Posted on May 17, 2022 in Child Custody

If you’re getting divorced in Maryland and have one or more children, it can be a tumultuous time. Easing the frustration that may be present can be completed by having a solid parenting plan. Doing so is an excellent way to know how issues will be handled when they arise. This action should help reduce conflict, making it less stressful to deal with this new family structure.

Utilizing a parenting plan is essential

Going through a divorce can be painful. When children are involved, it can make the situation even more challenging. Knowing the responsibilities for housing each kid is the minimum plan that can be created when a co-parenting relationship is put in place. However, for the best interest of your children, it’s an excellent idea to have a detailed and comprehensive parenting plan. Choosing this option provides a fantastic way to handle disagreements before they turn into a full-blown conflict.

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 Posted on May 03, 2022 in Divorce

Narcissism is an actual disease, a true psychological disorder. If you are divorcing a narcissist in Maryland, be prepared for a tough battle. They are known to do everything in their power to make sure they come out on top. Here’s a look at what to expect when divorcing a narcissist.

1. Ruthless control over everything

Narcissists crave control; it’s the essence of their functionality. They will do whatever they can to manipulate the divorce process and make sure they are the ones calling the shots. Your narcissistic soon-to-be ex-spouse may try to drag out the process as long as possible or refuse to cooperate to gain an advantage.

2. If you have children, they will use them against you

The narcissist may try to turn the children against you or use them to manipulate you. You’ll notice this through their spirited fight to gain custody of your kids to have power over you.

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 Posted on April 19, 2022 in Child Support

The court doesn’t just order parents to pay any amount for child support during a divorce; instead, the judge looks at factors unique to the parents and the children in question. You can find the guidelines for computing child support in the Maryland Annotated Code, Family Law Article, §12-204. Here’s what to expect.

Parents’ income

The court will require you to submit your recent tax returns documents, paycheck stubs or other documentation of current earnings to determine your net income when calculating child support payments. If you are unemployed or underemployed, the court will base child support on your earning capacity.

Overnight visits

In Maryland, there are a few different types of child custody arrangements that the court can order. They include joint legal custody, joint physical custody, sole legal custody and sole physical custody. The court will use the type of arrangement you get to determine how much you or the other parent should pay. Customarily, the more time a child spends with a particular parent, the less child support that parent will be required to pay.

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 Posted on April 14, 2022 in Divorce

If you and your partner have decided to divorce, there are several things you’ll need to consider about your new way of life. Divorce comes with several challenges that are unique to your family structure. If you’re a Maryland resident, here are some important things to know.

Divorce changes your standard of living

If you were the one paying most of the bills, you may notice that you have a little extra money at the end of the month if you’ve moved to a smaller space. However, this "extra" money may be necessary to pay attorney fees and other costs that come with ending a marriage. If you were the stay-at-home parent or didn’t make as much as your spouse in the marriage, you will likely find that the monthly bills can be overwhelming. This may require you to take on another job, especially if you have primary custody of the children.

Household duties may change

After your divorce, you may have to take care of the children more often than you normally would. If you have joint custody, you may have to get used to dropping the kids off at school on your way to work or making sure dinner is on the table every night. This new way of parenting may mean that you’ll have to make significant changes to your schedule and take on more tasks than you’re used to now that your marriage has ended.

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 Posted on April 06, 2022 in Property Division

The American Psychological Association states that between 40-50% of marriages in the US end in divorce. This indicates that many couples have to figure out a way to handle debt that occurred during divorce proceedings. If you’re a Maryland resident, here are some important things to know about debt and divorce to protect your finances.

Legal responsibility for debt

Divorcing couples who live in community property states won’t necessarily pay marital debt according to which spouse created the debt. Both spouses could be equally liable even if one spouse was not aware of the debt.

Maryland is considered an equitable distribution state, which means the courts will assign the debt(s) to the spouse who created the debt. Usually, the debt belongs to the spouse whose name is on the bills for the debt. If both spouses are named on the debt, both are responsible for paying it, even after the divorce.

Figuring out debt arrangements before the divorce

It is best to try and make sure the debt is in the spouse of the spouse who is liable for it before the debt is finalized in divorce. This requires both parties to work together but this option is worthwhile for spouses who don’t want to pay for a debt that doesn’t belong to them. If you and your spouse have credit card balances, you may need to transfer the balance to other cards or consider debt consolidation.

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 Posted on March 22, 2022 in Family Law

Not all final divorce decrees lead to a 50-50 split among the parties. Several factors could contribute to an uneven distribution of assets. Married couples with a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement may address mutually agreed upon asset distributions, subject to review in a Maryland court.

The difference between a prenuptial and postnuptial agreement

A prenuptial agreement establishes asset allocations and possibly support amounts before marriage. For example, one spouse may receive a specific amount of spousal support per month for a certain number of years, along with a lump-sum payment upon the dissolution.

A postnuptial agreement serves the same purpose as a prenuptial one. The clear difference is a postnuptial agreement is signed after the couple marries. A postnuptial agreement could replace an earlier prenuptial document although it is possible to sign a postnuptial document even when no prenuptial one exists.

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 Posted on March 09, 2022 in Child Custody

A troubled marriage could end in divorce, but the dissolution might not end communications with a toxic ex-spouse. When both former partners have a co-parenting plan, they must deal with one another. With a highly toxic ex-spouse, the situation could become stressful for the parent and damaging to the child. Things may reach the point where a Maryland family court has to oversee things.

Co-parenting with a toxic ex-spouse

"Toxic" refers to a broad spectrum of behaviors that make communicating with someone challenging. The toxic individual could be insulting, abusive, self-centered, or always creating drama. While the person might be a decent parent to the child, his or her toxic behavior might make communications almost impossible.

As much as one parent would prefer not to deal with a toxic ex-spouse, a co-parenting arrangement makes interactions necessary. Narrowing communications may make things easier, and limiting discussions to present and future matters regarding the child could be one way to shrink the interactions.

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 Posted on February 22, 2022 in Alimony

If you and your spouse have begun to discuss getting a divorce in Maryland, you may be surprised to learn that you cannot deduct alimony payments to your spouse on your income taxes. Similarly, if you receive alimony payments after your divorce, you do not have to declare the money as taxable income.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is responsible for the changes

While your close friend may talk about deducting his alimony payments, his divorce agreement had to have been finalized before 2019. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 changed the way alimony payments are classified for former spouses, indicating that alimony was no longer treated as taxable income or a deductible expense. Only agreements finalized prior to 2019 remain tax deductable or considered taxable income. Generally, the same holds true for agreements that were modified before 2019. However, if you had an agreement in place before 2019 and altered it afterward, the payments will not be deductible if the terms of the agreement have changed and you and your former spouse have indicated that the payments do not constitute deductible alimony or taxable income.

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 Posted on February 16, 2022 in Child Custody

If you are going through a divorce in Maryland and you have young children, it is important to try to avoid conflict with your estranged spouse. This is not just for your own peace of mind and well-being but because it can make the divorce more difficult for your children. However, this can be easier said than done. Even the most well-meaning of parents who are concerned about the best interests of their children can fall into harmful patterns if they are not careful.

Children caught in the middle

Children are perceptive and can pick up on your emotions, so if you think that you are just casually asking questions in an effort to keep tab on the other parent, your children can start to feel caught between the two of you. This can also be the case if you are asking them to take messages to the other parent, even if they are innocuous ones. When you are creating a parenting plan, you can agree on a method you will use to communicate with each other. There are tools especially designed for this if you want to make sure you have a record of those communications.

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 Posted on February 14, 2022 in Divorce

No one ever expects to get divorced, but it happens all the time. In fact, statistics show that more than 50% of all marriages end in divorce. If you are going through a divorce in Maryland and have online accounts that are shared with your spouse, it is important to take steps to protect yourself and your assets. Here’s what you should know.

Dealing with online accounts

The first thing you need to understand is that you have the right to access all of your online accounts with your spouse during the divorce. They can’t just change the password and lock you out of your online accounts, and you can’t do that either. So, if you have joint online accounts, you need to figure out how best to divide them.

Who gets the passwords?

In Maryland, family law is clear that passwords are considered to be property. This means that they are subject to division during a divorce proceeding, just like any other asset. In most cases, the court will give the person who has control over the account custody of the password. This can include the spouse, parent, or guardian of the minor child. However, there are instances where the court may decide that it is in the best interest of both parties to share custody of a password or allow one party full control over an account.

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