Bel Air Child Support Lawyer
Our attorneys provide legal services to parents who wish to create a child support order, modify an existing order, or keep the payments that they are responsible for at a reasonable level. In addition, we help keep the paying parent accountable by working with Maryland’s child support enforcement program. Whether you are the receiving or paying parent, the Bel Air child support lawyers at Schlaich & Thompson Chartered are here to answer your questions and provide results.
The Cost of Raising a Child
Raising a child is expensive. After all, the average cost of raising a child from birth just until they are 18 is $245,340, or $304,480 adjusted for projected inflation, according to the Department of Agriculture. And, both parents should be held responsible for providing for their child. Child support is a financial contribution made to the custodial parent from the noncustodial parent. Whether the two parents were ever married does not have an effect on the support obligation. The custodial parent may use the support however they may see fit in order to provide for their child, be it food, clothing, education expenses, housing, toys, or anything else.
Calculating Child Support Payments in Maryland
Child support is based off a variety of factors regarding each parent’s income, the parenting plan, the needs of the child, and more. According to the People’s Law Library of Maryland, the court makes an order of child support based on the following using a specific calculation to come to the final number:
- Each parent’s actual monthly income;
- Each parent’s adjusted actual income;
- The child’s health insurance expenses;
- Out-of-pocket health care expenses; and
- Child care expenses.
How to Modify an Existing Child Support Order
When the court decides a child support order, the decision reflects the variables at the time. Those variables, such as income, are bound to change over the years. Modifying child support is a normal step to take after the original order was created, and modifications can be made when there is a substantial and continuing change in one or more of the following:
- Remarriage;
- Child’s medical costs increase or decrease
- Job loss or loss in income; or
- Increase in income.
Enforcing an Order
Sadly, the majority of child support orders are either only paid in part, or not paid at all. Delinquent payments are so common that it can be hard to make the court hold the parent accountable, which is why working with an experienced attorney is so crucial. Our lawyers have experience and have had success working with Maryland’s Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA), which takes steps such as wage garnishment or even jail time to hold a non-paying parent accountable.
Call the Bel Air Child Support Lawyers of Schlaich & Thompson Chartered Today
Child support is an absolutely vital element to raising a child with all of the care and tools that they need to succeed in life. We assist custodial and noncustodial parents, with the key goal of putting your child’s best interests at the forefront. Call our Bel Air or Columbia law offices today. The attorneys at Schlaich & Thompson Chartered are here to help in every way that we can.
