Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

My 19 year old stepdaughter and her boyfriend sleep in our house. My stepdaughter is rude and disrespectful to her mother even though we provide her a place to stay. After she came home yesterday from being away several days she started slamming doors and cussing out her boyfriend in the garage. They left and came back to spend the night and my stepdaughter yelled up the stairs to my wife "don't you ever get in my business again. They argued and my stepdaughter and her boyfriend left slamming doors again. My wife gets very upset over these incidents and I couldn't sleep at all. When her boyfriend didn't leave for work this morning I went downstairs around 6:00, knocked on the door and told them to come out and talk. My stepdaughter starting cussing and they didn't come out. I went in turned on the light and told her I spoke to her about the way she speaks and treats her mother and I told her if she wanted to stay under this roof it needed to stop. I aslo told her she needed to be in the house by 11:00pm and no one was sleeping over with her. Obviously she went off and I responded. She immediatly told me and her mother no one is going to tell her what time she has to be home. My wife is really upset, but I told her I've had enough of this behavior. My stepdaughter is going off to college in three months, but my wife is afraid she will harm herself or get involved with the wrong group. If she comes in after 11:00 tonight with her boyfriend can I call the police and have them removed from our house, even if my wife says they can stay?


Asked on 6/03/13, 9:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Unless there is a prospect of violence I don't think the police will get involved, especially if you and your wife disagree on whether they should be forced to leave. You need to come to an agreement with your wife about what to do about your daughter. She is legally an adult, but you still have a right to set rules if she stays in your house. You should try and persuade your wife that it's best for them to get their own place (they probably agree), and as difficult as it may be to swallow, in the long run it may be wise for you to offer her some financial incentive to move out. Legally, she has no right to stay if both of you want her out.

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Answered on 6/03/13, 11:03 am


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