Tag Archive for: Child Support

Who’s Your Daddy? A Unique Child Support Solution

A judge makes a decision that creates a unique child support solution

A woman sued a man for child support in Brazil for her daughter, now nine years old, who was born after a casual fling.  The judge ordered a DNA test and it came back identifying the man as the father.

Which Twin?

But the man denied he slept with the woman.  It turned out that he had a twin brother.  The woman could not say positively which of the twins she had slept with.

So, the judge ordered the second twin to take a DNA test and it came back as a match as well.  The second twin denied that he slept with the woman.

Faced with a Solomon-like puzzle, Judge Filipe Luis Peruca issued his decision that created a unique child support solution.

“It’s evident that the defendants, from adolescence, took advantage — and continue to take advantage! — of the fact that they are identical twins,” he wrote in the ruling. “It became clear that they used each other’s name to attract as many women as possible and to hide instances of betrayal in their relationships.”

The Two-Father Child Support Solution

The judge ordered that the names of both men be added to the child’s birth certificate. He also ordered each man to pay $60 a month in child support and to collectively pay 50 percent of the child’s school and medical expenses.

That is twice as much child support usually awarded to children with a similar economic background in Brazil.

/by James J. Gross

Going Broke on a Million a Year

It is a lament divorce judges frequently hear.  Since alimony and child support are based on income, you can’t blame the judges for being somewhat cynical.  It is a law of the Universe.  Income decreases in the year of divorce.

But what if you make a million dollars a year?  Carol Rose, estranged spouse of former baseball star, Pete Rose, says that Pete makes at least $100,000 a month signing autographs and making personal appearances. However, according to Carol, he has spent most of it on high stakes gambling and still owes significant amounts to the casinos and the IRS.

Carol is asking the court to compel Pete to reveal the full details of his finances in their divorce.

/by James J. Gross

Modifying Maryland Child Support

by Michael F. Callahan

You need solid information upon which to base a claim for modification of child support.  So when we represent payees we generally include a requirement to exchange tax returns or annual income documents like W-2’s and 1099’s annually or bi-annually.

If you are being paid child support, and don’t know whether the payer’s income has increased, it’s sometimes risky to proceed on mere suspicion rather than solid information.

And if  your income has decreased that may not help because the child support payee’s income does not change support amount much at most income levels under the guidelines adopted in 2010 by Maryland.

If, on the other hand, you are paying child support, and the payee’s income increases, and therefore you think the payee does not “need” all of the originally ordered support, you may not be successful in reducing child support under the revised guidelines.

/by James J. Gross

Gambling Intercept

Since 2011, Louisiana has collected more than $2 million in child support from intercepting the winnings of non-custodial parents at the state’s 19 gambling casinos.

Other states with similar laws include Colorado, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio and West Virginia.

/by James J. Gross

Comparison of Child Support: Maryland, Virginia and D.C. Guidelines

Here is a comparison applying the child support guidelines of each local jurisdiction to a typical case: two children, sole custody, $0 health insurance and $0 child care costs and combined monthly income of $10,000, non-custodial parent’s income is $7,500 and custodial parent’s income is $2,500:
District
total support $25,174/12 = $2,098
custodial % of income .75
recommended support order $1,573

Maryland
total support $1,811
custodial % of income .75
recommended support order $1,358

Virginia
total support – $1,567
custodial % of income .75
recommended support order $1,175

Again, applying the child support guidelines to a case with the same facts except combined monthly income of $15,000, non-custodial parent’s income is $11,250 and custodial parent’s income is $3,750:
District of Columbia recommended support order – $2,197

Maryland recommended support order – $2,135

Virginia recommended support order – $1,541

And the same facts except combined monthly income of $20,000, non-custodial parent’s income is $15,000 and custodial parent’s income is $5,000
District of Columbia: recommended support order – $2,714

Maryland recommended support order (extrapolated)- $2,847

Virginia recommended support order – $1,765

And now with combined monthly income of $30,000, non-custodial parent’s income is $22,500 and custodial parent’s income is $7,500
District of Columbia: recommended support order – $2,714

Maryland recommended support order (extrapolated)- $4,271

Virginia recommended support order – $2,144

As you can see, at higher incomes, child support is much lower in Virginia than in Maryland or the District, just as it was in 2011. At incomes over $20,000, recommended support in Maryland using extrapolation is much higher than in DC or Virginia.

/by Michael Callahan

Man Jailed for Child Support that Employer Failed to Pay

Clifford Hall, 43, of Houston was sentenced to six months in jail for failure to pay child support.

After exhausting his appeal rights, he turned himself in and began serving his sentence last week.

But then AT&T, his employer, provided an affidavit that it had withheld the incorrect amount from his paychecks.

He was released from jail.

/by James J. Gross

Marital Status and Child Support

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Guest post by Lauren Williams, staff writer at King Law Offices, Family Law Attorneys in NC & SC.

In Maryland, a child’s entitlement to support does not depend upon parents’ marital status. Every child is entitled to a level of support in proportion to the parents’ economic position regardless of whether the child is born of wedlock or out-of-wedlock or to parents whose marriage ended in divorce.  As with children of divorce, children born out-of-wedlock are entitled to fairness and equity in regard to child support.

“Born out-of-wedlock” means born to an unmarried female or born to a married female but begotten during the continuance of the marriage status by one other than her husband.

Under Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 1-206(a) there is a presumption that the child is a legitimate child if the child is born or conceived during a marriage. A child born to parents who are not married is considered to be the child of the mother. Pursuant to Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 1-208(b), the ‘father and child relationship’ can be established in one of the following four methods: (1) Judicial determination of paternity, (2) Acknowledgment by father in writing that he is the father of the child, (3) Open and notorious recognition by the father that he is the father of the child, or (4) Acknowledgment by father that he is the father of the child after marrying the mother.

The Paternity Statute (Fam. Law §§ 5-1001 through 5-1048) provides a rebuttable presumption that the child is the legitimate child of the man to whom child’s mother was married at the time of conception. Upon request of a party, the court may order the parties (mother, child and the father) to submit to blood or genetic tests to determine the paternity. If the test reveals a statistical probability of the father’s paternity of at least 99.0%, it may be received into evidence and constitutes a rebuttable presumption of the paternity.  The court may pass necessary orders declaring the father based on the test.  The court may also pass necessary orders for 1, support, 2. Custody of the child, 3. Visitation rights with the child, 4. Giving bond, and 5. Any other matter that is related to the general welfare and best interests of the child.

If the child was conceived during a marriage, mere declaration by father claiming to be the father of a child born out-of-wedlock is not sufficient to overcome the presumption of legitimacy of the child based on the time of conception.  In order to overcome the presumption, the father must provide certain proof(s) specified in Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law § 5-1027(c)(2), (3), and (4).

Maryland follows the income shares model for child support.  Under this model, a child is entitled to a standard of living that corresponds to the economic position and lifestyle of the parents.

/by Guest Post

Tax Planning for Divorce (Part 5-Payments to Your Ex)

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Guest Post by John Ellsworth, Esq.

If you’re paying alimony, you can take a tax deduction for the payments, even if you don’t itemize deductions.

Keep in mind, though, that the IRS won’t consider the payments to be true alimony unless they are spelled out in the divorce agreement. This is another rule for you to memorize: unless the divorce decree spells it out, it’s probably not going to be accepted by the IRS as alimony.

Your ex, meanwhile, must pay income tax on those amounts. Be sure you know your ex-spouse’s Social Security number. You have to report it on your tax return to claim the alimony deduction.

The opposite is true for child support: You don’t get a deduction for paying child support and the recipient doesn’t pay income tax.

/by James J. Gross

Negotiation Tip: Segregation

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Some issues are just too big and complex to tackle all at once.  What to do about the children is a good example.

But you can eat an elephant if you take your time and take small bites.

That’s what you do in negotiations.  If you get stuck on a problem, start breaking it down into to smaller bites.  Separate the issues.

Segregate the big issue of “children” into custody and child support.

Then take custody and keep breaking it down.  Segregate custody into who will make the legal decisions, where will the child  live, and what will the time sharing schedule look like.

You can even break down legal decisions into separate pieces like who will decide which doctors to use, who will decide where the child goes to school and who will decide what religion to raise the child in.

Sometimes it’s easier to reach agreement with a series of small decisions than trying to tackle the whole thing at once.

/by James J. Gross

The Prospective Client

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Father’s Rights Under “Duress”

Danny Carr, Counselor and Attorney at Law, punched the button on his phone this morning to listen to messages left last night on his voice-mail.

“I need to hire you for a custody case.  This is Ken Woodard. Call me at 301-555-5555.”

Carr hit redial, and when someone answered, he said,  “Mr. Woodard, this is Danny Carr, returning your call.”

“I was forced to give up custody and visitation by my wife’s attorney by duress,” said Woodard.

“Did he hold a gun to your head? “

“No, but he told me I would lose if I didn’t agree.”

“That’s not duress.”

“OK, well then I found out I still have to pay child support.”

“Right.  Parents are obligated to support their children.”

“But if I don’t have custody or visitation, haven’t my parental rights been terminated?”

“No.  You are still the children’s father.”

“My wife accused me of neglecting and abusing the kids.  Can I file a petition to terminate my parental rights on the basis of her saying I’m an unfit parent?”

“No.  You can’t file a complaint against yourself to terminate your own parental rights.”

“That doesn’t sound right.”

“I have to go now, Mr. Woodard.  Good luck with your case.”

/by James J. Gross