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What is AA v. Ab D? AA v. Ab D is a 2020 Court of Special Appeals opinion involving these important concepts in child custody cases: The court’s obligation to children when deciding child custody. Children’s rights to have their best interests fully considered at...
November 17, 2021, and its Breona C. v. Rodney D. decision from the Court of Special Appeals, may mark the end of contempt as a meaningful tool for seeking compliance with child custody orders. The case involved a constructive civil contempt action for failure to...
Since writing my series on Maryland Third Party Custody, and in particular in Consent, De Facto Parents & Multi-Parent Families, a major development occurred in July 2021. The Court of Appeals, Maryland’s highest Court, issued EN v. TR, reviewing the lower...
(OR Questions (Mostly) Unanswered) Updated October 2021: This series discusses: What is Third Party Custody? What's a De Facto Parent? Exceptional Circumstances Unfit Parents Participating as a Third Party in a Custody Case Step-Parents De Facto Parents &...
“Parents and grandparents do not stand on the same legal footing with respect to visitation.” Brandenburg v. LaBarre, 193 Md.App. 178 (2010). Third party custody is one of the fastest developing areas of Maryland law, seeing many major changes since 2016. Third...
Third party custody is one of the fastest developing areas of Maryland law, seeing many major changes since 2016. This series of articles explores these developments and raises questions about where this area of the law is heading. This series discusses: What is...
If you’re wondering why there’s no discussion of COVID on my site, that’s because what I’ve written on this topic appears on my firm’s – Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s - website. Well, look no further… Here’s a quick index so you can easily get to and read about...
For child support purposes, “shared physical custody” is the minimum number of overnights a parent must have in order for the number of overnights to be included in the child support guidelines calculation. Shared physical custody child support is typically lower...
When it comes to where a child of separated parents lives, the child’s schedule for spending time with each parent, and decision-making about a child, the guiding principle is the child’s best interests. In settlement, this means the parents put the child’s interests...
How are parents' constitutionally protected beliefs and behaviors weighed against children's best interests in child custody decisions? The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States' Constitution protects against the state's taking a person's life, liberty, or...
Rule 9-205 Introduction The new year brings with it new and updated Rules of Civil Procedure in Maryland’s child custody cases. Starting January 1, 2020, for cases filed on or after that date and “insofar as practicable” to all cases pending then, the new rules...
Rule 9-204.2 Introduction The new year brings with it new and updated Rules of Civil Procedure in Maryland’s child custody cases. Starting January 1, 2020, for cases filed on or after that date and “insofar as practicable” to all cases pending then, the new...