Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Child custody
I share custody of my 15yr old son with my ex (43%-with me/57% with ex). We have 2 older sons one (19) lives in NE w/my parents going to college, the other (21) lives w/ex bc he works near my ex's home. I am currently remarried with 3 children (3yrs/19mos/7mos) from my current marriage.
My ex is military. He is getting ready to retire and move back to NE where we both have family. He has told me he is taking our son with him.
Can he legally take my son when we have shared custody? Can I keep my son with me in MD even if he wants to go? Is my son's age the only consideration?
We are both good parents with stable homes--I just don't want my children to be seperated. Right now, the little ones adore thier brother, I'm afraid that bond will be broken if he moves that far away. I don't have the money to fly him back and forth every weekend so they will not see each other except at christmas and during the summer.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Child custody
If there is no current court order or agreement dealing with the issue of where the parents may life in order to give effect to shared residential custody, you will have to file a court petition to prevent this from happening. Clearly the premise behind shared custody on an almost equal basis is that the parents live in reasonably close proximity to one another. This is for the benefit of the child, so that he can retain stability in his life in his school, social activities, etc. Your ex would be violating that implied agreement by moving. Having said that, your son is almost old enough to control where he lives and certainly can have input into the decision, so that if he really wants to go irrespective of the above, the court would probably allow it, but would possibly require your ex to pay the cost of travel here so that you can continue to have an ongoing relationship.
Re: Child custody
You should carefully consider the welfare of your overall family. The child in question can be petitioned, and given that he is enrolled in school, you may have a good case to maintain where he is.
Contact me should you want to pursue maintaining the child's current household.
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