Child custody arrangements can be difficult under the best of circumstances, but when one parent’s circumstances change, arrangements that may have been appropriate just after the marriage or separation may no longer be suitable. In Maryland, the circuit court may modify a custody order when a parent’s circumstances change. What…
Recently our office was retained by a busy professional who had been separated from his wife for several years. After the separation, he had continued to reside in Maryland, but his wife had returned to Thailand to live permanently. By the time he came to our office, the client had…
In Maryland, there are two statutory schemes that govern whether paternity testing should occur. One of them, the Paternity subtitle of the Family Law Article, describes procedures that allow the state to establish paternity and require fathers to pay child support. Under this section, there is a presumption that a…
A fraudulent conveyance is controlled by Maryland’s Uniform Fraudulent Conveyance Act (MUFCA), a statute which states that an action is fraudulent as to creditors if it is made by a person who is insolvent or who will be rendered insolvent by the transfer. When a couple is going through a…
Maryland has a diverse population that includes many people from foreign countries and transplants from other states. Problems can arise when child custody arrangements are determined in other countries or other states within the United States, but must be implemented in Maryland. There have also been problems when parents or…
Under Maryland law, parents are required to provide for their “adult destitute children”. “Adult destitute children” are adult children with mental or physical disabilities that make it difficult for them to obtain sufficient income to be able to meet their reasonable living expenses. The court examines assets, eligibility for disability…
Family law cases regarding child custody frequently turn on the best interests of the child. While parents have a Fourteenth Amendment right to raise their children without the State’s interference, this isn’t an absolute right. It must be balanced against society’s responsibility towards the child’s welfare. In Maryland, when children…
There are child support guidelines that govern how child support is awarded in Maryland. The guidelines require that a trial court determine each parent’s monthly adjusted income. Before October 1, 2010, the child support would be calculated with the guidelines only if the parents’ monthly income did not equal $10,000…
The Court of Special Appeals recently agreed to hear a child custody case and then dismissed the case for being moot. One justice dissented, noting that the case presented an issue that is likely to pop up repeatedly, but this issue will not be able to be reviewed in a timely…
In Guidash v. Tome, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland ruled on whether a circuit court had erred in its factual findings in a child support case. The case arose from a couple’s 1991 marriage. The couple had two children. By 2001, the marriage was over and the couple…