Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
Denial of Child Visitation and Motion for Increased Child Support
I'm sending this on behalf of my husband who does not have easy access to a computer. He has been denied visitation of his 2 kids as ordered in the divorce decree in 1993. Exwife has only allowed him to see them twice in the last 12 or more years. She is playing ''hide & seek'' game to keep him from seeing them. She filed a motion for increase in child support payments. He must appear in court on 7/23/07. We don't have a lot of money but you came highly recommended. How much would it cost us for you to represent him?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Denial of Child Visitation and Motion for Increased Child Support
Your husband should file a contempt petition against his ex for violating the visitation order. You and he should compile a list of examples of her denying visitation. As part of the petition, he could ask the court to order the ex to pay his legal fees.
As for the child support increase motion, the ex will need to demonstrate that there has been a material change in circumstances to justify the increase. This essentially means that either or both of the parents' incomes has increased or decreased enough to call for a minimum 25% increase in the amount of support per the MD Guidelines.
A significant amount of time is typically involved in these kinds of cases, and attorneys must charge for their services on an hourly basis. To properly prepare, fees can be a minimum of $2000. You may be eligible through your county bar association for an attorney on a reduced fee basis, depending on your husband's income.
Denial of Child Visitation and Motion for Increased Child Support
My rate is based on an hourly charge for work done, with a retainer. This venue does not permit advertising fees, call or e-mail me for rates. A motion for violation of the court visitation order should be filed. It can be heard at the child support hearing at the discretion of the judge. Common vistitation is every other weekend and holidays, with 2 weeks in the summer.