Do You Pay Child Support with 50/50 Custody in Maryland?

In Maryland, every parent has a legal obligation to support their children regardless of the custody agreement. That means that both you and your ex must contribute to the cost of your child's education.

The parent who has primary physical custody of the children (the custodial parent) is usually the one who will receive child support.

The other parent (the one who does not have custody) is usually the one who will pay child support for the children. This may change depending on each parent's income.

It can also change if parents share physical custody of the children. Shared physical custody means that each parent supports their children overnight for more than 35% of the year (127 nights). Child support is determined by a mathematical calculation established by law. The fact that one party has been awarded primary custody of the children does not guarantee that child support will also be awarded, but it is more likely that it will not.

If the parties cannot agree on a parenting schedule, the court will have to decide what it deems most appropriate for the child. However, any decision the court makes to reduce the amount of child support must be in the best interests of the children. Custody is never solely up to the child, but the court can consider their wishes if they are old enough and able to form a rational judgment. The non-custodial parent pays their share of child support to the custodial parent by issuing a check or through some form of income garnishment. This means that the court will act as if the father had income when determining the payment of child support.

In Maryland, it is mandatory that, in all cases involving child support, the child support guidelines required by law be used. The parent with physical custody “pays their share of child support” by providing the home, food, clothing and other basic necessities for daily life. The term “visitation” generally refers to the time that the party who is not the primary guardian of the child spends time with them, but it could refer to each party's specific time with them. Both Maryland and the District of Columbia have online child support calculators that can be used to calculate child support obligations. So, if parents earn roughly the same amount of money every month, they'll each have to pay roughly the same amount of child support each month. Even if joint physical custody is granted, there is no guarantee that child support will not also be awarded to one of the parties.

In Maryland, like many other states, the only fundamental standard for determining custody is what is “in the best interest of the child.”.