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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Default Retroactive Child Support

    My question involves child support in the State of: Maryland.

    My girlfriend and I had a child when we were in college. She left one day, and I have been a single father supporting our son on my own for over 10 years. Recently, a friend spotted her, and we were able to gather some details that include her address and recent legal action in which she was involved as a defendant.

    We do not believe she is working at this time or, if she is, she does it very infrequently. She does come from a wealthy family, she is married, and she does have a number of assets including a house, a car and other property.

    I am considering petitioning the state for child support. My son is 13 at this point, and I am mainly interested in support as a way of ensuring we have something saved for his college expenses (he's very bright, and I have not been able to put anything away all these years). I understand it is possible to receive retroactive child support going back as many as 4 years, but I have not found any information on that specific to the state of Maryland.

    Can someone help me understand what I might actually be able to expect? My understanding is that hiring an attorney would cost from $5k to $10k, and I really want to understand what the net result might be before retaining someone.

    M

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Retroactive Child Support

    The dollar figures you're describing seem more in line with a contested child custody case (you and she fighting over custody of the child), not a simple child support action.

    Has a custody, visitation or support order ever been put into effect for your case? Your paternity was established by virtue of affidavit, and you're on the child's birth certificate as father?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
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    Default Re: Retroactive Child Support

    I am the father, my name appears on the birth certificate.

    In regards to custody, no support order has ever been put in place.

    M

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Retroactive Child Support

    Self-help forms for requesting child support can be found here. I would suggest getting a formal custody order as well; forms are here. An overview of the child support process can be found here.

    I see the standard authority in Maryland that a court cannot ordinarily retroactively modify a support order, but I haven't seen anything limiting the award of retroactive support in a first custody order. There may well be such a limitation in the statutes governing establishment of paternity, but I didn't check them as statutes governing establishment of paternity are unlikely to have any relevance to a situation where the retroactive support would be sought against a mother.

    Note, a court may impose a time limit as a matter of equity, or under a statute or policy I didn't locate.

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