Child Support Overtime Income Divorce in Maryland

As we have discussed child-support in Maryland uses mandatory guidelines to determine the amount of child support to be paid. A question often times arises as to what income is income for purposes of calculating the child-support. There are many issues to consider for example gifts, capital gains, income attributed to a parent and many many other issues. The purpose of this blog entry is to address solely the issue of overtime income for child-support purposes. The court of Special Appeals heard the case of Brown versus Brown and determined that actual income for purposes of determining child support payments is overtime income provided the income is not speculative or uncertain. As such, generally, it is determined that in order to include overtime income as income for child-support the overtime must be a regular part of the parents employment. Typically evidence of the earning history will prove this point. Often times it is necessary to subpoena someone from the payors employment to come to court and offer testimony on the issue of overtime availability. In the case of Johnson v. Johnson the court had the opportunity to visit the issue of a bonus as income for child-support purposes. This issue creates even greater complexity when considering modification delays and the inequity of overpaying in light of the fact that overpayment cannot be reimbursed see Barr versus Barr.

If you have questions regarding Maryland child support please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339.