What If My Ex Won’t Pay Spousal or Child Support?

One of the many challenging aspects of divorce is that, from a financial perspective, the parties often struggle to live as well separately as they did when they were living together. Why is this often the case? One reason is the costs involved in renting or buying separate apartments or houses, as well as the separate expenses of items like monthly phone plans and home insurance. Additionally, the property division necessitated by the divorce may have jeopardized the couple’s retirement assets and plans, requiring them to split 401(k) s and pensions. In many cases, their individual Federal taxes will be higher. These are just a few of the unanticipated costs that often surprise people when they get divorced. And the cost of the divorce may also have drained the couple’s emergency savings.

Because of the financial pressures inherent in many divorces, it is often the case that the partner who is ordered to pay alimony and/or child support struggles to make these regular payments. What are your remedies if your spouse isn’t keeping current on his or her support obligations, or has stopped paying entirely?

Enforcing Spousal Support in Maryland

In the state of Maryland, the judge considers several factors when determining whether to order spousal support. Among other factors, these include the length of the marriage, the age and health of the spouses, and why the marriage ended. There are several types of spousal support, also known as alimony, in Maryland: alimony pendente lite, rehabilitative alimony, and indefinite alimony. 

Alimony pendente lite is temporary financial support provided to one spouse during the divorce process. A court can award this type of alimony for the interim period between when you file for divorce and the time the divorce becomes finalized. This temporary support is meant to ensure that both parties are able to maintain a reasonable standard of living during the divorce process, especially if there is a large differential in the respective earnings of the spouses. Alimony pendente lite is distinct from rehabilitative and indefinite alimony, which may be awarded as part of the divorce decree. It’s important to be aware that the legal standard for being awarded alimony pendente lite is different from that for rehabilitative and indefinite alimony, and it is possible that even if you receive pendente lite alimony, you will not necessarily be awarded alimony after the divorce.

The most common type of post-divorce alimony is rehabilitative alimony, whose primary purpose is to help a spouse become self-supporting. It may include giving the spouse time and money to attend college or a technical training program, for example. Rehabilitative alimony is typically awarded for a limited time and duration. 

Indefinite alimony, which is relatively rare, continues on indefinitely after the divorce. It’s typically awarded to a spouse where the earning differential is very large between the parties, or if one party is disabled, in bad health, or unable to work. In these types of cases, the court has typically decided that indefinite alimony is necessary for the receiving spouse to maintain an adequate standard of living. 

If the party who is supposed to be receiving alimony is not receiving payments, the court can enforce the order if:

• The uncooperative spouse lives in Maryland
• The uncooperative spouse lives in a state in the United States that has a reciprocal agreement with Maryland
• The uncooperative spouse owns property in Maryland, such as real estate, bank accounts, a business, or stocks and bonds 

If a person refuses to pay court-ordered spousal support, despite having the ability to do so, he or she may be held in contempt of court. Contempt may result in jail time, although it is rare in these cases.

Enforcing Child Support In Maryland 

Parents in Maryland have an obligation to support their children. This is true in every case, even if the parents never married or are no longer married. In determining the amount of child support to be paid, the courts look at a number of factors, including the following:

• The respective income of the parents
• The number of children requiring support
• The child custody arrangements
• The child’s expenses, including childcare, educational, and medical expenses

Maryland has Child Support Guidelines that contain a formula to determine the amount of child support that should be ordered based on the factors listed above. These Guidelines apply when the parents’ combined pre-tax income is less than $15,000 per month. For parents who earn more than $15,000 per month, calculating child support involves examining their respective income levels, their children’s needs, and other relevant factors. When calculating the exact monthly dollar figure for child support, Maryland uses the “Income Shares Model.” This model is based on the idea that the child should receive the same proportion of each parent’s income as he or she would have if the parents had remained married.  

What happens if a parent is frequently delinquent in making payments, or won’t pay the court-ordered child custody amount at all? Maryland has an earnings withholding statute to which spousal support orders are subject. The law allows the court to withhold the court-ordered amount from the paying spouse’s salary and send it to the spouse who receives it. 

In addition, the Maryland Child Support Administration has a number of tools available to encourage or force a parent to make payments. These enforcement mechanisms include:

• Withholding child support from paychecks, unemployment compensation, or workers’ compensation benefits
• Intercepting tax refunds
• Reporting payment delinquencies to credit bureaus
• Suspending Maryland state driver’s licenses, professional licenses, and certificates

Of course, there may be legitimate reasons that a spouse cannot pay, such as:

• Significant changes in income
• Incarceration
• Changes in work-related day care costs 
• Changes in health care costs
• Changes in transportation costs for visitation
• A change in child custody
• A change in the financial needs of the child

In these cases, the child support order can be modified by filing a motion with the court. 

Contact The Law Offices of Brandon Bernstein, LLC

If your spouse fails to comply with a lawful spousal or child support order, a Bethesda family law attorney can talk to you about the remedies you can take advantage of. Here at The Law Offices of Brandon Bernstein, LLC, we’re fierce advocates for our clients’ interests and experts in all Maryland family law issues. Contact us today for a free consultation.