granted, there has to be a significant change in the circumstances surrounding the order since it was originally granted. There are many situations that are considered significant changes. The following are some of the situations where a court may grant a modification:

In the state of Maryland, modification may be granted if either parent’s income undergoes a change of at least 25% (increase or decrease) from when the minor guardianship order was originally granted. If a parent’s income decreases by an amount less than 25%, they may request a change to the order however there is no guarantee that the court will rule in their favour.

In Maryland, if the receiving parent comes into a significant amount of inheritance or money in general, the paying parent may request to pay a lesser amount of juvenile maintenance than previously ordered. Similarly, if the paying parent receives a large amount of money due to inheritance or otherwise, the receiving parent may request an increase in the amount of support paid.

If the needs of the child change such as the child obtains an illness or a disability or even if the child grows older and requires more money to spend on clothes, food, education etc., since the order was originally made and it is essential that juvenile maintenance be increased, a court will grant the modification of juvenile maintenance.

In Maryland, the court may also grant modification if the requesting guardian can prove that a change in the amount of juvenile maintenance paid is only fair. If a guardian obtains a disability or is convicted for a crime and sentenced to jail, the court will order modification to juvenile maintenance.

Verbal agreements are not recognized by the state of Maryland as official agreements. If a verbal agreement is made, it is possible that in the future, either guardian to file a claim to the court and argue the basis of the agreement or that it was never made to begin with. For example, one guardian loses their job and verbally requests that they pay less support to the receiving guardian. The receiving guardian verbally agrees to be paid less juvenile maintenance. A year later, the paying guardian is hired and begins to pay the original payments again, however, the receiving guardian demands that the paying guardian owe him/her the amount of support that was not fully paid over the year that the paying guardian was jobless. If this case is taken to court, the judge will rule in favour of the receiving parent and order the paying parent to pay the original amount of minor guardianship that should have been paid over the year. To avoid situations like these, any modification to child support should be done through the court.

If you need a Maryland Child Support lawyer to help you with your Child Support case in Maryland, call us at 888-437-7747. Our Maryland Child Support attorneys can help you. C