Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

My Spouse and I Entered into a Civil Union in Another State, But Never Married. Can We Get Divorced in Maryland?

June 18, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Sometimes, people assume that all of the potential complications and challenges faced by long-term committed same-sex couples ended when the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in June 2015 that established marriage equality in all 50 states. That, of course, is far from always being true. If you’re a same-sex couple — especially if you’re a same-sex couple seeking a divorce –- there are still many potential hurdles that may be in your way. If you and your partner entered into a civil union and not a marriage, those hurdles can be even more numerous. However, with the help of an experienced Maryland family law attorney, you can get the divorce you need, whether yours was a civil union or marriage, and whether it happened in Maryland or out of state.

M.R. and S.S. were a gay couple who faced some of those exact hurdles in their divorce case recently. The men entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2003. They eventually moved to Montgomery County but, even after same-sex marriage became legal in Maryland in 2013, they never married.

By 2018, the relationship had broken down and S.S. filed for divorce in Montgomery County. S.S. sought as part of his divorce action, an award of alimony, an award of child support, property division (including a monetary award,) along with custody of the couple’s two children.

When You Can Get Your Maryland Divorce Case Reopened to Seek a Recalculation of Child Support

May 27, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

If you are familiar with child support, then you know how important proof of the parents’ actual incomes is. That’s because, in most situations, the court will base the amount of support on the parents’ actual current incomes unless there is substantial proof (and a finding from the judge) that a parent is voluntarily avoiding working (or voluntarily avoiding earning what he’s capable of earning.) Those latter two scenarios are called “voluntary unemployment” and “voluntary underemployment,” respectively, and if you think that your child’s parent has engaged in either, it is essential to consult a skilled Maryland family law attorney so that he can assist you in getting a court order that sets support at a fair amount.

The law allows the court, if it finds that a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, to “impute” income to that parent. Imputing income means that the court calculates child support based, not on the parents’ actual incomes, but on the voluntarily underemployed/unemployed parent’s imputed income and the other parent’s actual income. For example, consider a hypothetical couple where the father was an experienced attorney making $250,000 per year, and the mother was a pediatrician who, during the divorce, voluntarily left her $200,000-per-year practice to become a preschool teacher making $40,000 per year. In that case, the court might set support at the amount consistent with what the guidelines dictate for a supporting parent making $250,000 and the residential parent making $200,000 (or something close to it.)

Sometimes, though, a parent’s low ebb (in terms of income) is not voluntary but is completely beyond his control. When it happens that your ex-spouse experiences an uncontrolled low ebb in his income right around the time of your divorce, does that mean that you are just out of luck? As one recent case from Annapolis demonstrates, the answer clearly is “No, you’re not!”

My Spouse and I Signed a Separation Agreement in Maryland, Then Reconciled. Now We’re Getting Divorced. What Happens to Our Agreement?

May 14, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

There are countless ways that an experienced Maryland family law attorney can help you in your divorce case, whether your case is straightforward or complex. If your situation is “unconventional,” it may require an especially in-depth and nuanced understanding of the law in order to get you to a positive outcome. A skilled attorney can give your unconventional circumstance the legal knowledge and insight it needs.

J.L. and L.L. were an Anne Arundel County couple whose marriage “was, by all accounts, rather unconventional,” according to the Court of Special Appeals. They married in 1988, but separated a few years later. They worked out a separation agreement in the summer of 1995. However, sometime after signing that document, the pair would resume living together and would continue living and working together on an on-again-off-again basis for several more years.

The wife eventually filed for divorce in 2015. In her divorce filing, the wife asked the judge to enforce the settlement agreement the spouses created in 1995. The husband asked the judge to throw out the separation agreement, arguing that the couple had reconciled after their initial separation and that their reconciliation rendered the agreement unenforceable.

Proceed With Extreme Caution When Your Ex-Spouse Proposes an Agreement in Your Maryland Divorce Case, but Demands that You Not Consult Your Attorney

May 1, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

You’ve probably signed various contractual documents in your life, including employment agreements, leases and mortgages. When reviewing those contracts, you may have taken great care to check over every paragraph before you signed and you may have sought legal advice, as well. As you’re going through the divorce process, it is important to approach a marital settlement agreement or a consent amendment in much the same way. You should engage in just as much care and caution before signing one of those as you would with, say, a contract for purchase of a house, because the agreement is just as binding and potentially just as impactful (if not more so.) To make sure that the agreement you ultimately sign is one that is fair to you, there are certain steps you should take. Start with retaining and consulting a skilled Maryland family law attorney before you sign anything.

J.S. and N.E. was a couple embroiled in litigation over an agreement signed after their divorce was finalized. Neither spouse was happy with their divorce judgment so, a few days after the entry of the judgment, the husband contacted the wife about making some modifications. Additionally, the husband proposed that the two ex-spouses work out those changes “without their respective attorneys’ involvement.”

An offer like this often should give you pause. If your spouse is proposing to modify your divorce judgment and making a point to do that without any attorneys involved, there is a distinct possibility that he is making that proposal because he believes that excluding counsel will give him an advantage in the final outcome.

I Made a Promise to My Spouse as Part of a Religious Marriage Ceremony. Can the Maryland Courts Order Performance of that Promise?

April 29, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Even in this country where many prize the “separation of church and state,” there are times where religion and secular law unavoidably intermingle. Marriage is often one of those. You and your spouse’s process of becoming one married couple is a civil legal one but, for many, it’s a religious one, as well. This, of course, can lead to other marriage-related overlaps between religious and secular law, and lead you to wonder… What happens to those agreements I made as part of my faith’s pre-marital processes or wedding ceremony – are they enforceable by the civil courts? As with any question you have about an agreement tied to your impending marriage, you should make sure you consult a knowledgeable Maryland family law attorney before going through with the agreement.

For example, in Islam, the groom makes a payment, called a mahr, to the bride at the time of their Islamic marriage ceremony. A mahr is mandatory for all Islamic marriages and the mahr must be specifically stated at the time of the couple’s marriage. The property included in a mahr can be many things, such as jewelry, furniture, a house, land or cash.

So, can the Maryland courts enforce the promises a husband made about a mahr in his Islamic marriage ceremony? That question recently made its way to the Court of Special Appeals in Maryland, where that court explained that some mahr promises are enforceable by Maryland civil courts and some are not.

Dealing with the Challenges of Court-Ordered Child Visitation in Maryland During the Current Global Pandemic

March 30, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, has disrupted many things about almost everyone’s lives. Instability and uncertainty are hard enough on adults, but they are even harder for children. If your children are the subjects of a visitation order by a judge, the current state of things may make maintaining the regular schedule that the court ordered tricky. Like the many other unplanned things in life that may upset a visitation schedule, this pandemic demands many things from you. One of those demands is to work together in a collaborative way with your child’s other parent and act in the best interest of your children. Also, just as is true in any other major unexpected event, always obtain advice from a knowledgeable Maryland child visitation attorney before you take unilateral action that is not in compliance with your court orders.

Business Insider recently looked at this exact issue of visitation and COVID-19. Many of the suggestions and recommendations made within that piece are effective ones. For one thing, use your common sense. If your ex has primary physical custody of the kids and you’ve just tested positive for COVID-19, don’t let the children come to your home for their regularly scheduled visit.

On the other hand, if you are the children’s primary residential parent, you should also make sure the decisions you make are rational ones. If your ex’s current spouse has the virus, or your ex currently lives in Italy, then that is a reason to delay visitation. On the other hand, if your ex’s coworker’s spouse recently traveled from Ireland (but has no symptoms and self-quarantined for 14 days after returning home,) that alone probably isn’t a valid justification for denying a court-ordered visit.

What a Celebrity Child Custody Dispute Can Teach LGBT+ Parents, Stepparents and Others About Custody Law in Maryland

March 16, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

The breakdown of a relationship between two parents is often very difficult on everyone. That’s true whether you’re a famous celebrity or an “ordinary” person. It’s also true whether or not you are biologically related to your child. However, if you are in a situation (like many LGBT+ couples) where one of you is a biological parent and one is not, that fact can complicate things if a custody dispute arises after your separation. If you find yourself in a custody disagreement, then you know that nothing may be more important to you than your relationship with your child. Be sure you are protecting that relationship to the maximum extent by securing legal representation from a skilled Maryland child custody attorney.

As an example of how difficult breakups can be for families with children, there’s the case of two of the stars of Bravo’s Flipping Out series. Although the two men never married, they had been together for 10 years and shared a three-year-old daughter when they separated in 2019.

According to a Yahoo! Entertainment report, although the daughter was the biological offspring of one partner and no biological relationship to the other, both fathers would have legal parental rights. “According California State Law, both [fathers] have equal parental rights to [the child], regardless of biology, because both of their names are listed” as parents on the daughter’s birth certificate.

How Maryland Venue Rules Limit Where You Can Pursue Your Divorce Case

February 27, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

When you’ve decided to make the life-changing decision to pursue a divorce, there are likely many goals you desire to accomplish. One thing you probably want is an efficient process and closure that is as swift as possible. There are several things that go into making that happen, and one of those is ensuring that you’ve filed in the right place. Choose incorrectly, and your divorce petition could get thrown out for lack of jurisdiction or for improper venue. To avoid these missteps and get your divorce as expeditiously as possible, along with accomplishing many other goals, be sure to rely on representation from an experienced Maryland divorce attorney.

As an example of how the issue of venue can derail a case, there is the recent case of one Carroll County wife. In January 2019, the wife filed for divorce in Baltimore. At the time, both spouses lived in Carroll County. The husband promptly asked the court to throw out the wife’s case due to “improper venue.” Improper venue means that the plaintiff has filed the action in the wrong location and that the case if it is to proceed, must proceed in a trial court in a different place. In this case, the husband’s argument was that Carroll County was the only proper venue for litigating the couple’s divorce.

The trial judge in Baltimore sided with the husband and granted his request for dismissal. The wife asked the court to reverse that dismissal, arguing that Baltimore was a proper location to litigate the case, as the spouses married at Baltimore’s Church of the Redeemer. Nevertheless, the judge denied the wife’s request, and the dismissal remained in effect.

What a Maryland Judge in Your Family Law Case Can (and Can’t) Do to You if You Fail to Comply With a Court Order

February 13, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Family law matters can be incredibly stressful and contentious. Sometimes, these emotions may lead spouses or parents to make decisions that are less than ideal. Obviously, the best plan in your family law case is to follow all of the orders handed down by a judge. Even if you fall short of that, though, it is important to understand that there are limits to what the judge can do to you for disobeying an order. One way to help you avoid receiving inappropriate penalties for disobeying a court order is by making sure you have a knowledgeable Maryland family law attorney on your side.

L.M. was one of those parents. She shared a child with C.C. In September 2018, the child complained about injuries inflicted by the father and the father was charged with child abuse. Shortly after that, the parents were in court with the father asking the judge to issue a protective order against the mother. The judge sided with the father, ordering the mother not to “abuse, threaten to abuse and/or harass” the father.

Eventually, the parents were back in court with the father accusing the mother of sending him threatening texts. As it turned out, the mother had sent the father a few inappropriate texts, but they had stopped several weeks before the parents appeared in court. The judge found the mother in “constructive civil contempt” of court.

Maryland Court of Special Appeals Says that ‘De Facto’ Parents Are Eligible for Same Awards of Attorney’s Fees as Biological Parents

January 29, 2020 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Going through a custody dispute can be a scary thing. You may recognize that you need capable legal representation, but you may fear that you lack the financial resources to hire a skilled Maryland child custody attorney. Never let that fear stop you. Always talk to counsel first. There may be various options available to you to address your financial resource-related concerns, including getting a court order that makes your ex-spouse or partner responsible for paying your attorney’s fees.

Biological parents have long understood that, in Maryland, they have the potential to persuade a judge that the other side should pay their attorney’s fees. The law says an award of attorney’s fees is available and the judge may award any amount of “fees that are just and proper under all the circumstances,” according to the statute. You simply have to give the court evidence of your financial status, your needs, your ex’s financial status and your ex’s needs, along with proof that you had a valid justification for bringing your case.

Of course, as we all know, parenthood is something much deeper than just DNA. There are lots of people who act as a child’s parent while sharing a lesser biological tie to that child… or none at all. This can include some families with stepparents and families with LGBT parents. Fortunately, Maryland recognizes these parents’ legal status under something called ‘de facto’ parenthood. This may lead you next to wonder… can these ‘de facto’ parents, if they need to pursue a custody case in court, receive an award of attorneys’ fees? The good news is that a case from last year made it clear that the answer to this question is “Yes!”