Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

CINA — Neglect — Transfer of custody The Baltimore County Department of Social Services (“the Department”), an appellee, filed a petition to have J.S., an appellee, the minor child of K.R. (“Mother”), appellant, and L.S. (“Father”), an appellee, declared a ...

Visitation — CINA — Permanency plan This appeal arises from an order of the Circuit Court for Howard County, sitting as a juvenile court, that indefinitely eliminated all in-person visitation between two parents and their three children. Read the opinion

Custody — Best interests — Supervised visitation Appellant, L.Q. (“Mother”), and appellee, A.A. (“Father”), are the parents of one minor child, “A”. Mother appeals from an order of the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County overruling her exceptions, and granting, ...

CINA — Permanency plan — Nonrelative adoption This appeal arises from a child-in-need-of-assistance (“CINA”) case in the Circuit Court for Cecil County, sitting as a juvenile court. After a permanency planning hearing in September 2022, the court added a concurrent ...

Custody — Child support — Abuse of discretion In August of 2021, Appellant, Isis Benton (“Mother”), and Appellee, Lewis Benton III (“Father”), sought to end their thirteen-year marriage. Ensuing from the adjudication of the couple’s divorce, the dispute that brings ...

Custody — Best interest — Change of circumstances This appeal of a denied motion to alter or amend custody was filed by Alireza Alain Kalantar, Appellant-Father, following an argument on May 25, 2022 between Gloriana Galeano, Appellee-Mother, and their teenage ...

CINA — Abuse of discretion — Parental rights This challenge is to the Circuit Court for Baltimore City’s finding that the child, M.M., is a child in need of assistance (“CINA”)1 and order that M.M.’s parents share custody. Read the ...

Custody & Visitation — Procedural fairness — Judicial code of conduct Appellant Giselle Young (“Mother”) appeals an order issued by the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County that denied, among other things, her motion to modify child custody and visitation ...

CINA — Best interests of child — Abuse investigation Although constitutional and common law rights of natural parents undergird the presumption that children’s best interests are best served in their custody, it is long recognized that our courts of equity ...

Adoption and guardianship — Breach of fiduciary duty — Unjust enrichment In 2019, Koralina Castello, appellant, on behalf of her minor daughter T., brought suit in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County against T.’s father, Troy Baacke, and his wife, ...