Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

Neglect in Maryland Family Law Cases

November 12, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Recently, the Maryland appellate court ruled in the case of a father who appealed the finding that his child was a child in need of assistance (“CINA”). The master had recommended this finding to the court after a hearing in which it was shown that the mother and father failed to give their daughter an emotionally or physically safe environment. The court ordered that temporary custody of the child be given to the child’s maternal grandmother and a couple who had cared for the child in the past and in the present.

The master and the court had discovered some disturbing facts from a Department of Social Services (DSS) investigator before the CINA order was issued. The family lived in a trailer that needed to be repaired. The daughter had lost weight, had been left home alone with the family dog, needed medical care she did not receive, and was in an environment of regular domestic violence and alcohol and drug abuse.

DSS had learned of this family because the daughter had tested positive for the presence of cocaine when she was born. This meant that she was presumed to be not receiving proper care from her mother for one year after her birth and was a CINA. Continue reading

Entering into a Prenuptial Agreement in Maryland

November 5, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Parties who marry in Maryland can choose to enter prenuptial agreements that are governed by religious rather than secular law. They can also elect to have issues that arise heard by an arbitrator outside secular law, such as a religious body. However, should you choose to do this, you should be aware that secular law may not have the authority to reverse substantive decisions made by a religious body that you have authorized to hear issues concerning a divorce, should one be necessary.

A recent case illustrates the kind of problems that can arise when you choose to sign a prenuptial agreement and arbitration agreement. In the case, a couple were married both under secular and Jewish law. They signed a prenuptial agreement that stated if the parties did not continue to live together, the man would pay the woman $100 a day from the day they stopped living together until the end of their Jewish marriage. They also signed an arbitration agreement which allowed an arbitration panel, the Beth Din (a rabbinical court) to decide all controversies in their Jewish divorce and the premarital agreement. The decisions were to be made in accord with Jewish law.

The couple had a child, but within a year after her birth, the marriage fell apart. The pair separated and the next year the man sued for a divorce. The woman counterclaimed and asked for sole custody and a variety of monetary awards. The trial court resolved custody and granted them an absolute divorce. The court denied the woman’s request for alimony. Continue reading

What is the Maryland “Bangs Formula”?

October 24, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Maryland uses something called “the Bangs formula” to decide the marital share of an asset in a divorce case. The formula is called this because of a 1984 case called Bangs v. Bangs. Under the formula, the court looks at the number of years of a person’s working life, during which time the pension accrues. That determines the pension’s value. The percentage of the total working life that happened during the marriage is marital and the percentage that happens before or after is nonmarital. Any additional months of life or marriage after the pension stops accruing are not part of the figure.

A 2009 case examined the application of the Bangs formula. In that case, the husband and wife were married in 1990 and had two children. The husband was a police officer who sustained numerous physical injuries. He was eligible for regular retirement in 1997, but was approached by the county to take a disability retirement, which he took. The couple separated in 2003. The wife moved to Indiana.

The couple divorced in 2007, by which time the husband’s police department service during the marriage had been 12 years and 11 months. In his complaint for divorce, the husband asked for several things including child support, contribution from the wife for medical expenses and health insurance for the children, and use of the family home. The wife counterclaimed and a trial was held. Continue reading

What is a “Best Interest” Attorney in Maryland?

October 18, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

In Maryland, the court may appoint a “best interest” attorney for a child in a family law proceeding. He or she makes independent assessments of what is in the child’s best interest and advocates for these assessments in court. Sometimes one or both of the parents dispute these assessments.

In a 2010 case involving a best interest attorney, a native of the Philippines answered an ad placed by a United States citizen seeking a wife. They did not speak each other’s language very well. However, they married in 1996 and had three daughters. The wife filed for absolute divorce or in the alternative limited divorce. The Master found that the wife hadn’t been allowed to have contact with her daughters after she left.

At a pendente lite hearing, the court ordered that the wife could have visitation, that the husband had to pay her alimony and that the children needed to be represented by what’s called a “best interest” attorney to be paid by the father. The husband filed a motion to amend the orders, arguing visitation was not in the best interest of the children and that the therapist had concerns. He also said that the mother lived with someone who had a criminal record. The mother filed a motion for order of contempt arguing that the father wasn’t complying with the order. Continue reading

Modifying Third-Party Visitation in Maryland

October 14, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Parents in Maryland and other states have the constitutional right to determine the “care, custody and control” of their children. There is a traditional presumption that a fit parent acts in the best interest of his or her child. The right to determine care, custody and control is not absolute, however. The issue of grandparents’ rights (or other third-party rights) sometimes complicates matters. Maryland jurisprudence on this issue is well developed.

In the seminal Maryland appellate case (Koshko), it was ruled that a grandparent must make a threshold showing either of parental unfitness or exceptional circumstances that demonstrate that a lack of grandparental visitation will have a substantial deleterious effect. A 2009 case considering the effect of Koshko on modification of an order arose from a situation between an unmarried mother and father and the father’s parents.

The father was seriously hurt in a motor vehicle accident in 2004 and was left in a coma. After that the relationship between the mother and the father’s parents became tense and the mother refused to let the father’s parents see her daughter. The grandparents petitioned for visitation and the mother sought only to limit the frequency of visitation. The visitation was granted on the schedule agreed to by the mother. The original order granting the grandparents’ visitation was made before Koshko was decided. Continue reading

Attacking Prenuptial Agreements in Maryland

October 11, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

In Maryland, courts scrutinize attacks to prenuptial agreements carefully. They interpret prenups as they would any other contract between two consenting adults. In a recent case, a twenty-six-year-old woman had married a father of three. In 1988 when they married, she was working in a daycare center for minimum wage. The man was a successful construction company owner, not yet divorced with $2 million in assets.

Once the man divorced his former wife, he told the woman he wouldn’t marry her unless she signed a prenuptial agreement that his attorney had prepared, waiving any interest in certain items of his property. She signed it four days before their wedding, though later on the pair disagreed about when he had given it to her.

The prenup stated that both parties had the opportunity to consult counsel. The agreement listed various property that the wife would not have any ownership interest in. However, the agreement didn’t mention certain items of property, such as the man’s IRA. Continue reading

Maryland In-Law and Grandparent Visitation Rights

October 9, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Maryland divorces can be very stressful, having consequences for extended families, including grandparents. A 26-year study released last year found that the rate of divorce may depend at least partly on the strength of the relationship with one’s in-laws. The study found that a husband who has a close relationship with his wife’s parents has a risk of divorce that is decreased by 20 percent. On the other hand a wife with a close relationship to her husband’s parents has an increased risk of divorce.

The study conducted by Terri Orbuch, a research psychologist at the University of Michigan, looked at the relationships of 373 couples in their first year of marriage in 1986 and followed up with them. Orbuch explained that this study could be explained by the perceptions of husbands and wives. Women valued their close relationship to the in-laws, but saw them as interfering, whereas men did not take their in-laws actions as personally. Conversely, women felt taken care of when a husband made an effort to get along with her parents.

When a divorce happens, it may have an effect on how often grandparents visit with their grandchildren. In Maryland, since 2000, a grandparent seeking visitation must show (1) that there is parental unfitness or circumstances that show a detriment to the child without the grandparent’s visit, and (2) that visitation is in the child’s best interest. This is a tougher standard than many other states. Continue reading

Virtual Visitation in Maryland

September 27, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

For many years, a difficulty in Maryland family court has been figuring out a workable system of visitation for parents when one parent moves out of state. Many families face this challenge when one parent gets a job out of state. Since the rise of video conferencing technologies and electronic communication, a common trend in other states has been judge-approved “virtual visitation.” Virtual visitation is essentially cyber-parenting in which a non-custodial parent uses personal video conference, a video phone or a webcam to visit with a child.

This type of visitation is used as a supplement to in-person visitation over holidays and the summer break, but is not a replacement for those real visits. However, a non-custody parent can virtually read a child a story or talk about his or her daily adventures or disappointments, thereby strengthening their relationship.

The concept of virtual visitation was first codified in the state of Utah and next to follow was Wisconsin. The latter encourages courts to use the availability of electronic communication as a factor in decisions regarding custody and parenting time. Virtual visitation has been codified in at least six states. Many other states are revising their legislation to incorporate virtual visitation.

Case Summary: Client to be paid rehabilitative alimony even though husband was not presently working

September 19, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

Our office was retained to assist with a divorce matter in Baltimore County. The client was older, in her sixties, and made her living working with children on their religious studies. Although she loved teaching her students, due to serious health problems, she was forced to retire. Her only source of income was the small disability check she received each month. Since the separation she had received no support from her husband.

On the other hand, her husband had been earning a substantial yearly income. He had been employed by this same company for a number of years and earned significant benefits in addition to his income. The client actually helped her husband secure this job after he obtained a two year conditional legal permanent resident card (also known as a conditional green card) on the basis of their marriage.

However, shortly after filing for divorce, the husband was laid off because he no longer had a valid immigration status and work authorization. Instead of seeking assistance from qualified immigration attorney like the attorneys in our office, the husband attempted to apply for citizenship on his own before he was eligible. Believing it was unnecessary, he never filed to remove the condition from his green card. Upon learning he no longer had a valid immigration status, the employer had no choice but to lay the husband off.

Limited Divorce in Maryland

September 17, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

What is “limited divorce” in Maryland? The state recognizes both “limited” and “absolute” divorce. The latter is a true divorce. The former is a legal separation that may be pending the absolute divorce judgment. There are only certain issues in a limited divorce that a court can rule upon. Among these are custody, access to children, child support, how the family home is used and possessed, alimony and attorneys’ fees. Unlike absolute divorce, limited divorce does not deal with distribution of property.

Maryland courts grant a limited divorce for a no-fault voluntary separation that lasts less than a year. It also grants a limited divorce on the grounds of: extreme cruelty towards a spouse or child, excessively vicious conduct to a spouse where minor children exist, and a desertion shorter than 1 year.

As with absolute divorce, you generally may not live with your spouse during a limited divorce, even though you are legally married. The court has ruled, however, that there are certain circumstances in which it may be possible to live with your spouse during a limited divorce. You also may not have sexual relations with your spouse or have sexual relations with somebody else. If you do have sexual relations with somebody else while holding a limited divorce status, you will have committed adultery in the court’s eyes. The court might also require you to try to reconcile with your spouse, unless you both petition the court to say that you don’t want to do so. Continue reading