Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
I was granted full physical custody of my four minor children in the PL Agreement and Separation Memorandum in my divorce case. The children's father sees the children per a visitation schedule and he pays child support based on Maryland guidelines. The ex tells me that although I have full physical custody (as specifically written in the court documents), our actual arrangement is "shared physical custody". I'm trying to understand these terms but is there a real difference or is he trying to pull one over me?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Not sure what he's trying to do. The distinction between sole and shared physical custody comes down to the number of overnights the children spend with each parent. If the children spend more than 35% of the overnights in a given calendar year, which amounts to 128 overnights, then it is considered a shared physical custody arrangement. A different child support calculation is used for shared custody.
Custody also comprises legal custody, or the authority to make major decisions on behalf of the children. Examples include health care decisions, where the children attend school, religious upbringing, etc. He may be referring to shared legal custody.
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