If you have just been served with court papers requesting child support and there is any doubt that you may not be the biological father of the child(ren) in question, you may want to request that paternity be established.

1. ESTABLISHING PATERNITY.

a. Prior to establishing child support you may request that paternity is confirmed/established. The Court will take you through the process to test the child and the parent to confirm there is a match by virtue of DNA.
b. Failure to request a paternity test in a child support matter and assuming the role (and taking on the responsibility) to support a child may hinder your efforts to deny paternity in the future. When in doubt…get tested.

2. IN THE EVENT CHILD SUPPORT IS CALCULATED.

a. Maryland Courts calculate child support by combining the gross (before taxes are withdrawn) income of both parents.

The child support calculation is pretty straightforward when both parents are employees and the combined gross income for the parents is not higher than $15,000.00. If one parent, or both of the parents are self-employed, the child support calculation may be a little bit more complicated as the Courts may have to decipher and “comb through” business related expense deduction(s), etc.

Also, if the combined gross incomes of the parents exceed $15,000.00, the Judge has more flexibility in considering other factors, as we have a child support figure that is known as an above guidelines combined gross income calculation.

b. Generally, child support is paid by the noncustodial parent to the parent who has the child(ren) the majority of the time (the custodial parent).

Child support may be paid directly to the receiving parent or may be withdrawn and sent to the receiving parent by way of wage withholding…administered by the Maryland Office of Child Support Enforcement.

You may contact us today at the Firm, LLC (703 227 7157 and/or mike@thefirmllc.org) to discuss your potential issue/claim.

If we believe we can assist you, we will set up a formal consultation with you to further discuss your matter.

You may view our informational videos, testimonials, and client reviews on our website, thefirmllc.org, and to see more videos select the Facebook tab.

Take Care!

Legal Disclaimer: The above information is created for general information purposes only. As such, the information and contents should not be deemed formal legal advice; nor does the information and contents create a lawyer/client relationship between any party and the editors/creators”. We encourage persons accessing the Newsletter to seek the advice of counsel to discuss their specific legal issues/situation.