Maryland Divorce Lawyer BlogThere are many things that can impact your relationship with your child. Certainly, one major factor is geography. For many parents, the event that leads to litigation is one parent’s choice to relocate far away. In a recent case decided by the Court of Special Appeals, however, the event was a father’s moving back, going from 3,000 miles away to being a half-hour drive from his daughter’s home. In this ruling, the court explained that a move like this clearly impacts parental access to the child, which means that it is a material change in circumstances for the purposes of modifying an order of custody and visitation.
Articles Posted in Child Custody
When Your Living Arrangements Can (and Cannot) Delay Your Child Custody Case in Maryland
Family dynamics can be unique and complicated. Sometimes these complex sets of facts can create difficulty for the courts in meeting such goals as “the best interest of the child” while also complying with the statutes. In an important recent ruling from the Court of Special Appeals, that body determined that the courts could rule on a father’s request for modification of child custody, even if the child’s mother resided with him temporarily.
Father Loses in Custody Dispute Due to Maryland Not Being the Child’s ‘Home State’ Under UCCJEA
In many child custody disputes, the facts related to a parent’s behavior can be complicated. Each parents has his or her reasons for acting in a manner that the parent thinks is best for the child. As you go to court in your home state seeking assistance, it is important to keep in mind that, just because one parent may have failed to follow a court order in the past does not necessarily mean that the law will not favor that parent. This was the result in one recent Maryland Court of Special Appeals case, which ruled in favor of a mother who had unilaterally taken the couple’s child and relocated out of the country. The mother won because Maryland was not the child’s “home state,” and Maryland courts lacked jurisdiction over the dispute.
Assessing Child Custody and Child Support in a Grandparent Custody Action in Maryland
A recent case of grandparent custody offers some useful information regarding how that process can work. In an opinion issued this month by the Court of Special Appeals, that court upheld a trial judge’s giving custody of a child to his paternal grandparents over either parent because, even though the law has a presumption in favor of parental custody, that can be overcome when the parents are unfit, and exceptional circumstances exist. The appeals court also upheld the child support order, concluding that the child support guidelines applied regardless of whether the custodian was a parent or a third party.
When to Challenge Your Contempt of Court Penalties in Your Maryland Family Law Case
In any court case, including family law matters, it is important to follow the orders handed down by the judge. If orders are not followed, it is also important to understand the consequences that can flow from noncompliance, such as contempt of court. In a recent decision by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the court upheld a trial court’s decision finding a husband in contempt, ordering him to pay $12,000 to purge the contempt and threatening the man with jail if he didn’t pay the $12,000 within 60 days. The appeals court acknowledged that a party cannot go to jail for failing to pay an amount he lacked the financial ability to pay, but the man’s appeal of the threat of jail in this case was premature.
Unemployment, Imputed Income, and Calculating Child Support in Maryland
For many people, the loss of a job and subsequent unemployment can be a stressful time. This can become even more so if your ex-spouse is seeking to make you pay child support commensurate with an income that you don’t make. In one recent case, an out-of-work science professor made the ill-advised decision to represent himself in court, leading to a trial court decision that imputed an income of $95,000 to the unemployed man and a Maryland Court of Special Appeals ruling upholding the lower court’s judgment.
Maryland’s Highest Court Recognizes ‘De Facto Parent’ Status, Allows Woman’s Ex-Wife to Seek Visitation
The case regarding the custody of, and visitation with, one little boy from Western Maryland has touched upon some of the most visible social issues of today. What it also did, following a recent ruling by Maryland’s highest court, was re-establish the existence of a “de facto parent” doctrine and to give these de facto parents certain rights with regard to the children that they helped nurture and raise. The high court’s ruling has been praised as an important victory for gay and lesbian individuals with children.
Mother and Children’s Exit from the State Leads Maryland Courts to Decline Jurisdiction in Child Custody Case
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 Appeals, a Maryland father was unable to pursue a modification to his custody and visitation arrangement because the specific facts in his case indicated that the mother and children no longer had sufficient minimum contacts with Maryland, meaning that Maryland courts no longer had “continuing, exclusive jurisdiction” over the case.
Maryland Court Interprets Conflicting Statutes in Child Support Case
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 interests of the child. Courts often get involved to approve the arrangement and decide on a fair amount of monthly child support. Keep in mind that parties are able to seek a modification of the amount in the future, should a change of circumstances occur. Courts take very seriously an individual parent’s obligation to make child support payments in a timely fashion and may be called upon to enforce the order. To be sure that your financial and legal rights are protected, you are encouraged to contact an experienced family law attorney as soon as possible.
Maryland law provides local state agencies with the authority to collect overdue child support payments. In a recent Maryland court of appeals case, a local county Office of Child Support Enforcement (the “Office”) attempted to collect a judgment of almost $10,000 against an obligor-parent for unpaid child support. Here, the Office requested a circuit court to issue a writ of garnishment against the obligor’s bank, which in turn suspended the obligor’s two accounts. Under Maryland law (Section 11-504(b)(5)), a judgment creditor may “attach assets” of a debtor to satisfy a money judgment.
U.S. Supreme Court Reviews Same-Sex Adoption Case
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. While many states, Maryland included, already recognized and upheld same-sex marriages, some states did not. This decision paved the way for equality in marriage. Interestingly enough, such equality can impact other family law rights, such as a same-sex couple’s right to pursue divorce, as well as the right to adopt children. Due to the unique nature of each state’s laws, it is important to consult with a local Maryland family law attorney if you are considering a divorce or any legal procedure affecting your family.
With respect to equality in family law issues, according to a national news article, the United States Supreme Court just recently reversed a decision by the highest court in Alabama that refused to recognize a same-sex adoption. Here, two women — V.L. and her partner E.L. — never married and lived in Alabama. E.L. gave birth to three children while the couple was together. In order for V.L. to be able to adopt the children, the women established a temporary residency in Georgia. A Georgia court granted V.L. parental rights.