If you are a mother getting a divorce or living apart from your co-parent, you may have concerns about custody and child support issues. Work with a Frederick mother’s rights lawyer at Rolle & DeLorenzo to pursue your objectives.
Our highly skilled family law attorneys will carefully explain the law and thoroughly understand your concerns. We will develop a strategy to obtain a result that meets your goals and serves your children’s best interests.
The law honors the relationships between parents and their children and does not discriminate between parents on a gender basis in custody decisions. The law requires that custody decisions support the best interests of the child. This often means that it will designate the parent who has been the children’s primary caregiver as the custodial parent. However, parents may agree to share custody relatively equally or make another arrangement if it is in their children’s best interests.
State courts require parents to submit a parenting plan. Parents ideally should collaborate to create a plan and visitation schedule. When parents cannot agree, they must submit a form to the court describing the areas of agreement and disagreement.
Maryland Family Code § 9-201 describes the factors a judge may consider when deciding whether a custody arrangement serves the children’s best interests. The factors include:
When both parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, our mother’s rights lawyers in Frederick will suggest a custody arrangement that shows how your home fulfills the best interests criteria.
Both parents must contribute financially to provide for their children’s basic needs. The court calculates child support using a formula that considers the parents’ combined incomes, the number of children you share, and any other children either parent must support.
If you were unmarried when you gave birth, the custody rights of the baby’s father depend on whether you and he signed an Affidavit of Parentage. The signed affidavit ensures the father’s name is on your child’s birth certificate. If the child’s father is listed on the birth certificate, he has the right to seek custody and the obligation to contribute to the child’s support.
If you or the father failed to complete an affidavit but the father wants custody rights, he must petition the court for an order of parentage, which usually requires a DNA test. He is also obliged to pay child support if he is declared the child’s father. In addition, a judge could evaluate whether it is in the child’s best interests to spend time with their father.
You could also bring a legal action seeking a declaration of parentage. If your child’s father denies paternity, the action could force him to acknowledge the child and pay support. Our Frederick maternal rights attorneys will prepare the documents and represent you in court to hold the father financially responsible for his child.
If you are divorcing or negotiating custody with your child’s father, ensuring your child’s well-being is likely your highest priority. When you work with a Frederick mother’s rights lawyer at Rolle & DeLorenzo, we devote our skills and experience to achieving the best outcome for you and your children. We have a long record of success in complex family law matters. Contact us today.
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