No, a relative cannot seek custody of your children during a St. Mary’s County, Maryland divorce proceeding. There are several reasons for this.

First, a Maryland divorce is a legal proceeding that is generally limited to the two divorcing spouses. In other types of litigation, there can be many different plaintiffs — those suing — and many different defendants — those being sued. There can be cross-claims and counterclaims, and even third parties can become involved. However, this is almost never allowed in divorce cases. The case is almost exclusively between the divorcing spouses. Thus, a relative — like a grandmother or aunt/uncle — cannot become a party to your divorce. And, if a relative is not an officially sanctioned party to the case, the Maryland divorce court has no power to award custody to such a relative. If a relative — like a grandmother or aunt/uncle — wanted to gain custody of the children, then they would have to ask the Maryland divorce court to intervene in the case. Maryland divorce courts are very unlikely to grant such a request.

Second, there are constitutional and legal protections in place protecting the relationship between parents and their children. Without exceptional circumstances, Maryland divorce courts will not upset those constitutional and legal protections.

Third, under Maryland statutes and legal precedents, decisions about awarding custody of children in a divorce proceeding are resolved under the legal standard of what is in the “best interests” of the child/children. It is presumed — and this is a strong presumption — that being raised by one or both of their parents is in the “best interests” of every child. Thus, again, Maryland divorce courts will not entertain the idea of a relative being awarded custody of children during a divorce proceeding.

If circumstances are such that there are valid and legitimate reasons to think that neither parent is fit to be awarded custody, then different types of legal proceedings can be initiated. These would involve Maryland’s child protective services. The purpose of such non-divorce proceedings would be to evaluate whether parental rights should be terminated for good cause. However, termination of parental rights is NOT something that a Maryland divorce court can determine.

What if one spouse is not a biological or adoptive parent?

The only circumstance where a Maryland divorce court could award custody of children to a “third party” would be if one of the spouses is not a biological or adoptive parent. Such cases are rare, but they do arise on occasion.

When confronted with such a case, Maryland divorce courts begin with the assumption that custody should be awarded to the biological parent since, generally, that is in the “best interests” of the child/children. However, Maryland does recognize the legal doctrine of de facto parenthood — that is, parenthood in fact and in practice. When such a case arises, the biological relationship is important but not completely determinative of how the Maryland divorce court will rule with respect to custody. Other factors that are considered include:

• Whether the alleged de facto parent lived in the same household
• Whether the alleged de facto parent performed functions that would customarily be considered “parental”
• Whether the biological parents consented and encouraged an affective relationship between child/children and the de facto parent
• Whether the de facto parent held him or herself out as a parent and whether the biological parent consented/condoned such holding out
• And more

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.