Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

As reported in our September 30, 2010 blog , there are two parts to custody in the State of Maryland, legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the ability to make decisions regarding the child's health, education, religion and other matters of significant importance. Legal custody can be awarded solely to one parent or jointly to both parents (there are also variations on joint legal custody, such as having one parent as a tie breaker or a requirement to mediate when parents cannot reach a joint decision or assigning each parent sole legal decision making with respect to different issues, ie Mom makes the decisions on education and Dad makes the decisions on health matters and the parents have joint legal custody on religious issues). Maryland courts have held that the strongest factor in determining whether to award joint legal custody is the ability of the parents to communicate with each other regarding the children.

Many clients have questions as to exactly how a joint legal custody situation should operate. Questions such as, “if a doctor makes a recommendation for my child, I do not have to check with the other parent first, right?”, or “do I need to relay all information regarding my child to the other parent?” We tell clients that they can not take a doctors recommendation as the final decision without first discussing it with the other parent, unless it is an emergency situation. Ideally, the parents should attend the medical appointment together so decisions can be reached while with the doctor and the parents are hearing the same information from the doctor. In a joint legal custody situation, ALL decisions regarding the child’s health, education, and religion, whether it be the choice to administer a certain prescription medication, decisions regarding a child’s I.E.P., where the child will attend school, etc. must be discussed with the other parent and a joint decision must be reached.

Continue reading " What does Joint Legal Custody in the State of Maryland really mean? " »

As a follow up to our June 30, 2010 and July 8, 2010 blogs on Facebook evidence in Maryland family law proceedings, we have compiled a top five do’s and don’ts for Facebook for parents in the midst of custody litigation.

1. Do disable your Facebook account. If you can’t bring yourself to do it, make your presence on Facebook as minimal as possible, and we mean minimal.

2. Do set your Facebook page to private so only those who are your friends can view your page, and while you are at it do a “spring cleaning” of your friend list, eliminating those who are unnecessary. Friends should only be those who have no connection with your ex or your ex's family and/or friends. You never know who is viewing/printing information from your account and passing it along.

3. Do eliminate all photographs, wall posts, information that could be damaging to your matter, such as posts or photographs related to illegal substances, partying, unsuitable living conditions, boasting, and/or unemployment. In other words, eliminate all posts or photographs that you would not want a Judge to see.

4. Do NOT post pictures of your child doing anything that could be considered inappropriate. Do not let others post anything inapporpriate of your child either.
We recently had a case where the grandmother had a photograph posted of her grandchild (the child who was the subject of the custody dispute) sipping an alcoholic beverage. Needless to say the Judge was not amused.

5. DO NOT post status updates or wall posts regarding your ex or your kids, whether it has to do with your ongoing custody battle, or your most recent exchange of a child. During a protective order hearing I recently tried, the Judge found a parent’s posting of “I’m going to take you down” was enough of a threat to grant a final protective order. In other words, keep your custody battle off of Facebook! In addition, urge your mother, brother, friends, and next door neighbors to keep any and all posts regarding your ex off of Facebook.

In my November 16, 2010 blog I briefly mentioned the concept of voluntary impoverishment. Maryland law describes voluntary impoverishment as freely, or an act by choice, to reduce oneself to poverty or deprive oneself of resources with the intention of avoiding child support, John O. v. Jane O. 90 Md. App. 406 (1992). Our case law has further explained voluntary impoverishment as whenever an individual has made the free and conscious choice, not compelled by factors beyond his or her control, to render himself or herself without adequate resources or income, Gordon v. Gordon, 174 Md. App. 583, 923 A.2d 149 (2007). Income is a factor in child support matters, divorce matters involving alimony, and a factor when deciding whether or not to award a party attorney’s fees.

In order to calculate child support in a Maryland child support case both parties’ incomes are needed. Maryland Code Family Law, § 12-201(h) defines income as (1) actual income of a parent, if the parent is employed to full capacity; or (2) potential income of a parent, if the parent is voluntarily impoverished. Before a Judge can impute a party a potential income for the purpose of calculating child support they must find that the party is in fact voluntarily impoverishing themselves. Oftentimes, establishing voluntary impoverishment is not a cut and dry as it may seem. To assist the Court in making a determination if a parent is voluntarily impoverished for purposes of calculating a child support obligation, several factors as to the parent are considered, including, but not limited to: (1) his or her current physical condition; (2) his or her respective level of education; (3) the timing of any change in employment or financial circumstances relative to the divorce proceedings; (4) the relationship of the parties prior to the divorce proceedings; (5) his or her efforts to find and retain employment; (6) his or her efforts to secure retraining if that is needed; (7) whether he or she has ever withheld support; (8) his or her past work history; (9) the area in which the parties live and the status of the job market there; and (10) any other considerations presented by either party. Gordon v. Gordon, 174 Md. App. 583, 923 A.2d 149 (2007); Stull v. Stull, 144 Md. App. 237, 797 A.2d 809 (2002).

Continue reading " Voluntary Impoverishment in Maryland Alimony and Child Support Cases " »

1. Well in advance of each holiday, refer to your existing Court Order, Separation Agreement, and/or Judgment of Absolute Divorce to determine what your Order and/or Agreement sets forth for each holiday.

2. Communicate to the other parent, (preferably in writing via e-mail or text), your interpretation of the existing Order and/or written Agreement. Specifically spell out who has the child(ren) on which day or part of the day, the times and where exchanges are to take place. Ask the parent to confirm that is their understanding.

3. If there is not an existing Order and/or written Agreement, again, well in advance of the holiday, contact the other parent (preferably in writing) and set forth your specific proposal and ask them for there thoughts and comments.

4. Put your child(ren) first, not yourself. Understand that the child(ren) should have the opportunity to spend part of the holiday which each parent and their respective families, regardless of your feelings for the other parent. Do not be selfish, it will come back to haunt you.

5. If there is not an existing Order and/or written Agreement, keep the child(ren) out of the decision making process. This in an adult issue, keep it that way.

6. Keep the holiday schedules simple and fair.

7. Keep your emotions in check. Do not get emotional with your child(ren) or the other parent about the schedule.

8. Do not place your child(ren) in the middle, do not make them choose who they want to be with, and do not make them feel guilty because they will not be with you the entire holiday. Remember, your children did not ask to be in this position.

9. Use common sense. Do not call the police because the other parent said they would have the child(ren) back at 4:00 p.m. and it is 4:10 p.m. Call the other parent and ask for their estimated time of arrival.

10. As a last resort, you can seek the assistance of the Circuit Court in your Maryland county/city and have a Judge decide how your family will spend the holidays. Each County and the City have different protocols for addressing these holiday access issues. See our November 17, 2010 blog for local Circuit Court "Holiday Court" protocols.

With the holidays approaching many clients may be facing uncertainty or conflicts as to where their child(ren) will be spending the holiday. We always advise clients to plan holidays far in advance so a schedule can be arranged that is best for the child(ren). It is important to develop a schedule that is not too overwhelming for children, so they can enjoy the holiday without exchanges at inopportune times, such as midnight on Christmas Eve, or too many exchanges in one day. It is also important to remember not to make plans for your child(ren) on the holiday until you know what the schedule will be. Lastly, for your child’s sake, explain to them how the holiday schedule will go, do not seek their input or place a guilt trip on your child(ren) for not being with you for the holiday or a portion of the holiday, and be flexible and accommodating to making the holiday work for everyone. Everyone does include the other parent and his or her family.

If you are unable to reach a holiday arrangement with your child’s parent you may turn to what many practitioners refer to as “holiday court”. Most Circuit Courts throughout the State of Maryland implement a specific protocol for what is known as “holiday court,” or the process that takes place in order to resolve these holiday access disputes. We have collected information from the nearby Circuit Courts to find out how they will be handling this year’s holiday disputes.

Continue reading " 2010 Holiday Disputes in Maryland Custody and Visitation Matters " »

I recently tried a custody matter in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, in which I represented the father of the minor child. The father came to our office in January 2010, after he had arranged for his minor child to reside with him upon learning that the child's mother was not properly caring for him. The minor child had resided with his mother for nine years, but she had recently changed residences, which our client had great concerns about. Prior to January 2010, our client, who resides in a neighboring state, was visiting with the child every other weekend, when the parties were on good terms. After our client made arrangements for his son to live with him, the mother filed a Complaint for an Emergency Hearing, which was scheduled for March 2010 at the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. Due to a heavy docket we were sent to mediation and a hearing was not held. We were able to negotiate a temporary schedule which granted our client temporary sole physical and legal custody and allowed the mother visitation with the minor child.

The case was then set in for a final custody hearing, which was held in November 2010. At the final hearing, both parties were seeking sole legal and physical custody of the minor child. However, after evidence was presented regarding the parties respective living situations, stability, fitness, ability to maintain relationships for the minor child, and economic status, among other factors, the Judge awarded our client sole legal and physical custody of the minor child with visitation to the mother of the child. The factors that were considered are in line with those named in our October 23, 2009 blog, which details factors considered in custody disputes.

Continue reading " Monica Scherer Wins Contested Custody Case for out-of-state Father in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland " »