Maryland Child Custody Attorney
Child Custody
Either through mediation or through a judge's decision, child custody is determined during the divorce. There are two types of child custody in the state of Maryland: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody defines the parental right to make decisions regarding the child's health, education, and welfare. Physical custody refers to the child's daily living arrangements. Regarding both legal and physical custody, there are two basic custody scenarios: sole custody and joint custody.
In sole legal custody, one parent has all legal rights and powers, including the right to make all decisions. In sole physical custody, the child resides with the custodial parent; the non-custodial parent is given the right to visit the child. The limited rights and privileges of the non-custodial parent have been expanded in most states over the past decade to provide equal legal access to child-related information of an educational and medical nature, and to make medical decisions in emergencies when the child is in the non-custodial parent's care.
In joint legal custody arrangements, each parent retains certain rights and responsibilities with respect to the post-divorce parenting of the children. Wide latitude exists among states in the definition of joint custody, and under what circumstances it will be permitted and denied. With joint legal custody, both parents retain power to make decisions about their children, although in many states, the particular decisions to be jointly made must be specified in order to preserve the authority. Likewise, while the definition of joint physical custody varies among states, it is traditionally an arrangement by which a child lives an equal amount of time with each parent. In contrast, joint legal custody may include a less than equal division of time, meeting the required number of overnights as specified by state statute, which allows greater flexibility in creating a joint physical custody schedule that suits a child's best interests.
Once child custody arrangements are in place, they usually remain so until the child reaches maturity. However, custody is always modifiable. There are cases in which one parent can re-open child custody proceedings if the parent can prove that the other parent is causing emotional or physical harm to the child, or it is no longer in the child�s best interests to maintain the arrangement that is in place. Andalman & Flynn attorneys are experienced in enforcement and modification of existing custody arrangements, whether on the basis of changes to your current situation whether pending or having occurred over time or an emergency requiring immediate intervention.