In early 2025, Maryland amended its divorce statutes. See text here. Among other changes, lawmakers listed about fifteen to sixteen considerations that divorce court judges MUST consider when making decisions about child custody. A few of the factual considerations include:

• Stability and the foreseeable health and welfare of the child
• Frequent, regular, and continuing contact with parents who can act in the child’s best interest
• The child’s relationship with each parent, any siblings, other relatives, and individuals who are or may become important in the child’s life
• The child’s physical and emotional security and protection from exposure to conflict and violence
• And more

What the new statute does NOT do is establish any specific considerations where joint physical custody is sought by the parents. If you have questions about child custody in Maryland divorce cases, contact us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Please call us at (301) 870-1200 or use our contact page. We have offices in Waldorf, Maryland. Here is some background information about joint custody and the factual considerations considered by Maryland divorce court judges when asked to award joint physical custody.

When a Maryland divorce court is considering awarding joint physical custody, there is an informal two-step process. The first step is evaluating whether each parent is fit to be a custodial parent for the child or children in question. Then, if both parents are fit to be custodial parents, an additional set of factual considerations is evaluated by the judges. “Custodial” in this context means having the kids for at least one-third of the “overnights.”

In analyzing the first step, the 15-16 considerations that are codified in the new divorce statute are evaluated. Not all of the factors will be relevant in every family situation, and no factor is decisive. Judges determine custody matters based on the legal standard of what is in the “best interests” of the child (or children). As such, the 15-16 factors are to be considered in regard to what is in the best interests of the child/children.

For joint physical custody requests, additional factors must be considered. As noted, these were not added to the new Maryland divorce statute. Rather, these additional factors are found in judicial cases and decisions. In brief, the additional factors are:

• Desire of each parent to have physical custody
• Ability of parents to communicate, without acrimony, about the care and upbringing of their child/children
• Willingness of parents to cooperate
• Ability of parents to cooperate in joint physical custody — “ability” here means whether cooperation is possible; it is difficult, for example, for parents living hundreds of miles apart to share physical custody
• Impact of joint custody on the best interests of the child

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 11701 Central Avenue, Suite 200, Waldorf, MD 20601.