Maryland Divorce and Child Support
From First Filing to Final Order
Twelve Chapters, Start Anywhere
The first seven follow a Maryland divorce from filing to decree. The last five follow the child support guidelines from the statute to the monthly number.
12 chapters · 90 pages
- 019 pages
The Real Timeline for a Maryland Divorce
Before anyone asks me about grounds, before anyone asks about custody, before anyone asks who keeps the house, they ask me how long this is going to take.The two-to-four-month trackThe year-or-longer trackThe courthouse adds months you did not cause
- 026 pages
Maryland's Three Grounds for Divorce
A ground is the legal reason you give the court for ending your marriage. You have to pick one to file, and you now have three to pick from.Mutual consent, where the wait is zero and the price is a complete agreementSix-month separation, and what living apart has to meanIrreconcilable differences, the ground with no wait and no agreement required
- 037 pages
Filing in the Right Courthouse
Here is an assumption that trips up first-time filers in both Anne Arundel and Howard County, and it is a completely reasonable one to make.Anne Arundel County, and why the Glen Burnie courthouse is the wrong oneHoward County, and the same rule with a different addressFiling it yourself, and the twenty-page problem
- 046 pages
Pendente Lite Relief, the Bridge Before a Final Decree
A contested divorce can run a year, sometimes a year and three or four months. Your mortgage does not know that.What pendente lite means, in EnglishTemporary is not the same as unimportantThe bridge runs longer than anyone plans for
- 0510 pages
Military Families and the Maryland Divorce Process
My Glen Burnie office sits close enough to Fort George G. Meade and the National Security Agency that this is not a specialty I went looking for.The rules stay the same, except for one thingWhat happens when the court appoints someone like meMaryland law controls, not federal law
- 067 pages
Legal Custody, Physical Custody, and the Family Home
Divorce is usually the easy one. By the time you come to see me, you are usually in a place where you have, for the most part, already been separated, and that makes it much easier.The standard behind both decisionsPhysical custody decides where your child sleepsLegal custody decides who gets to decide
- 077 pages
Mediation, Discovery, and the Marital Settlement Agreement
Most people picture a contested divorce as a courtroom. Two lawyers, a judge, somebody on the stand telling the truth at last.Mediation is not optional in practiceDiscovery answers what mediation cannotThe settlement conference, where a judge checks your homework
- 087 pages
The Maryland Child Support Formula, from Guidelines to Final Number
The first thing to understand about child support in Maryland is that a judge is not picking your number out of the air.How the chart works, and where it stopsA chart that sat still for twenty-five yearsAbove the ceiling, where a judge finally gets a say
- 097 pages
What Counts as Income Under Maryland's Guidelines
The chart in the last chapter is the easy half. The hard half is the number you put into it.The long list of things that countMilitary pay, and the allowance that moves when you doSelf-employment, where the tax return is the starting point and not the answer
- 107 pages
Overnights, Custody Time, and the Support Number
Income is half the formula. This is the other half, and it is simpler to state and stranger in how it behaves.Zero to ninety-two, where nothing you do moves the numberNinety-two to 365, where every night countsThe add-ons, and why you have to prove them
- 118 pages
When the Support Number Can Change
On the downside, once a child support order is put in place and once it is signed by a judge, that is your official number.What it takes to get a number reopenedVoluntary impoverishment, or the pay cut that arrives at a convenient timeYou cannot agree the number away
- 129 pages
Why the Attorney You Hire Changes the Outcome
Eleven chapters of rules, formulas and deadlines. This last one is about the variable that decides how well any of it works for you, and it is not in the statute.Credibility is not the same thing as knowing the lawWhat I will and will not promise youHow I think about the bill
Download the Complete Guide
All twelve chapters, as a single PDF. No email required.
- All twelve chapters in one PDF
- The divorce timeline and Maryland’s child support guidelines
- Written from recorded answers, not a marketing brief
- Free to download, no email required
Free PDF download · No email required
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight from the book. The full answers, with links, are on the FAQ page.
Mohink does not recommend proceeding without one, even for an entirely uncontested case, if legal help is affordable. For those who cannot afford representation, agencies exist to assist unrepresented litigants through the filing process.
Mohink draws a specific income distinction between the two: child support guidelines run on gross income, while alimony calculations use net income. The two also serve different purposes, with child support tied to a legislative formula and alimony left to broader judicial discretion.
According to Mohink, the outcome depends on what the unresolved issue is. A non-waivable issue like child support gets resolved through the guidelines, whatever the parties prefer. Other disputed points can be narrowed by more negotiation, or by a limited hearing on that single issue.
For an uncontested case built on a complete marital settlement agreement, the final hearing is often short. Mohink puts it at roughly ten minutes over Zoom, long enough to take the testimony needed to finalize the divorce.
For a new case, a clear picture of what you want for physical and legal custody. For a modification of an existing order, Mohink recommends bringing any existing court orders and pleadings, along with records of employment, income, taxes, and assets.
Mohink notes that filing first does not carry an inherent legal advantage. But it does start the clock: the case does not move until someone files and the other party is served, so the timeline for temporary relief and scheduling begins with whoever files.
A business interest gets folded into both the property division and the income analysis for support, with discovery playing an outsized role. Mohink stresses that a lawyer needs to review the tax returns and corporate structure rather than accept a bottom-line income figure at face value.
The Bangs formula compares the time a pension built up during the marriage against its total accrual period, and it applies to civilian pensions and retirement plans as well as military retirement. A marital home is handled differently: where money from before the marriage went into it, Maryland credits that contribution under its source-of-funds rule rather than the Bangs fraction.
Yes, provided the job loss represents a material change in circumstances and was not intentionally caused to reduce support obligations. A court may also choose to impute income if it finds the change was engineered specifically to lower the support figure.
He describes it as a working philosophy rather than a legal strategy. When a lawyer, a client, and everyone supporting the client's case feel a genuine rapport, hard cases go noticeably better. The legal rules being applied stay exactly the same.
The Firm’s Maryland Practice Areas
Divorce
Contested and uncontested divorce for Anne Arundel County families.
Child Custody
Physical and legal custody, schedules and relocation disputes.
Child Support
Guidelines calculations, income questions and enforcement.
Custody Modification
Changing an existing custody order after circumstances change.
Spousal Support
Alimony, including pendente lite support while a case is open.
Property Division
The family home, retirement accounts and marital property.
Military Divorce
Divorce and custody when a spouse serves near Fort Meade.
Relocation
When a parent wants to move with the children.
Paternity
Establishing parentage and the rights that follow.
CPS Matters
Child protective services investigations and hearings.
Criminal Defense
Criminal charges in Anne Arundel County courts.
DUI and Traffic Offenses
DUI charges and the traffic cases that come with them.
Drug Crimes
Possession, distribution and other drug charges.
Sex Crimes
Defense against sex crime allegations.
Protective Orders
Seeking or responding to a protective order.
The firm also handles
- Estate planning (of counsel)