McCarty v. Faried

Mother and Father were not married when Mother gave birth to their daughter in 2010. In 2012, Mother filed a motion for child support. After an evidentiary hearing in 2013, the trial court established joint custody and directed Father to pay $4,250 a month in child support. The order made the monthly amount retroactive to 2012 and calculated back child support to be $24,100. The Court of Appeals vacated and remanded the trial court’s award of child support, concluding that the trial court abused its discretion by not basing its award on the child’s reasonable needs as set out in the court’s “specific supporting findings” and that some of Mother’s requests for support were speculative. The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the circuit court’s orders, holding (1) the Court of Appeals imposed an overly burdensome standard; (2) child support in the amount of $4,250 is reasonable and in the child’s best interest; and (3) the trial court did not err in making the order retroactive. View "McCarty v. Faried" on Justia Law