Bethesda, MD asked in Family Law and Child Support for Maryland

Q: My exwife' sincome increased by $43K from the previous year. Do I have a case to have my child support revised?

Our original agreement was to review income every year and adjust but since she has had an increase of $43K from the previous year she does not believe that we should use last years income but a projection of what she will make.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
Answered
  • Rockville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: Of course you have a basis, as it is stated in the agreement you both negotiated, signed and bound yourselves to follow. Have a lawyer run the guidelines based on the new income figures, send a demand over to adjust the amount, and if there is a court order currently in effect setting forth the amount of child support, you will need to file a motion to modify the child support amount and enforce the agreement, and request attorney's fees. This is how it works: the ONLY way you can pay a different amount of child support set forth in a court order (a judgment of divorce that incorporates an agreement makes the agreement a court order) is if the court itself modifies the order. A court can modify an order and only make it retroactive to the date you file the motion to modify it, or it can do so by consent of both parties.

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