Know the Laws: Maryland
UPDATED July 9, 2007
This page provides legal information on custody law in Maryland. WomensLaw.org strongly recommends that you get in touch with a lawyer or domestic violence organization in your area before proceeding with court action.To find help , please go to the MD Finding a Lawyer page.
For additional information and for self-help resources, you can visit www.peoples-law.org.
- General information
- Definitions
- Who might get custody or visitation
- How the process works
- After an order is in place
General information
back to topWhat is custody?
Custody is the physical care and supervision of a child (under 18 years of age) and the legal responsibility of the child’s long term needs. When the court issues a custody order, it will address these two parts of custody:
Physical Custody
The term physical custody is used to describe the person who lives with the child on a day-to-day basis, and has the right to make decisions regarding the child’s everyday needs.*
Legal Custody
A person with legal custody has the responsibility of making all the long range plans and decisions for the child's education, religious training, discipline, non-emergency medical care and other matters of major significance to the child’s welfare.**
* Maryland Code 9.5-101 UCCJEA
** www.peoples-law.org/family/divorce/Custody/custody.htm
back to topWhat are some of the advantages and disadvantages of getting a custody order?
Some people decide not to get a custody order because they don't want to get the courts involved. They may have an informal agreement that works well for them or may think going to court will provoke the other parent.
Getting a custody order can give you:
- The right to make decisions about your child
- The right to have your child live with you
back to topShould I start a court case to ask for supervised visitation?
If you are not comfortable with the abuser being alone with your child, you might be thinking about asking the judge to order that visits with your child be supervised. If you are already in court because the abuser filed for visitation or custody, you probably don't have much to lose by asking that the visits be supervised.
However, if there is no current court case, please get legal advice BEFORE you start a court case to ask for supervised visits. We strongly recommend that you talk to an attorney who specializes in custody matters to find out what you would have to prove to get the visits supervised and how long supervised visits would last, based on the facts of your case.
In the great majority of cases, supervised visits are only a temporary measure. Although the exact visitation order will vary by state, county, or judge, the judge might order a professional to observe the father on a few visits or the visits might be supervised by a relative for a few months -- and if there are no obvious problems, the visits will likely become unsupervised. Oftentimes, the father ends up with more frequent and/ or longer visits than he had before you went into court. He may even end up with joint custody.
In some cases, to protect your child from immediate danger by the abuser, starting a case to ask for custody and supervised visits is appropriate. To find out if that is best in your situation, please go to MD Finding a Lawyer to seek out legal advice.