Category: Divorce

Members of the United States Armed Forces have a unique set of circumstances governing relocation after a divorce in Maryland. When you are on active duty, you have certain legal protections to your custody rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which allow you to maintain your current custody agreement, as laid out in your Parenting Plan, in the event of military relocation for at least 90 days. When you submit a military relocation request in writing, you will be granted an automatic stay of administrative and court proceedings. A family law judge can also choose to lengthen this time period at his or her discretion, but that will largely depend on your specific situation. To submit a relocation request, invoke your rights under SCRA, and better understand your options for relocation, it is best to seek the counsel of a trusted Annapolis child custody attorney.

Protecting family dynamics after military relocation

If you are the military parent seeking relocation or undergoing deployment, it is necessary to work with your former spouse, your Annapolis child custody lawyer, and your children to construct and enact a situation conducive to a workable family dynamic. When Parenting Plans are created during divorce proceedings for military parents, it is often necessary to consider contingency plans and alternative arrangements that allow the military spouse(s) to serve their country without losing custody of their children.

Some circumstances that could be impacted as a result of your need to relocate for military service are:

• Frequency of visits
• Delineation of custody, including primary custody
• An increased need for flexibility of visits
• Amount you are paying in child support
• Family dynamics
• Ability to support your children in school and extracurricular activities (coaching, attending recitals, and sports games)

Additionally, if your military relocation is more permanent and will affect your current arrangement with your former spouse, you will need your attorney to advocate on your behalf to a judge. If you have not been given 90 days’ notice prior to your relocation, a judge can waive that requirement.

Your ability to serve your country and your children’s welfare are equally important. A trusted Annapolis child custody lawyer will be able to walk you through this process and assist you in obtaining the most effective and workable outcome for you and your family. In most military relocation cases, having an attorney as your advocate is the best decision.

At the law office of Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, we respect and appreciate your service to our country, and we want to ensure you have a custody arrangement and Parenting Plan that works for you and your children. We can help you navigate the reporting and court processes, and will seek fair custody arrangements on your behalf. Our firm offers compassionate advocacy and ample experience working with military families. To reserve a consultation time, please call 410-990-0090 or complete our contact form. We serve clients throughout Maryland.

With the legalization of same-sex couple marriages in America, more and more same-sex couples are opting to have children. As of May 2017, it is reported that more than 25% of all Maryland same-sex couples currently have children.

There are protections in place for LGBTQ parents – the Court of Appeals ruled in July of 2016 “that people who have raised children but do not have a biological or adoptive relationship with a child can still be recognized as their legal parents,” as reported by the Baltimore Sun. When a child is born, however, only one male and one female or two female partners may be listed as parents. Two male partners cannot, at this time, be listed on the birth certificate in Maryland without a second parent adoption.

Same-sex couples and the stepparent procedure

A second parent adoption, also sometimes called a co-parent adoption, is an additional way for same-sex couples to both become the parents and guardians of their child in the eyes of the courts. (Adopting your child with your partner does not preclude them from also being designated as a parent to your children.) This is a typical practice for same-sex couples that have, or desire to have, children, and these adoptions are recognized nationwide.

Many times, this means that one parent in a same-sex couple will need to avail themselves of their state’s stepparent adoption procedures. This does not mean that the adoptive parent is treated like a step-parent – these are the only statutes in place in Maryland as of now. It is legally advisable for the non-biological parent to obtain adoption documents in case of a divorce.

If you have children and are embarking on a same sex divorce, it is in your best interest to have an adoption or parentage document laying out your parental rights prior to working with a Maryland divorce attorney. It is well within your rights to have access, visitation, or child custody after a divorce, and if you are the non-biological parent of your children, pursuing adoption options can help you protect that status, in the event that your divorce becomes contentious.

All parents should be able to see their children after a divorce, regardless of sexual orientation. Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC is a premier Annapolis-based family law firm. We offer compassionate and skilled representation to same-sex parents throughout Maryland. To reserve a consultation, please call 410-990-0090 or fill out the firm’s contact form.

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• Annapolis Adoption Lawyers
• Second Parent Adoption Rules and Precedent in Maryland Same-Sex Divorce
• Maryland’s Laws Went into Effect on October 1, 2016
• Native American Man Loses Custody to Adoptive Parents
• Establishing Paternity in Maryland for a Child Born Out of Wedlock

One of the most important factors in a parent’s ability to maintain a bonded relationship with their child, and to have a consistent, reliable presence in their life, is their geographic location. When the custodial parent decides that they want to move, Maryland law has a process that they must follow prior to doing so. The custodial parent, however, should take into consideration the impact that the move will have on the child.

Considering the child’s perspective on moving away

While children are quite resilient and adaptable, they do need stability. Children thrive when they have a safe, secure and stable foundation at home. The court will ask many questions about the move to try and determine if the move is being undertaken in the best interest of the child. If the move is for a new, better paying, more stable job, then the judge may rule that it will improve many aspects of the child’s life. If, however, the custodial parent wants to move 500 miles away to be closer to their new love interest, and the child must leave their familiar surroundings of home, school, friends and recreational opportunities, the move is likely not in the best interest of the child.

Legal requirements for relocation after Maryland divorce

The parent who has primary residential custody of the child may be required to give the court and the other parent at least 90 days written notice of their intent to move. This notice requirement is waived if the parent requesting the move can show the court that providing the notice would expose the child or party to abuse, or if they can show any other good cause. If a party is required to move in less than 90 days, they need to show that the move is required for financial or other extenuating circumstances, and that they gave notice in as reasonable amount of time as possible after learning that they had to relocate. The court may use any violation of the notice requirement as a factor in future custody proceedings. (MD FL §9–106)

What if you are opposed to the relocation?

If your former spouse is the one who has filed the notice to relocate, you do have the right to object. You should know, however, that Maryland places “the burden on the opposing parent to show that the move constitutes a change in circumstances triggering a modification hearing. If established, the court then addresses the child’s best interests.” This can pose a particular problem for military families, where one half of the couple is relocated to another base within the country.

Balancing the best interests of your child with your own needs and life challenges can be difficult. At Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, we guide you through the difficulties deciding child custody and adjusting to co-parenting after divorce. We invite you to complete our contact form or call us at 410.921.2422 to schedule a consultation. Our skilled Annapolis child custody attorneys are here to protect your rights and guide you through resolving disputes

Child support debt is a major issue for divorced parents. Getting your life on track after a divorce can be a challenging task. Adjusting to meeting all your expenses on a single paycheck and adjusting to single life again is not easy, and adding child support payments often feels overwhelming. A 2015 NPR report found that there is more than $113 billion in unpaid child support in the United States. Non-custodial parents who fall behind on child support payments might be in a panic about what those delinquent payments might be doing to their credit report.

How does delinquent child support show up on my credit report?

When you owe more than $1,000 in delinquent child support, the Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA) can report your debt to the credit reporting agencies, who can list it as a tradeline or delinquent account on your credit report. Having delinquent child support on your credit can have a negative effect on your credit score. In some cases, being behind on child support payments can be as bad a hit to your credit as if you had missed a mortgage payment.

This can make it difficult to get new lines of credit. It could keep you from qualifying for a mortgage and it could even tarnish promising job prospects if a potential employer runs a credit inquiry while performing a background investigation on you.

If you are behind on child support payments and you receive a delinquency letter from the CSEA, it is a smart idea to contact them quickly and find a way to resolve the debt as soon as possible before your delinquency gets reported to the credit bureaus.

Child support enforcement

If you are owed child support, there are ways in which you can encourage your co-parent to pay. As the amount of delinquent child support and the number of days since the last payment increases, the consequences for non-payment grow increasingly intense. Your Annapolis family law attorney can send your former spouse a letter requesting payment; and they can petition the court for a court order demanding that they bring their child support arrears current or face penalties such as wage garnishment. The Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration has additional tools such as federal and state income tax refund offset, passport denial, suspension of a driver’s license and professional licenses and other enforcement tools to encourage payment of child support.

With more than 30 years of combined legal experience, the family law attorneys at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, are here to help families like yours end their child support disputes throughout Maryland. You are welcome to contact us or call 410.921.2422 to reserve a consultation today at our Annapolis-based office.

Regardless of how amicable or acrimonious the divorce was, once the divorce is final your role as a divorced co-parent begins. Co-parenting gracefully is something that takes time to grow into, but you will know when you get there. You will be interacting with your former spouse on a regular basis when you pick up the kids or when they drop them off, at birthday parties and other family events into the future, and you would be smart to find a way to make those interactions as smooth and drama-free as possible. When you model successful co-parenting, it will do wonders for your child.

Joint custody requires team work, and for both parents to place the highest priority on providing the best care for the child. It is up to each of you to make sure that your divorce does as little damage to your child as possible. Making the commitment to be all-in, to keep your promises to your child, to make them a priority, and to be at least cordial to your former spouse is the first important step on the road to successful co-parenting.

Here are a few tips to guide you through the initial, sometimes rocky first stage of co-parenting and managing joint custody after divorce:

Agree to make decisions with the child’s best interests in mind. What is convenient for you and what makes you feel comfortable does not matter now. What is important is that the decision-making process and the outcome best serves the child’s best interests. Get comfortable with the concept of compromise for your child’s greater good.

Stick to the custody agreement. In Maryland, joint custody is also called shared custody, and it means that both parents share physical custody of the child in a way that makes sure that the child has consistent contact with both parents. The parenting plan which includes the custody agreement has the force of law, so violating it has legal consequences. If you both agree to follow the visitation schedule, and the duties and responsibilities assigned to each parent it would make life go smoother for everyone.

Keep the past in the past. Resist the urge to keep trying to seek revenge or re-visit old hurts and disagreements. Now the only purpose of your relationship is to raise a child together.

Develop a new relationship with your former spouse. If the divorce was ugly, adopt a new kind of relationship. If it helps, consider your spouse as a business partner and make sure that all your interactions and communications are limited to the topic of your child.

Take a co-parenting class together. Co-parenting is hard. Learning how to manage it from parenting professionals will help ease some of the stress you might be feeling.

Communicate clearly and openly with your co-parent. Come to an agreement on how you will communicate about the child. If you must change a pick-up or drop-off time, communicate that as soon as you know about it to your co-parent. Do not send messages back and forth between the two of you through your child.

The transition from being a family in one household to being shuttled back and forth between the households of divorced parents is disruptive to the child’s foundation in life. The more you can work together to create a new kind of stability, the better your child will adjust to life after divorce.

At Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, we guide you through the challenging process of deciding child custody and getting on with your life after divorce. We encourage you to contact us or call us at 410.921.2422 to schedule a consultation in our Annapolis office to discuss your case with an experienced Maryland divorce attorney today.

Going through a divorce is perhaps the most stressful thing you will deal with (except, perhaps, for the death of a loved one). The stress of the loss of the marriage, and the end of a life in which you had invested your hopes and dreams can be devastating. Taking good care of yourself is the best way to guard against the pressure and the chaos of separation and divorce.

What we hear you asking as you read this is, “Who has time for self-care? I barely have time to tie my shoes these days!” But making time for yourself is important. While taking the time for self-care will not dial down the level of conflict in the divorce, you will at least feel better equipped to handle it.

These 10 self-care tips might be something you want to try. You may end up adopting a new practice for yourself that stays with you even after the divorce is final and brings you contentment and peace.

1.    Eat healthy food

Indulging in comfort foods may soothe your jangled nerves in the moment, but making healthy food choices will give you more energy and keep your immune system strong enough to handle the stress of divorce.

2.    Exercise

Moving your body creates natural endorphins which are nature’s feel-good hormones that can break you out of an emotional rut. Maintaining a daily exercise regimen will help you sleep better, maintain a healthy weight and contribute to your overall physical and mental health and stamina.

3.    Get good sleep

Ah, sleep! Getting good sleep is often easier said than done, but getting adequate sleep is vital to your ability to handle the normal stresses of life, let alone the additional stress and anxiety that comes with divorce. If you are having problems getting enough sleep, talk to your doctor about what you can do to improve the quantity and quality of your sleep.

4.    Gather your supporters

It takes a village. In the same way that you gather all your friends and loved ones to celebrate the good times, when you are going through a difficult time you want to gather your true friends and close family to help support you emotionally as well as in practical ways.

5.    Care for your emotional health, too

Going through a divorce can make you feel like an emotional train wreck. Give yourself the opportunity to express the powerful emotions that divorce can bring out. Trying to repress feelings usually backfires at inconvenient times, so feel what you are feeling and remind yourself that life will get better.

6.    Try stress-relief practices such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, or journaling

These stress-relieving practices can have countless mental and physical health benefits; they can make you feel more relaxed and better prepared to face what is happening in your life.

7.    Find a creative outlet

It might sound trite to hear that you should get a hobby, but finding a creative activity is a great diversion from the stress and angst of divorce. This might be the time to join that art or cooking class you’ve been eyeing, or to take up knitting or painting.

8.    Work with the best divorce lawyer for you

An experienced, aggressive Annapolis divorce attorney can make all the difference in the outcome of your divorce. You want someone who knows what they are doing, who will stand up for you when you feel vulnerable, and make sure that you walk away from your divorce feeling like you got the best results possible.

9.    Take the lessons from this experience as you move on with your life

When the divorce is final, look at the whole experience, at how you might have contributed to the end of your marriage and take whatever wisdom you can into your new life. People make mistakes because that is part of being human. How you bounce back from your mistakes will define your life.

10. Ask for help

Never be afraid to ask for help. You might not feel strong enough to handle what is happening. There is no shame in asking for the help you need to get through your divorce.

Taking care of yourself and allowing yourself to be cared for by loved ones is a vital part of healing and gathering your strength to take on the challenges of your life. It is also a strong reminder that you possess everything you need to take on whatever life throws at you. Carrying these self-care practices forward into your daily or weekly routines after the divorce is over can help increase the amount of joy you can squeeze out of life. If you have children, taking excellent care of yourself gives you the opportunity to model for them what it can look like to move through a stressful situation and emerge with your strength and sanity intact.

Our experienced team of Annapolis divorce lawyers at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, can protect your rights and make sure that your interests are represented. You are invited to give us a call at 410.921.2422 or fill out our contact form and schedule a consultation, where you can discuss your divorce case, ask questions and receive legal guidance from an attorney you can trust.

Despite other NY judges allowing process service via Facebook for divorce papers, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Sunshine refused to allow a woman to serve her estranged husband with divorce papers on Facebook. A Wall Street Journal story reports that the wife says her husband has moved to Saudi Arabia, but she has communicated with him recently through Facebook. She says that her husband abandoned her three months after they were married when she was six months pregnant.

Justice Sunshine said that since the Facebook profile had not been updated since 2014, he needed to see more proof that it was his account.

Accurate process serving is critical

A story in The American Genius says that the important point of service of process is to make sure that the person who is named on the account is using the account for service of process, in order for it to be accurate and timely. According to their research, Utah is at the leading edge of providing alternative ways for its citizens to interact with the court system. They included electronic format, including email and “other possible electronic means” (back in 2001 before the advent of social media), and then in 2010, the rules were amended and the courts created a specific affidavit for service of process using electronic formats: Facebook, Twitter, text message and phone.

In the case in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, the problem seems to be that there was no way to verify that the errant husband was the owner of the Facebook account, and that it was an account that he checked often enough to be able to receive the documents.

The Wall Street Journal story claims that judges are not opposed to the idea of allowing a social network to substitute for a mailman or an in-person process server in general. However, some courts are still reluctant to rely on Facebook and other social networks exclusively as a way of being in communication with an opposing party.

Given the increasingly ubiquitous nature of social media and electronic communication in our lives, more states will likely adapt methods for making use of electronic service of process. There needs to be a way to make sure that the person being served receives the notification in a timely manner.

Maryland law requires that the defendant be served properly or the case will be dismissed: MD Rules 2-101, 3-101; Courts and Judicial Proceedings 6-301. You can serve legal documents by a sheriff or constable, a private process server, or through certified mail, but you are forbidden from serving the papers yourself.

If you know that it is time to start planning for divorce, you will need the services of an experienced Annapolis divorce attorney on your side as you move through the tumultuous process of divorce. We urge you to give us a call at 410.921.2422 or fill out our contact form and schedule a consultation where you can discuss your case with our knowledgeable team of Maryland divorce lawyers at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, who will protect your interests.

When parents divorce and the family is divided, there could be some amount of animosity between one of the parents and the child, especially in cases of infidelity or abuse. Normal levels of acrimony can be overcome with time and maybe some family counseling. However, parental alienation is another scenario entirely. Parental alienation is the deliberate attempt on the part of one parent to undermine and degrade the child’s relationship with the other parent, rather than a child’s natural emotional reaction to the emotional trauma of the divorce. The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) has referred to parental alienation syndrome as emotional abuse of children. The criteria that APSAC uses to describe parental alienation disorder includes some or all of the following behaviors: The child strongly allies him or herself with one parent, rejects a relationship with the other, alienated parent without legitimate justification and refuses parenting time with the alienated parent. This usually occurs during a high conflict divorce.

What does parental alienation syndrome look like?

Here are some examples of the types of behaviors that might be going on in a parental alienation situation:

• Making baseless complaints to Child Protective Services against the alienated parent.
• One parent makes derogatory comments to the child about the other parent.
• Constant excuses about why the child is unable to see the other parent for their visitation time.
• One parent coerces the child to choose themselves over the other parent.
• The alienating parent sets themselves up as the victim and the other parent as the villain and shares unflattering details about the other parent’s life.

Possible solutions for resolving parental alienation

What do you do when you feel as if your child’s other parent is trying to alienate your child from you?

• You can work with a child psychologist who understands parental alienation and can support you and your child as you work through resolving the situation.
• Join a divorced parents support group.
• Enlist the help of your family law attorney in enforcing the existing custody order.

One parent using their power of manipulation to influence the child’s affections is harmful to the child’s healthy emotional development, and it is cruel to the other parent who deserves to be involved in their child’s life without interference. Maryland family law sees both parents as the natural custodians of their children, and therefore does not favor one parent over the other; the best interest of the child is the legal standard that the courts use when making decisions about child custody cases.

If you are involved in a child custody dispute in which it is becoming clear that your former spouse is trying to alienate your child, it is time to contact your attorney. If the court discovers that one parent has been deliberately trying to alienate the affections of the child for their own benefit, it will reflect poorly on the alienating parent.

The trusted Annapolis-based family lawyers at Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC can help you resolve family conflict. If you are struggling with child custody challenges in your Maryland divorce, you are welcome to call 410.921.2422 or fill out our contact form to learn more about how we can help.

You have survived your divorce, and the judge has issued the divorce decree. You are dissatisfied. Can you ask the court to reconsider the judge’s decision?

Yes, you can appeal a divorce decision, but that does not mean that you should. There are strict rules and timelines when it comes to filing an appeal. It is also important to understand that an appeal is not an opportunity to retry the case. A divorce appeal is not the same thing as a divorce modification. A modification is a request to change just one portion of the divorce decree, as might happen if the party responsible to pay child support suddenly loses his or her job, or if circumstances have led you and your former spouse to revise your current custody plans.

Grounds on which to base a divorce appeal

A divorce appeal involves taking the original judge’s ruling to a higher court. A divorce appeal should be based an error on the part of the judge in applying the law, the uncovering of fraud committed by the other side with regard to the divorce proceedings, the presence of new facts that could not have been discovered during the original trial or some other extenuating circumstance that merits an appeal.

A divorce appeal can cost as much as the original trial, and the appellant (the party filing the appeal) might be required to pay the legal expenses of the respondent. The appellant may have to hire a new attorney to represent them in the appeal. This means that they must be prepared to pay a new attorney who has appellate experience to prepare for the appeal. The entire process can also be very time-consuming. It is critical that you discuss this option with an experienced Annapolis divorce attorney first, because you may find this is not your best option.

Filing a divorce appeal in Maryland

If you want to appeal the judge’s decision in your divorce, you have thirty days to file your appeal.

The litigation in a divorce appeal takes place within the written briefs as opposed to the witness testimony that took place in the original trial. An attorney specializing in appeals can discuss your options and help you decide if it makes sense to file an appeal.

At Cynthia H. Clark & Associates, LLC, we provide strong advocacy for clients as they end their marriage and create their new lives. Please contact us or call us at 410.921.2422 to receive a referral for an attorney, who specializes in appeals, with whom you can discuss your matter.