Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

I would like to better understand my chances of being awarded sole physical custody of my two children if I were to file for divorced. My girls are 4 and 5 years old. My husband and I are both engineers and our full time salaries are nearly equal. Although, I have been working part time (between 20-30 hours) since the birth of our oldest daughter. I found out he was cheating on me while I was pregnant with our second child. I choose to stay in the relationship so the girls could be with their father and so that they would not have to spend much time in day care. Now that they are entering school, day care is less of an issue.

He and I have discussed divorce numerous times. But it always comes down to him threatening me with the custody issue. He wants to share physical custody, I believe that it is best, and more stable for the girls, to reside in one home and have generous visitation with their father. He has a daughter by a previous marriage and went through hell with custody battles. He has joint legal custody, but not physical custody in that case. And due to circumstance with the mother he has limited visitation. I don't trust that he would be reasonable or honest if he thought the courts would award me sole physical custody. I cannot see staying in this marriage much longer and need to know what steps I could / should be taking to improve my chance of being awarded sole physical custody.


Asked on 1/31/11, 4:54 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Paula McGill Paula McGill Attorney at Law

I assume you chose to work part time to care for your daughters. Therefore, you should be considered the primary caretaker. Nevertheless, it is impossible to determine what the court may do when it comes to custody. It will depend on several factors. The best thing to do is to sit down with an attorney in an office visit to discuss the matter fully.

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Answered on 2/01/11, 4:14 am


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