Custody and Child Support

A parent's various characteristics – i.e., job, education, relationships, economic condition, etc. – can impact custody orders to the extent that they affect the child's best interests. In the case of Wettlaufer v. Wettlaufer (2016), a parent's mental health status played a role in the initial custody order. Let's look closely at this case and see how mental health can affect custody determinations.

Regarding child custody in Maryland family law, the law essentially operates according to many fixed principles, chief among those is the “best interests of the child standard.” This principle reigns supreme in child custody, regardless of whatever factual scenario unfolds.

In many cases, divorced spouses end up paying both alimony awards and child support. This circumstance can happen easily whenever a couple has children. We will discuss the case of Nusbaum v. Nusbaum, a case which, among other things, demonstrates the hassles which can follow whenever someone falls behind on their obligations.

In this post, we're going to discuss a few tips for custodial parents who plan to move out of Maryland.

The case of Ashley v. Mattingly does a good job of illustrating the need for paternity testing.

In previous posts, we’ve tried to emphasize the importance of the “best interests of the child” standard in the context of child custody determinations. In this post, we will give a brief summary and discussion of the case of Bussell v. Bussell (2010), a well-known case which involved a somewhat heated custody dispute.

Vanessa Kreyhsig v. Luis Montes, Among other things, this case applied the principle of Res Judicata to a child custody matter, and this is a principle that readers ought to master.

Paternity is the legal process of establishing the legal rights of a child’s biological father. In this post, we will discuss the presumption for married couples and then go over the two methods for unmarried couples in detail.

Fortunately, in this digital era, numerous apps have been developed for the specific purpose of helping co-parents navigate these murky waters. We’ve talked about some of these apps in the past, and today we’d like to discuss a few more.

In the past, we've seen frequent disagreements over the "standard" array of vaccinations that pediatricians typically recommend. One parent may wish his or her child to receive the full array of shots, whereas the other parent may only want certain shots. Whatever the case may be, disagreements over medical treatment are not novel.

Maryland uses the “income shares model,” i.e. that parents contribute a child support amount consistent with the relative percentage of their combined income. In this post, we will build on our previous discussions by examining the calculation method in greater detail, including the factors that go into the calculation.

In this post, we’re going to give a brief overview of visitation in Maryland. We will cover the four types of visitation schedules which can be developed, and the factors involved in shaping each schedule.

Domestic violence is one of the most troubling issues in our society. Whatever the causes, these issues have a special significance in the context of child custody determinations in Maryland. Those who have experienced domestic violence and are involved in a custody dispute need to understand this significance.

In this post, we will discuss the circumstances which warrant a modification of child custody in Maryland. As we will see, this matter is difficult to pin down precisely, because modification is essentially based on a very general principle.

Can I, as the non-custodial parent, obtain an accounting of how child support money is being spent?