Legal Question in Family Law in District of Columbia

Re: New Visitation Order

Dear client,

you can certainly petition the Court to modify the existing court order.... To start, read carefully your custody order to see if there are already provisions in there on how to modify the agreement. Assuming that there is nothing in the order to the contrary, you would need to petition the Court of Maryland because this is where the child lives. The petition to modify the existing court order would need to be based on a change of circumstances: you will need to list all the things that are now different and you need to show why it is in the best interest of the child to have more time with you. Make sure that you are ready alone or with the help of an attorney to answer any possible claim of inadeguate supervision, parenting skills and so forth... in other words... get ready for a fight, but feel comfortable at the same time that if you deserve more time with your child... then you will eventually prevail. You mentioned that you are willling to move closer to where he lives... that might not be necessary if you are only 10 miles away and if you can accomodate his schedule (meaning picking up and dropping off times, after school activities and so forth). Be as comprehensive as you can in your coverage of how this change would benefit your son. Because of the animosity between you and his dad, it may be necessary at first to have a rigid schedule, but maybe you can both work towards a more liberal arrangement... especially when you think about the fact that your son will continue growing up, maturing and being involved in never ending activities .... parties, friends and so forth... When he gets a little bit older you will need a flexible schedule to accomodate your son's needs.

Good luck to you.

Tiziana Ventimiglia

P.S. Remember that Maryland has jurisdiction over this... not D.C.

Re: New Visitation Order

I agree with what another attorney has already written about the fact that Maryland would probably have jurisdiction over any action you file to modify visitation/custody because your son is in Maryland and has been here for the past couple of years. I am writing to add that if you choose to file for such a modification yourself without the assistance of an attorney, the Maryland court system has forms that may be of assistance to you--they can be downloaded from the Maryland Judiciary homepage at www.courts.state.md.us. Good luck.

Ranji Garrett

301-296-4474

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.