In 1990, Maryland enacted Child Support Guidelines in order to have appropriate and consistent child support awards. Unless application of the Guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case, the Court will apply the Guidelines when establishing child support.

The Guidelines calculate child support based on each parent’s respective gross income (before taxes), the number of children and other expenses, such as work-related child care, extraordinary medical costs and private school expenses. Changes in circumstances may lead to modifications in child support awards.

There are two (2) formulas for Child Support Guidelines: Formula A for sole custody and Formula B for shared custody. The “shared” Formula B applies to reduce the child support obligation when both parents have the children overnight for more than 35% of the year (or 128 overnights per year).