Is the Husband required to leave the marital home? By Thomas Mulinazzi, Esq. MLO/Mulinazzi Law Office Columbia, Howard County, Maryland Figuring out who has to leave the house during a divorce is tricky because, there is no rule that says one spouse or the other must leave the house at the beginning of a divorce. Ideally, the two spouses would come to an agreement as to which spouse moves out of the house even if this move out is just temporary.  Neither side can require the other one to move out legally. The court will not require one side to move out of the house, except under very spec ..read more

Question: My 3 year old is showing some autistic behavior. I want to get him tested, so we can better raise him. My child’s mother has final say when it comes to medical. She absolutely have no interest in getting our son tested for autism. She uses “he’s a child, that’s what children do.” As an excuse. I’ve asked her 3 times, and I even talked to a specialist who wants to help but stated that she would need the mother’s permission as well. Every time I ask, my child’s mother would give an excuse… I’ll think about it or I’ll talk to my family first. Nothing is done. I wholeheartedly believe he ..read more

 If your ex filed a Petition for Contempt against you, she must prove that you are violating a term in an existing order. If there is no Order, then there is no Contempt. Also, if the Order’s language is not clear it is unlikely that you can be in contempt. What happens after one side files for Contempt? After a party files a Petition for Contempt, the Court will issue a Show Cause Order and Writ of Summons indicating the hearing date and the date in which any written response is due by.   You would then need to be properly served with a copy of the Petition for Contempt, any ..read more

My ex says that he pays child support so he doesn’t have to pay anything else, is this true?   A child support payment does cover a lot but there are other additional costs that must be shared by both parents regardless of the custody schedule. For example, each party must contribute to work related daycare, and medical expenses even if only one parent has primary physical custody.  The parents spit these costs pro rata to their income versus the total income. Does my ex contribute to other expenses if she or he has shared physical custody? YES. When each parent has at least 92 ..read more

My boyfriend and I purchased a home together and then we got married. A few years later things went south and he signed a quit claim deed and removed his name from the title. We never got divorced. Does he have rights to the home since he removed his name from the deed? If so. how do I protect my pre-marital interest? Also can he move back into the home if he wants. And if he does is there any legal way to get him removed? Marital Property is property “acquired” during the marriage regardless of title. So, even though he signed a QuitClaim taking his name off of title, because you paid f ..read more

How much child support do I have to pay if the custodial parent continues to be unemployed ? Custody has recently changed and now I am the non-custodial parent. Custodial parent is voluntarily impoverished and has been unemployed now for 6 years. Can they file for and receive child support? Maryland Law requires both parents to financially support their child. So the custodial parent does pay child support also but just directly to himself or herself when s/he buys things on behalf of the child. So the answer to your question is “Yes, even an unemployed parent can collect child support.” The c ..read more

Question: In a pending divorce case, I want to file a signed agreement with the court so the case can be uncontested.  How can I submit the agreement correctly? Answer: If you and your spouse have reached a mutual agreement, or what the court refers to as a Marital Settlement Agreement or MSA, then you should make a copy of the Agreement and mail the agreement along with a Line stating that the case is now UNCONTESTED and asking for an uncontested divorce hearing.  The best thing to do is to call up the Court’s Family Services Division and ask how the Court wants this to be done. Eac ..read more

Question:  What does it usually mean when you receive an order that my motion to dismiss child support modification is denied? Does this mean that the judge looked at the evidence I presented in my pleadings and decided against me? So now, we go back to court? Answer by Attorney Shomik Gibson:  When you file a Motion to Dismiss, the court examines the initial pleading to determine whether or not there are grounds for a dismissal.  A common ground for a dismissal is a failure to state a claim, which requires an individual to sufficiently plead facts. This means tha ..read more

Parents everywhere are terrifically concerned about how to best protect their children while at the same time abiding my Court Orders that require them to send the child over to the other parent’s house. What can they do? What must they do? Our attorneys answered one concerned parent’s question presented to us on the Avvo.com platform. COVID-19: Does my child have to be on a 14-Day Quarantine and Weekend Visitations Out-of-State? Can I withhold my child to protect her? Question from Avvo.com user: “I am not sure if an answer exists for this yet, but just in case: Our (minor) child permanently ..read more

What is a guardianship and do I need to get one for my loved one? There are two types of adult guardianships in Maryland:  guardians of the person and guardians of the property.  A guardian of the person covers authority of medical, contractual, and day-to-day decisions for another adult.  A guardian of the property covers authority over money and assets including, but not limited to, financial accounts, real estate and land, vehicles, and tangible personal property. A guardianship may be in order where a person is unable to manage his or her physical needs, health care, assets ..read more