The Child Support Administration is required by law to review the Child Support Guidelines every 4 years to ensure that application of the Child Support Guidelines results in appropriate child support awards. The Child Support Administration must report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly. During the 2020 Legislative…
Please join our family law department chair and senior partner, Monica Scherer for a Zoom session on February 4, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. She will discuss the basics of divorce and how to start getting prepared for what lies ahead. Please feel free to submit general questions in advance which…
Many parents have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the closure of non-essential businesses and the government recommendation to stay at home, some parents are not able to find work. A court-ordered obligation to pay child support does not automatically stop because of a job…
Another unfortunate consequence of COVID-19 is the postponement of the pendente lite hearings, settlement conferences and merit trials which were actually scheduled on the court docket months ago, but are not going forward as planned due to the court closures. Thus far, my experience has been that the courts are…
Maness remains precedent in above the guidelines cases. Maness v. Sawyer, 108 Md. App. 295 (2008). In Maness, the Court of Special Appeals, again, reviewed an above-the-guidelines case. The father’s monthly actual income was $7,833 and the mother’s monthly actual income was $8,333, totaling a combined monthly income of $16,166. …
Bagley remains precedent in “above-the-guidelines” cases Bagley v. Bagley, 98 Md. App. 18 (1993) In Bagley, the Court of Special Appeals was asked to review the findings and recommendations of a Domestic Relations Master which were adopted by the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. This case, like Voishan and your…
Voishan remains precedent in “above-the-guidelines” cases. Voishan v. Palma, 327 Md. 318 (1992). In Voishan, the Court of Appeals addressed a mother’s Motion to Modify Child Support. The trial court granted the mother’s motion and ordered the father to double the amount of support he was paying for the parties’…
Now that the same-sex marriage legislation has been approved by the voters of the State of Maryland, we thought it would be a good idea to re-visit the issues surrounding the children of same-sex couples. If you are a frequent reader of our blogs, you may recall on February 28,…
As the Baltimore Sun reports, Thursday night, February 23, 2012, the Maryland Senate passed Govern Martin O’Malleys’ bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland. We blogged on June 28, 2011 that New York had passed the law allowing same sex couples to wed, making it the 6th state to do…
Many times in cases where I represent the Father in a Maryland custody case, child support is often an issue where perhaps some believe the man is treated somewhat inequitably. While I do not necessarily agree that is always the case, I have heard many Father’s say “If I were…