Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

BOSTON, MA — Massachusetts child support amounts are woefully inadequate and do not meet the needs of the commonwealth’s children. For the last decade, child support amounts have been continually reduced. The decrease has occurred while custodial parents, or parents ...

Oops, she did it again – Britney Spears is back in the news, but not for her hit pop songs. This time, the headlines concern her multiyear conservatorship and battle with her father over who controls her life and how ...

As in every year, November 2020 was National Adoption Month, intended to raise awareness about the urgent need for adoptive families for children in foster care and to celebrate the adoptions that do occur. This year, due to the COVID-19 ...

ROCHESTER, NY — After years of waiting for New York to catch up with society and medicine, beginning Feb. 15, 2021, New York law will allow compensated gestational surrogacy contracts. The statute also overturns the 27-year-old law holding compensated surrogacy ...

What should it be: 4% v. 8%? It’s an old battle among matrimonial attorneys but a perennially renewed fight nonetheless every time a martial residence is part of a divorce. When a spouse refinances a marital residence and cashes out ...

I am often asked by the guardian/custodial parent of an adult disabled person, “Who gets guardianship of my child if I pass?” The unspoken portion of that question is, “Will my estranged ex really get guardianship if I predecease them?” ...

The Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, enacted in Maryland in 1975, is a binding agreement among all states facilitating the placement of children across state lines.  F.L. §§ 5-601-5-611. This state’s local departments of social services utilizes the ...

ROCHESTER, NY — In facing a divorce, parties are often focused early on the retirement accounts — their own and, sometimes even more, those of the other party. However, questions about Social Security benefits tend to come later. There is ...

Two significant rules went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, that affect custody cases in family court in Maryland.  The overarching purpose of these rules is to facilitate agreement among parties regarding legal and physical custody. Maryland Rules of Procedure ...

Parents joke about their kids finally turning 18, flying the coop and becoming self-supporting, but does child support end at the age of majority? Not necessarily. Court-ordered child support typically terminates when the child turns 18, but may be extended ...