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…
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals recently determined in Dapp v. Dapp that certain retirement benefits may not be assigned or split in a divorce agreement. The case arose from a dispute between a couple who married in 1968. Amtrak employed the husband starting in 1981 and the couple separated…
In a recent case, a Maryland appellate court looked at whether it retained jurisdiction over a custody dispute of a girl who lived all her life in Florida. The case arose from a marriage in 1997. The couple lived in Maryland until the woman became pregnant, at which point, the…
In the case In re Victoria C., the Maryland Court of Special Appeals considered the question of sibling visitation by an adult sibling. The girl in question was born in 1993 and became an adult while the instant case was pending. Her mother passed away and her father married her…
In Tshiani v. Tshiani, a Maryland appellate court ruled on the question of whether the trial court was right to recognize a marriage that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire (hereafter “Congo”). In that case, both the husband and wife were from the Congo. The wife was…
Recently, our office assisted a client in drafting and finalizing a prenuptial agreement between him and his fiancée. While our office has drafted prenuptial agreements and voluntary separation agreements for many of our clients, this client’s situation was a bit unusual. He needed the agreement negotiated and signed within a…
In March 2013, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the divorce and child custody case of Reichert v. Hornbeck that illustrated the broad leeway courts have in making child custody determinations. The case arose out of the rocky romantic relationship that ensued when Jeffrey, a recent law…
In 2012, Governor O’Malley led a campaign for the legalization of same-sex marriage. This led to the General Assembly passing a law permitting same sex marriage in February 2012. 52.5% of Maryland voters approved the law in a referendum on November 6, 2012. This was the first time marriage rights have…