Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

I need to know how to go about getting a child ad litem for my stepdaugher. We are trying to get custody of her. The mother has several charges of neglect on her and also has a protection order on her on behalf of the child. We were advised it might be in our best interest to get a child ad litem to speak to my stepdauther. The problem is that we go to court in 3 weeks. Can this be done in time? The second problem is we dont have money to go hire an attorney to help we have been doing everything ourselves. Can anyone please help on what we can do or is there even enough time to do anything?


Asked on 6/25/12, 8:09 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

I assume you mean a guardian ad litem. You could ask the court to appoint an attorney to represent your stepdaughter but you would have to pay that attorney's fees. You could also ask the court to refer the matter to social services for a home study and you will have to postpone the upcoming hearing for that to be done. If that happens they will conduct a study of the 2 homes and advise the court where the child will be best served for custody purposes.

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Answered on 6/25/12, 11:25 am


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