A recent ruling by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals decided a case involving an unfortunately common scenario in family law cases involving custody and visitation, in which one parent claims she seeks only to protect her children from unsafe and unhealthy material and behaviors, while the other parent claims he…
Child custody cases’ resolutions are often the result of the specific facts unique to each case. In addition to being fact-intensive, these cases may also become very legally complicated when the residences of the family members involved span state lines. In one such case recently decided by the Maryland Court of…
There are many factors that go into a Maryland alimony case. Courts must make decisions regarding recipient spouses’ needs, as well as paying spouses’ abilities to pay. Sometimes, these cases are made more complex when the recipient spouse hasn’t been in the workforce for years, or has a medical condition…
The Maryland Family Law Code makes clear that parents are responsible for their child’s support, including their care, nurture, welfare, and education. While this may seem like a straightforward and reasonable legal concept, there are instances in which an alleged parent challenges this obligation or attempts to avoid the support obligation altogether.…
Establishing paternity or “parentage” is fundamental to a child’s life for many reasons. For one, parents are legally responsible for the care and general welfare of their children, including financial support. Paternity becomes even more important in cases in which the alleged parents are divorced or have never been married. There…
It is not uncommon for a married couple to spend the first 25 to 30 years of their life together working and saving money to enjoy in retirement. Over the course of their lifetime, spouses often invest money in stocks, 401K plans, education plans, pension plans, real estate, and other…
Couples with children who decide to divorce must address a series of significant and possibly life-changing issues. In addition to the division of property and spousal support, parents must also face matters of child custody and support. Ideally, parents will agree on the custody situation that is in the best…
Each state has the authority to enact laws regulating marriage and divorce. For this reason, there can be significant differences among the states with respect to myriad related issues. For instance, as recently as last year, the highest court in the country struck down certain state bans on same-sex marriage.…
A divorce case automatically becomes more complicated when the couple has children. Not only will the parties be expected to address and resolve issues of property division and spousal support, but also they will need to address the emotional and practical issues associated with parenting time and a child custody…
The length of a divorce process in Maryland often depends on many different factors. Some of the more common variables include the parties’ relationship and whether they are amicable toward each other, the amount of assets and debts to be allocated, and whether there were any children born in the marriage. These are…