Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

Case Summary: Client’s Wife successfully located and served in Bangkok, Thailand

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

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 accepted that there was no hope of reconciliation and he wanted help filing for an absolute divorce on the basis of a one year separation.

Serving a Party who is residing outside of the United States can be tricky. If not accomplished in the proper manner, it’s not only money that’s wasted, but also months and months of valuable time. Our knowledgeable family law attorneys have extensive experience successfully serving Parties in countries all over the world and have spared countless clients the headache of attempting this on their own.

The first step in serving a Party who resides overseas is to thoroughly research the rules governing proper service in that country. In Maryland, if the person being served resides outside of the state, service is proper if done by any method allowed under the Maryland Rules or by any method that is considered proper by the foreign jurisdiction.

When Can A Maryland Man Ask the Court for Genetic Paternity Testing?

July 16, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

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 child is the child of the man to whom the mother was married when he or she was conceived. This presumption can be rebutted. The mother, father or child can be required to take a blood or genetic test to see if the person being claimed to be the father may be excluded.

The Estates and Trusts Article presumes that the child born or conceived during a couple’s marriage is the legitimate child of each spouse. The purpose of the presumption is to reduce the cost of administering an estate. The trial court has the discretion to decide whether testing requested by a motion is in the child’s best interests or not. Continue reading

Maryland Couple’s Dispute Over Transfer of House

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

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 divorce, they should not transfer any properties until the court has had a chance to determine the ownership status of the properties. In a recent case, the Maryland appellate court looked at the issue of fraudulent conveyance in the context of a divorce.

A couple married in 1998 and moved into a home owned by the wife’s father. The wife’s father had owned the home since the 1970s and the couple lived there rent-free. When the wife’s father retired he agreed with the couple to let them purchase the house from him. They assumed the remaining mortgage and agreed to pay him $30,000 on the first of three possible events (the house’s sale, sixty days after his death, or a date in 2015).

The transfer of the house was made only in the wife’s name and, in exchange for the foregoing, her father could live in the house rent-free or have the couple provide him with other rent-free housing. The couple started to have problems and the wife told the husband she wanted a divorce. Continue reading

How Does Maryland Handle Foreign Custody Disputes?

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

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 family members look for more favorable custody decisions in another jurisdiction. In order to combat competition between states for control of custody issues, in 2004, the Maryland Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (MUCCJE) was enacted (replacing the Maryland Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.)

Under the MUCCJEA, a circuit court in Maryland has jurisdiction to hear a child custody complaint if Maryland is the home state of the child. Ordinarily Maryland honors child custody determinations made in foreign countries, but it is not required to do so if the child custody laws of the other country violate fundamental principles of human rights. Continue reading

Who is Considered an Adult Destitute Child Under Maryland Law?

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

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 and earning capacity to determine whether a person qualifies for this label.

A parent who divorces must be aware that the statutory child support guidelines apply not only to their minor children, but also their adult destitute child or children. In the case of an adult destitute child, there may be special needs, such as medical or training needs that a court will need to consider. Sums an adult destitute child receives, such as disability dependency benefits, may be set off against the support obligation. Parents may elect to make payments into trusts in order to avoid reducing the adult destitute child’s public benefits. Continue reading

Maryland Mother Loses Her Daughters

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

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 are abused or neglected by their parents or have a disability that their parents are not able to attend to, social services may ask the juvenile court to designate them “children in need of assistance” or “CINA”. The court must make factual findings as to whether the allegations of social services are correct and determine a course of action to protect the child.

When Can A Maryland Parent Stop Paying Child Support?

June 26, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

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 or more when added together. If the parents had more than $10,000 monthly income, the court exercised its discretion. After October 2010, the sum was increased to a $15,000 monthly income.

Under Maryland law, a child who is eighteen and enrolled in secondary school has the right to receive support until one of the follow occurs: (1) he or she graduates, (2) he or she turns 19, (3) he or she is emancipated or (4) he or she marries. While the conditions are relatively clear, a 2012 case considered what the statute means by “secondary school”. Continue reading

Maryland Appellate Court Dismisses Important Child Custody Case As Moot

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

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 fashion by the appellate court because of procedural timelines. Even though the dissent is not precedent that can be cited, it is important because it highlights a potential problem in child custody cases that the public needs to have resolved.

In the instant case, the court was asked to decide whether it is appropriate for a circuit court to pursue a termination of parental rights case when a child in need of assistance (CINA) order was issue, but was being appealed. A child in need of assistance is a child that needs intervention (1) because of abuse or neglect or a developmental disorder and (2) because his or her parents, guardian or custodian are not able to give proper care.

In this case, a baby boy was born prematurely. He had severe health problems, including prenatal exposure to HIV, which required him to stay at the hospital. The mother had been diagnosed and hospitalized for multiple psychiatric conditions and had used drugs and alcohol. When the baby was born, she was brought to a psychiatric unit. The baby’s father had a substance abuse problem and was convicted for more than once drug-related crime. Continue reading

Maryland Appellate Court Rules Parent Cannot Bargain Away Child Support Without Court Approval

May 16, 2013 | by Anthony A. Fatemi, LLC

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 entered into a separation and property settlement agreement. The separation agreement gave the parties joint legal and physical custody of the kids such that they lived 3 days with their father and 4 with their mother.

The agreement also permitted the mother to live in the marital home for 10 years, during which time the father was responsible for the mortgage, taxes and insurance. The father kept the kids on his medical insurance policy and paid half their medical expenses. The mother agreed to transfer her interest in the marital home to the husband for $25,000 and waived any interest in his pension for $20,000. The parties agreed there would be no child support because of the decisions made regarding the marital home. The agreement expressly provided a court could not modify this agreement.

Afterward, the husband filed a divorce complaint with the separation agreement attached as an exhibit. The court granted the divorce and incorporated the separation agreement into its judgment. From 2001-2011, the mother and the kids lived in the marital home. The husband abided by the terms of the agreement, paying the requisite sums. Continue reading

Maryland Appellate Court Decides Railroad Retirement Benefit Case

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

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 about five years later. Two years after the couple separated, the wife was granted a divorce. The judgment of divorce incorporated the couple’s Marital Separation and Property Settlement Agreement.

The Agreement mutually waived alimony and other spousal support, but one paragraph provided that if the wife did not remarry within five years of the divorce, she would be entitled to half of the husband’s pension accrued with Amtrak. The wife did not remarry.

The husband had worked for Amtrak for 88 months before the divorce and 243 months after it. When he retired, he started to receive monthly retirement benefits as required by the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) of 1974. $1950 of that monthly sum was “Tier 1” benefits. The Tier 1 benefits that the RRA provides are structured to substitute for Social Security benefits. $1163.13 was “Tier II benefits” and supplemental annuity payments. Mr. Dapp did not inform Mrs. Dapp of his retirement when he retired and she did not receive any retirement benefits.