Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Dad for Custody/divorce questions
-I live in Maryland
-We have a 4 year old son
-I watch him 6 out of 7 nights a week (but she picks him up and has dinner with him 3 nights during the week)
-Separated 2 years now
-She pays for his daycare
-She makes $20k more than I do
-I pay his health insurance
-She moved out and I'm staying in the house
I'm broker than broke and can't afford a lawyer. She has money and has a lawyer and has papers she says she's ready to file. Problem is, I won't agree to what she wants. I want things to stay the same and he'll go to school by my house. She has different plans and wants him to go to school in another county and live with her most of the time. She also wants her overbearing mother to watch him and take him out of daycare. He'll be in kindergarden in a year and I like him being exposed to other children. Since she's paying for daycare, she could possibly stop paying and just pull him out and then I'm screwed.
-Should I quickly write up some documents and file them with ?whoever?
-Mediation could help, but if she decides she doesn't like the outcome, then it will be a wasted effort and a waste of money
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Dad for Custody/divorce questions
First of all, she should be paying child support in accordance with the MD child support guidelines. There is a base amount depending on the joint income of the parties, and the cost of day care is added on to that. The cost of his health coverage is deducted from your income to determine the base amount. She probably wants custody so she can avoid paying you child support. If the matter goes before a judge on a contested basis, the judge will act in the best interest of the child in terms of who will have custody and when. Judges like stability and if he is doing well in the current arrangement, you have a "leg up".
As far as "writing up documents", until you reach an agreement there is nothing to write. Even though you say you can't afford a lawyer, you will be making a major mistake if you don't seek legal assistance. Check with your county bar association's lawyer referral program to see if you qualify for a lawyer on a reduced fee basis.
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