Physical custody involves where a child lives, when a child spends time with each parent, and any conditions. Physical custody is also called residential custody or parenting time. It includes the schedule, holidays, and vacation time, which are ofte…
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Legal custody involves decisions about health, education, and religious upbringing of a child. It is also called decision making. By agreement, parents can define legal custody to involve additional issues, such as selection of extracurricular activi…
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Physical custody involves where a child lives, when a child spends time with each parent, and any conditions. Physical custody is also called residential custody or parenting time. It includes the schedule, holidays, and vacation time, which are ofte…
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There are two camps of mediators: those who draft agreements and those who don’t. For those who don’t, they draft a list of settlement terms for the parties to take to their own (separate) attorneys to draft. For those who do, these fall…
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Many family law matters settle. Using many different settlement methods. Whatever settlement method is used, the parties need to get from a shared understanding of the settlement terms to a document confirming those terms. In many cases, this require…
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Short answer: No. More and more, I see mediation framed as a “one-stop” solution for couples who want to resolve their family matters. However, mediation is not the same as being represented by an attorney. These are two different –…
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Limited scope representation means hiring an attorney to provide services for certain, but not all, tasks. It is “a la carte” representation, choosing from a menu of options. Maryland Rule 19-301.2(c) states: An attorney may limit the sco…
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In Maryland, “agreements to agree” are generally unenforceable. For a contact to exist, the terms must be “sufficiently definite”. If the parties’ terms are too undefined, a court cannot make a contract for the parties.…
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A recent article in the New York Times, To Stay In Love, Sign on the Dotted Line, describes a more deliberate process – a written relationship contract – for what many (if not most) couples do instinctively. At its simplest, a relationshi…
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Many couples choose mediation to resolve their family matters. Mediation gives you control over who facilitates the settlement discussion, over how to structure and pace the process, and – most importantly – over the outcome. Mediation can be eff…
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