Family Law

Women who find themselves with crisis pregnancies often don't know what to do. They may be scared and unsure who to turn to for support. To respond to this, many states have adopted some version of what are known as Safe Haven Adoption Laws. These laws are intended to prevent infant abandonment and child endangerment by allowing mothers to safely relinquish their children without fear of prosecution. While every state's Safe Haven law is different, they each share some common features.
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You've made it through your custody battle and finally have an order from the court. This should mean the end of conflict with the other parent, right? For many parents, unfortunately, the answer is no. Interference with the other party's custodial rights frequently occurs and can perpetuate the fight far beyond the courtroom.  

What is custodial interference?

Custodial interference can occur in a number of different ways. Sometimes it involves improperly affecting the parental relationship, such as denigrating the other parent in the child's presence.

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According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, in the past five years 81% of its members have represented clients in cases involving evidence from social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Posted pictures and comments can make the job all-too-easy for your former spouse’s attorney to attack your credibility and ensure you do not receive the relief that you are requesting from the court.

 A picture is worth a thousand words. And that picture you posted of yourself, in various stages of undress, or with a marijuana cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other, speaks volumes to the court and can result in unfavorable rulings regarding child custody or visitation. But the information posted doesn’t even have to be tawdry or illegal to land you in trouble.

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Beginning  December of 2019, parties in cases where custody at issue, must complete a Parenting Plan Tool that will present each parties 

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Beginning October 1, 2020, the manner in which child support is calculated is changing. There is now a three-tiered system for calculating child support that hopefully will alleviate instances where parents are battling over a few overnights. Currently, 128 overnights is the dividing line between sole physical custody and shared physical custody (joint legal/joint physical custody). The difference in what is paid under sole physical custody and shared physical custody is often significant. A parent who has 127 overnights may still have the same expenses as the parent having 128 overnights, but that one overnight could mean the difference of hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month in child support, when the reality is that the amount of expenses are very similar 

As of October 1, 2020, cases will be evaluated on a three-tiered framework where: (1) one parent has the child(ren) for 91 overnights or less; (2) one parent has the child(ren) between 92 and 109 overnights; or (3) both parents have the children for at least 110 overnights.
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Last summer, the Maryland Court of Appeals—the state’s highest court—decided that the state’s child pornography statute applies to a 16-year-old girl who texted a one-minute video of herself to her teenage best friends. In the video, she is seen performing a consensual sex act.

In his opinion, Judge Joseph M. Getty said that the court had to contend with this question: “Can a minor legally engaged in consensual sexual activity be his or her own pornographer through the act of sexting?”

In a 6–1 ruling, the judges decided that the answer was yes, despite considering the “complexities of the sociocultural phenomenon of sexting by minors.”

This is disturbing firstly, because a minor was engaged in this behavior, and secondly because, although she participated consensually, is now a child pornographer at the age of 16.

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How do I handle visitation with my children during the pandemic?  I have court-ordered bi-weekly visitation, and my Ex is using the COVID-19 stay at home orders as a reason why I should not have visitation.

We are all trying to make adjustments to the “new normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Non-custodial parents with existing court orders have been finding it even more difficult.  

A court order has to be complied with by both parties, and a party that fails to do so could be held in contempt and risk a judge ordering a change in custody or losing tie-breaking authority.  Courts will always consider what is in the “best interest of the children,” when making a decision.

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Robert Griffin III has been in the news lately for more than just football.  For the next few posts I'm going to talk about some of his mistakes and how you can avoid them.

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Robert Griffin III has been in the news lately for more than just football. For the next few posts I'm going to talk about some of his mistakes and how you can avoid them. 

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Robert Griffin III has been in the news lately for more than just football. For the next few posts I'm going to talk about some of his mistakes and how you can avoid them. 

Read more . . .