As a general rule, if a St. Mary’s County, Maryland divorce court decides that one parent is an “unfit parent,” then the divorce court will not award custody to that parent. Indeed, depending on the specific reasons and circumstances, the court may deny unsupervised visitation rights to that parent. This is one reason that parents, who are fighting over custody of the children, often throw charges at each other that they are unfit to be parents.

However, a divorce proceeding in the Maryland State courts is a legal proceeding. Thus, it is not enough to make claims and accusations. Actual admissible evidence is needed that shows that the other parent is “unfit.” In this article, the experienced and deeply knowledgeable St. Mary’s County, MD., Child Custody lawyers at the Law Office of Robert Castro explain the features of admissible evidence and offer some examples of types of evidence that could be used to show the unfitness of the other parent. For more information or if you have questions, contact us. Our number is (301) 870-1200, or use our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

What is Admissible Evidence

In the Maryland courts, judges will only accept “admissible” evidence at trial or hearing. Essentially, evidence is “admissible” if the evidence has attributes of “truthfulness” and can be subjected to cross-examination by the opposing lawyers. Thus, generally speaking, a witness can only testify about what he or she directly saw, heard, did, or experienced. Such testimony has the “feel” of being true since the person is telling about his or her personal experiences. Such can include being a witness to events, but can also include rather mundane matters such as “I wrote this letter” or “I received this text message.” Of course, witnesses may not tell the truth or may not remember something correctly. This is the purpose of cross-examination. The purpose of cross-examination is to test for truthfulness and test the credibility of what the witness is saying.

Application to Proving a Parent is “Unfit”

As noted, it is not enough to make a claim that a parent is unfit. That is a hefty charge that must be proven. Generally, Maryland divorce courts will not make a finding that a parent is unfit absent some serious facts. These might include criminal behavior, abuse, neglect of the child, etc. Also, “unfitness” might be financially and materially related, such as being homeless or without sufficient financial resources to raise a child or children.

But, as to each possible reason for declaring a parent to be “unfit,” it is necessary to provide evidence that is more than one parent saying that about another. Thus, if criminal behavior is the basis for alleging a parent is unfit, then proper evidence is needed showing the criminal behavior. That might include police and court records, testimony from those with personal knowledge, correctional records (if time was spent in jail), etc. Other types of evidence that might be used include:

• Other types of records, such as records from child protective services, hospitals, medical practitioners, schools, etc.
• Expert witness reports from psychologists, social workers, addiction and substance abuse counselors, etc.
• Testimony from the child or children (if age appropriate) and/or other members of the household
• Health and medical records related to the parent
• Photographs and videos
• Financial records
• Letters, texts, emails, and other communications

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Child Custody Lawyer Robert Castro Today

This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions, contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland family law and divorce lawyer at (301) 870-1200. We are Waldorf, MD, Family Law lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.