Grandparent Visitation Divorce in Maryland

Maryland law on grandparent visitation has gone through many changes. Previously a grandparent simply have to petition for reasonable visitation with their grandchild. There were no preconditions to the visitation. The outcome of the trial was solely in the court's discretion and the court decision was guided solely upon determining what was in the child's best interest. See Maryland family law § 9-102. An equity court may:(1)consider a petition for reasonable visitation of a grandchild by a grandparent; and (2)if the court finds it to be in the best interests of the child, grant visitation rights to the grandparent. Case law in Maryland has had a very dramatic impact on section 9-102. It is important to note initially that both parents need to be made a party to the action. Presently a presumption in favor of the parents decision concerning visitation with a third party, including a grandparent, should be considered by the court. The third-party must demonstrate that there will be a current or future detriment to the child absent visitation with the third-party as a prerequisite for application of the best interests analysis.

If you have questions regarding grandparent visitation or any other matter involving personal injury, medical malpractice or family law matters please feel free to call my office at 1-888-760-7339.

Alimony in a Maryland Divorce

There are a few issues involving alimony that may be of some interest. For example although court ordered alimony is always subject to modification however parties can specify in agreements that alimony payments are not subject to further court modification. Unless the parties agree in writing alimony will terminate upon remarriage. The circuit courts have an inherent power to award alimony and the power to reserve the issue of alimony. Alimony payents may retroactively applid to a time prior to the filing of a formal request for a modification of the alimony. Alimony is income to the recipient and a deduction to the payor. Generally speaking alimy is based upon a financial ability to pay alimony and a demonstrated financial need from the person who is seeking alimony.

If you have questions on the issues involving a divorce in Maryland please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339. I am happy to answer your questions for you over the phone at no cost to you.

Settlement Agreements Divorce in Maryland

There are generally two ways to resolve issues that arise in a divorce in Maryland. One is by agreement and the other is to let the court decide. Where possible it is preferred to resolve your issues by agreement. The benefits include controlling, to the extent possible, the outcome of your divorce and it is considerably less expensive than litigating the issues before the court. In the last week I have received several telephone calls from persons, that I was not representing, who have entered into separation agreements and almost immediately had second thoughts about the agreement and wanted to attack the agreement and set it aside. There are several ways to attack an agreement. However I will mention immediately that it is very difficult to attack an agreement and win. Some of the grounds available to attack an agreement include: duress and undue influence, lack of consideration, unjust or in equitable agreement, oppressiveness which shocks the conscience of the court, mutual misunderstanding, improper counseling, material fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and injustice and inequity.

If you have questions regarding your divorce, a separation agreement, or any other matter involving divorce in Maryland please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339.

Child Support Overtime Income Divorce in Maryland

As we have discussed child-support in Maryland uses mandatory guidelines to determine the amount of child support to be paid. A question often times arises as to what income is income for purposes of calculating the child-support. There are many issues to consider for example gifts, capital gains, income attributed to a parent and many many other issues. The purpose of this blog entry is to address solely the issue of overtime income for child-support purposes. The court of Special Appeals heard the case of Brown versus Brown and determined that actual income for purposes of determining child support payments is overtime income provided the income is not speculative or uncertain. As such, generally, it is determined that in order to include overtime income as income for child-support the overtime must be a regular part of the parents employment. Typically evidence of the earning history will prove this point. Often times it is necessary to subpoena someone from the payors employment to come to court and offer testimony on the issue of overtime availability. In the case of Johnson v. Johnson the court had the opportunity to visit the issue of a bonus as income for child-support purposes. This issue creates even greater complexity when considering modification delays and the inequity of overpaying in light of the fact that overpayment cannot be reimbursed see Barr versus Barr.

If you have questions regarding Maryland child support please feel free to call me at 1-888-760-7339.