Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Child custody when there is no court order

I am writing this on behalf of my husband. He and his ex have been separated for almost five years. Their daughter is now 7. When they separated it was verbally agreed that his daughter would live with her mother. He has remained a part of her life with visitations. He pays child support. He does have a brief history of drug abuse but never exposed his daughter to this directly and is now clean and sober. His ex has a drug posession charge on her record. His ex exposes his daughter to things that he feels are inappropriate. His daughter is struggling in school. Her mother has a live in boyfriend who she complains about constantly. She says they are always fighting and it scares her. This b/f has openly stated that he wanted to kill my husband in front of his daughter which she was upset about. His ex often restricts visitation (nothing is court ordered) if they have any type of disagreement. If my husband and is ex get in an argument (more frequent than not) she will tell his daughter that her dad doesn't love her as much as his wife and other daughter (we also have a child together) He feels that his ex is mentally hurting his daughter and would like to obtain custody. With the history does he stand a chance?


Asked on 4/07/08, 12:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: Child custody when there is no court order

Yes. The court must decide what is in the best interest of the child at this time. If he is serious about wanting custody, he should retain an experienced family attorney who knows the law and how to put the facts together to present the strongest possible case.

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Answered on 4/07/08, 5:25 pm


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