Being arrested, convicted, and imprisoned for a crime here in Calvert County, Maryland, has a long list of obvious adverse consequences, including impacts on divorce proceedings and child custody awards. The Maryland divorce and family law attorneys here at the Law Office of Robert Castro sometimes receive questions about how incarceration impacts divorce and child custody. Below, we provide a brief discussion of three (or four) issues:

• How does spousal/parental incarceration impact the divorce?
• How does it impact the judge’s decision on child custody and visitation?
• What happens if a CUSTODIAL parent is incarcerated after the divorce? And
• What happens if a NON-CUSTODIAL parent is incarcerated after the divorce?

If you have more questions and need a consultation, call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We are Calvert County, MD., Child Custody and Family Law Attorneys with offices in Waldorf, Maryland.

How Does Spousal/Parental Incarceration Impact the Divorce?

In general, criminal behavior will impact your divorce. Further, for the whole of this discussion, the impact of an arrest, conviction, and sentence of incarceration will depend on when the crime occurred, the seriousness of the crime, the nature of the crime, and the length of the sentence. A 3 to six-month jail sentence several years ago will have an impact, but probably not a major impact, on how the Maryland divorce court judge rules on divorce questions. However, a 10-year incarceration for attempted murder or some other violent crime will have a major impact. Likewise, any crime involving children (regardless of any time-lapse or sentence) will have a major impact on child custody matters.

That being said, during the actual divorce proceedings, if one spouse is serving a jail or prison sentence, that incarceration will likely result in more favorable rulings for the spouse who is not in jail.

How Does it Impact the Judge’s Decision on Child Custody and Visitation?

What has been said is even more true for the court’s decisions on child custody and visitation. Logically, the divorce court cannot grant child custody to a parent who is in jail. This might be different if the parent is soon to be released. But, still, Maryland divorce courts are required to consider criminal behavior and criminal records when considering the “best interests” of the child or children. If one parent has a clean criminal record and the other does not, that difference will likely tip the scales in favor of the parent without a criminal record.

With respect to visitation, there are similar — though lesser — impacts.

What Happens if a Custodial Parent is Incarcerated After the Divorce?

A more complicated question arises if, sometime after the divorce proceedings have finished, the custodial parent is arrested, convicted, and incarcerated. Generally speaking, the other parent will have a right to custody (if only temporarily). Certainly, the divorce court will need to be notified and be involved in resolving the custody questions. Even a short incarceration might be sufficient for the other parent to seek a complete change in the custody arrangements. A different set of problems occurs if the other parent is unable or unwilling to take custody of the child/children during the incarceration. In that kind of case, the divorce court is confronted with a very difficult problem.

What Happens if a Non-Custodial Parent is Incarcerated After the Divorce?

Typically, if the non-custodial parent is incarcerated after the divorce, there is not too much impact on custody issues depending on how much custody is shared. The other parent takes up the slack, and visitation is suspended or terminated. The larger impact might be on child support since the incarcerated parent will have no income and no ability to pay child support.

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.