Beyond the property division issues involved in divorce, custody and support issues also need to be handled by experienced attorneys.

In Maryland, custody is divided into two categories: physical and legal. The former corresponds to the time that a child will physically spend with his or her parents. The latter refers to decision-making rights with respect to education, health care, religion and other matters. When making decisions about custody, courts look to "the Best Interests of the Child." This legal standard involves a weighing of multiple factors and often comes down to the skill in which those factors are presented to the court. The court will always attempt to foster ongoing healthy relationships between both parents and the children, but will also focus on the health and well-being of the children.

With few exceptions, Child Support is determined by determined by the Maryland Child Support Guidelines when the parents' incomes are a combined $180,000 per year or less. This calculation takes into account a number of factors, and then derives a schedule of support based on access, income, special needs of the child and other issues. In situations where the parents' incomes are greater than $180,000 per year, the judge has discretion in determining the amount of child support after considering various factors including an extrapolation of the guidelines.

Spousal Support/Alimony has no formulaic, statutory guidelines in Maryland. In practice, this means that while various factors will be considered, it is ultimately up to the discretion of the judge when making a final determination.

If you are working through any of these issues, it is extremely important to have a lawyer on your side to advocate for you and guide you through the process.

With more than a half century of experience working on these issues, we will bring our comprehensive knowledge of family law to help you and your loved ones transition in the best possible way. We are dedicated to the short-term and long-term needs of our client, and we develop practical "real-life" solutions to these difficult circumstances. We encourage you to get in touch as soon as possible.

To contact the firm and schedule an initial consultation to discuss child custody and child support with one of our Rockville attorneys, call (301) 970-3811 today.