Maryland Uniform Child Custody Act

The Maryland uniform child custody act can be found in the Maryland family law at section 9.5 – 201. The purpose of this blog entry is to point out the interplay between the uniform child custody act and section 9-302 of the Maryland family code annotated dealing with removal of children from the state. As well as section 9.5 – 207 which addresses the Maryland state courts ability to decline jurisdiction due to inconvenient forum. I recently completed a case where one of the parents had removed the children from Maryland in a clandestine manner. The noncustodial parent was completely unaware that the children had been removed from Maryland until nearly 7 months after their relocation. There was ample evidence to establish that the custodial parent never communicated the relocation to the noncustodial parent prior to that seven-month period of time expiring. Of course the custodial parent file for custody in his new jurisdiction in the noncustodial parent requested the court in Maryland to assume jurisdiction due to the wrongful taking and removal of the children from Maryland. Maryland case law on point suggest that while 9-302 supports the continuing jurisdiction of the custody issue be heard in Maryland ultimately the court's decision will properly rest on 9.5 – 207 wherein the court will make a determination as to which of the jurisdictions is most convenient. Factors have been outlined by the court for consideration. If you have questions about jurisdictional issues involving child custody please feel free to call me or visit my websitehttp://www.yourmarylandlawyer.com/index.html . 1-888-760-7339