Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: child support

If your child's mother does not show up for court the court might issue a bench warrant for her arrest. They may try to take testimony to establish what the child support should be, but if there is no evidence of what her income is that will be difficult. I aasume it is your current wife who wants to file for adoption. She can do that, but unless the child's mother agrees, the court will most likely deny the request unless the mother has abeen found to be unfit and her parental rights have been terminated.

Re: child support

You didn't state the purpose of the hearing in August, which makes it difficult to answer your question. I will assume you filed for support, and if she doesn't show up, and the record establishes that she was properly notified of the hearing, the court will proceed without her. If the court awards you support, and she gets a paycheck, the court can enter an earnings withholding order so that the support payment is automatically taken from her pay and sent to you or through the court to you. Regarding adoption, what are you trying to accomplish--an adoption by your wife? If so, you don't need the mother's consent to file, but she can object and it's unlikely her parental rights would be terminated if she does.