Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland
My son wants to live with me?
My son is going to be 9 in December, and he has been living primarily with his father for the past five years while I attended college and go back on my feet. My husband of three years and I are financially stable. My ex-boyfriend and I have gotten along for the most part. In the beginningg, we had to go to court when he wouldn't let me see my son, but we have been getting along for the better part of these past five years. We have visitation that is set up through the court, which we have not had a problem with. He only asks for $270 a month for child support, and I write him checks (I keep all the receipts). My son told me yesterday when he was with me that he wants to come and live with me now (he has a two year old sister by me and my husband). He says that he likes staying with us, he has friends here, and that he likes my husband. When I called my ex and told him, he told me in no uncertain terms that I would never gain primary custody of our son. He refuses to talk about it with me and said that if I ever brought it up again, he would ''cancel'' my visitation with my son. I know he can't legally do that. My son wants to live with us, and we want him to live with us. How do I go about getting primary custody?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: My son wants to live with me?
You will have to file a petition for custody in the circuit court of the county where the child lives. You didn't say, but I assume there is no current court order regarding custody. If there is, you would file a petition to modify (change) custody.
Courts are reluctant to change a working custody situation unless it is clearly in the best interest of the child to do so. You would have to demonstrate a significant change in circumstances from what they were at the time the decision was made to let the father have custody. Obviously your situation is much more stable now, but the father's may be as well. Your child's expressed desire, assuming it's genuine, will not be enough by itself to convince a judge to change the custody. The court may order a home study of the respective homes by a court evaluator to get a recommendation as to who can provide the better environment.
Finally, if you file, don't be surprised if the father asks the court to increase the amount of child support you are paying if the state guidelines would support such an increase. What you are paying now is quite low if you are making a decent income.
Re: My son wants to live with me?
Your son's preference may apply but is unlikely to be the deciding factor. There are many other aspects that come under judicial review with custody cases.
In order to change custody you will need to file with the Circuit Court. A legal process then applies. This process can often be daunting if you do not have familiarity with it.
You should strongly consider obtaining legal representation.
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