Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Husband took infant son

Filing for custody is permitted without having filed

for divorce. A custody agreement can be reached prior to a determination

by the Courts. In order have permanent custody in a legal sense, a filing and

hearing will be required.

You should seek the assistance of an attorney.

G. Joseph Holthaus III

(410) 799-9002

Re: Husband took infant son

You could try to get your son back from your mother-in-law while she is caring for him and your husband is working, since the grandparent has no legal right to custody and until there is a court order the rights of you and your husband are equal. The problem with trying to compel the return of your son from the grandmother is that she will possibly refuse to let you enter her property and threaten an action for trespass. The police could be asked for assistance, but this is the kind of situation where they usually refuse to be involved. You could, as quickly as possible, take one of the following steps, ideally with the help of an attorney: (1) you could get an ex parte (that means an order issued without the other party appearing in court) protective order, on the ground of domestic violence, which should require your husband to return the child to you pending his appearance at a hearing a week later to defend himself against your allegations of abuse. At that hearing, if the judge is convinced of your claim, the judge can award you custody (and support) for as much as a year and order your husband to stay away from you. That would give you time in a divorce proceeding to prepare a case for permanent custody. The ex parte order is usually gotten in the District Court, but not always. (2) You could file, in the Circuit Court, a Complaint for custody, along with a Motion to Shorten Time for your husband to answer and a Motion for an Emergency Hearing with an allegation that the infant child will suffer harm if he is not returned to your care quickly. Whichever step you take, you should do it quickly. If you don't, it will appear to the court that you don't really view the situation as urgent.

I do urge you to find a good family law lawyer to represent you in this. Custody disputes are very difficult for an inexperienced person to handle without competent assistance of counsel.