Maryland Family Law Maryland family law opinions and commentary

Child support — Retroactivity — Final-judgment rule On September 26, 2018, Appellant Keesha Elliott filed a “Complaint for Absolute Divorce, Custody, Alimony and Other Relief” in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County. In connection with the complaint, on May 21, ...

Child support — Calculation — Voluntary impoverishment Patrick W. Friend (“Mr. Friend”), appellant, is the father of Tayah R. Friend, born May 4, 2013, and Tyson Wade Stanton, born April 13, 2010. The mother of the two children is Ashley ...

Child Support — Deviation from guidelines — Requisite findings Devin Beverly filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County against Nikeeta Williams, seeking increased visitation with their two-year-old son Brayden. Ms. Williams opposed his request and counter-claimed for ...

Child support — Contempt holding — Need for a hearing A father defaulted on his court-ordered child support obligations. The child’s mother filed and served a petition for contempt. The father did not appear at the contempt hearing, and the ...

Child support — Calculation — Voluntary impoverishment In 2006, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County entered a judgment of absolute divorce in favor of appellant, Ishtiaq Malik (“Husband”), and ordered him to pay appellee, Zahira Malik (“Wife”), indefinite alimony in ...

Child support — Affidavit of parentage — Best interest of child On July 31, 2017, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County ordered the removal of Daniel Donnelly’s (“Appellee”) name as father on the birth certificate of a minor child. ...

Child support — Modification — Material change in circumstances In 2018, the Circuit Court for Baltimore County granted appellant Abiye Williams (“Mr. Williams”) a divorce from appellee Jeanine Williams (“Ms. Williams”), but denied Mr. Williams’s requests to modify the custody ...

Child support — Enforcement — Paternity test This appeal is from a July 2018 Order of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County establishing child support to be paid by appellant. He complains that the court erred (1) in refusing, on ...

Child support — Separation agreement — Deviation by mutual consent When the appellant, Pamela Barnes, and the appellee, Benjamin Bradshaw, ended their marriage in 2008, they entered into a separation agreement that was incorporated into, but did not merge with, ...

Child support — Modification — Change in financial circumstances Appellant, Khayanga Namasaka (“Mother”), appeals a judgment by the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County that granted appellee Mark Bett’s (“Father”) motion to modify child support. Perceiving … Read the opinion.