States have child support guidelines that provide for a requisite degree of support that depends upon the income of the parent who must pay child support and the number of children. Under the Maryland child support guidelines, if a noncustodial parent (who has been ordered to pay child support) makes $5,000 a month and has one child, he or she must pay $670 a month in child support.

Many states’ child support guidelines are accessible on the Internet. For example, Tennessee’s rules are available at http://www.tennessee.gov/sos/rules/1240/1240-02A240-02-04.20080815.pdf. To learn more about child support guidelines, see the website http://www.supportguidelines.com/