Maryland Family Law allows for physical and legal custody of minor children. A minor child is generally an individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years old. However, there are exceptions to this general rule in limited circumstances.
Custody
The Court may order sole legal and physical custody, joint legal and physical custody or a combination thereof. So what do these terms all mean?
Physical custody means that you have the right to spend time with your child. In other words, when you have physical custody of your child it means that they are generally under your supervision for the time being. Usually this means that your child is staying with you at your place of residence, although, that may not be the case in every situation and during all hours of the day.
Legal custody means that you have the right to make legal decisions on behalf of your child. These decisions can be short and long term and can be in regards to matters such as education, religious training, discipline, medical care and other matters of serious significance.
Sole custody means that you are the only person authorized by the Court to have sole physical custody and/or sole legal custody.
Joint custody means that you and another person are both authorized by the Court to have joint physical and/or joint legal custody. With joint custody, both parents have an equal say in making decisions concerning the child and neither parent has superior right than the other. However, there are situations where a Court may grant a “tie-breaker” decision to one parent when both parents are unable to agree on a matter.
There are situations in which the Court may grant sole legal or sole physical custody to one parent and joint legal or joint physical custody to both parents. That determination will be made by a judge and is strictly based on the details of your case.
The “Best Interest” Standard
The judge will always determine physical and legal custody using a “child’s best interest” standard. There are many factors the Court will consider when making its determination and does so on a case-by-case basis. This means that the court will take all of the relevant details in your case when deciding child custody.
Fit and Proper Parents
Generally speaking, parents are considered to be “fit and proper” parents to take care of their children unless it is otherwise proven. Additionally, it is understood that parents have a superior right to have custody of their children over a third party who is not a biological parent.
Proving that a parent is “unfit” to care for their children can be difficult. First, it must be proved that the parent is unfit or that extraordinary circumstances exist which makes custody of a child significantly detrimental to their wellbeing. Second, it must be proved that terminating that parent’s parental right is in the best interest of the child. This two-step analysis can be challenging and difficult to prove in Court without the assistance of an attorney.
Once the Court has made its decision regarding physical and legal custody, it will also make a decision concerning the physical custody schedule if the child’s parents are unable to come to an agreement. Generally speaking, the Court does not like to set physical custody schedules because parents should be able to come to a resolution of those matters on their own.
Modification of Custody
Custody orders can always be modified at the written request of one of the parties involved in the legal matter. However, in order to modify a custody order the party that is requesting such modification must prove that there has been a “material change in circumstances that affects the minor’s welfare” and therefore a modification of the Court’s order is warranted. The most common “material change in circumstances” involves the relocation of one of the child’s parents. There are other grounds by which a party can prove a “material change in circumstances” which are more complex and require the assistance of an attorney.