Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Payment responsiblilities in regards to visitation

The answer largely depends on the underlying divorce judgment itself. A divorce judgment often contains language dealing with the relocation of a minor child or an anticipated move. If, as is probably the case for you, a move was not anticipated or the judgment failed to address the issue of costs associated with visitation, then you probably will have to seek a modification of the divorce judgment to specifically address this issue.

You did not indicate in your query how long you and your son have lived in Maine. Generally speaking, you would have to be a resident of Maine for 6 months before you could file something here, however, if the issue involves children, the issue would depend on where the children have resided for the past six months.

In determining who is responsible for the costs of visitation, the Court will likely consider numerous factors and, therefore, trying to predict the court's decision is very difficult. The Court may look at who has the ability to pay, who created the necessity for the unanticipated costs of visitation, the best interest of the child, and any other factors the Court deems necessary to reach an equitable decision.

As you can see, there is no definite answer to your query but the answer largely depends on a determination by the Court on a case by case basis. If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Re: Payment responsiblilities in regards to visitation

I am presuming that the custody documents are silent on this -- you did not go back to court when you left for your new husband's State. You can either settle this outside of court with your ex-husband, or you can go back to court and let the judge decide. It's quite possibile, since you were the parent to move out of State and took the child with you, the burden could potentially fall upon you solely to pay for both travel passages. However, the court could also assign the father to pay for the trip to Maryland and you pay for the trip back to where you live now. It's not likely the judge will have the father pay the entire travel cost, although it's not out of the realm of possibility if your ex-husband makes substantially more than you. Basically, it's a crapshoot. Work it out with your ex or take your chance with the court.