In Maryland, child custody falls under Family Law. It provides the authority to the judges to make decisions about child custody and visitation based on the best interests of the child. The Maryland law also does not provide any specific list of factors that court must consider while deciding upon the case. Instead, the judge hearing the case is free to consider several factors and all of the essentials the circumstance presents in each case for reaching custody decisions.
When the law does not provide any particular method, most of the judges tend to focus on facts like which parent is likely to provide the child a stable environment and which parent will better foster the child's relationship with the other parent. With younger children, however, this may mean awarding custody to the parent who has been the child's primary caregiver. With older children, this may mean giving custody to the parent who is best able to foster continuity in education, neighborhood life, religious institutions, and peer relationships.
No any explicit rule or regulation is fixed for deciding the child custody in Maryland but, all the final decision of the court is made according to the Child's Best Interest standard. The judge hearing the case may consider several factors before coming down to any conclusion. The factors that are considered may have some issues related to the child and some of them could be related to the parents.
Factors related to parents may include:
* Involvement of each individual parent in the childs upbringing
* The physical, emotional, social, and financial stability of each parent
* The willingness of each parent to act cooperatively with the other parent
* The geographic residence of each parent
* Any history of child abuse or domestic violence
Modification of Child Custody order in Maryland
A child custody order in Maryland can certainly be modified after they have been issued. In fact, most judges draft a custody order in a way that anticipates the many changes that can occur realistically in the future. For instance, if the custodial parent in single custody scenario is no longer fit to care for the child, then the court will consider issuing a joint custody order or granting the other parent the sole custody. If the child custody order needs modification, it usually requires another hearing to re -determine each parents custody rights according to the child's best interests.
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