When a couple with minor children seeks divorce, one issue that the Maryland divorce courts will decide is how custody of the children will be apportioned between the parents. Custody of children is actually two things: physical custody and legal custody. The first involves where the child/children will live after the divorce. This is often phrased in terms of where the child/children sleep at night.

On the other hand, legal custody is about life-related aspects of a child’s upbringing. These are matters like schooling, religious upbringing, etc.

Often, Maryland divorce courts will make different decisions with respect to each type of custody. For example, one parent might be given sole physical custody but be given only joint legal custody.

If you have questions about divorce in Maryland, call us here at the Law Office of Robert Castro at (301) 870-1200. Our divorce and family law attorneys are patient, skilled, and compassionate — but also aggressive and persistent. Our offices are located in Waldorf, Maryland. But we also provide divorce and family law legal services for La Plata, Clinton, Bowie, Greenbelt, Landover, and other communities in Southern Maryland. In this article, we discuss how Maryland divorce courts make decisions about child custody when a couple divorces.

In general, physical and legal custody are decided based on the legal standard of what is in the “best interests” of the child or children. This is also the legal standard when a party requests a modification of a court’s Order with respect to custody.

What does “best interests” mean?

So, what does that mean? Basically, the “best interests” of a child/children focus on the upbringing of the child/children with respect to economic, social, psychological, and physical aspects. For example, with respect to finances, the question is: which parent can provide a better financial situation for the child/children? This also ties into issues of ensuring the physical well-being of the child/children. Physical well-being also entails physical safety, so that histories of abuse or criminal behavior are highly relevant.

On social upbringing, the question might be: which parent can raise the child/children to be socialized in the most normal manner possible? This question is related to schooling, closeness of friends and other members of the family. Psychological issues are often related to the emotional well-being of the child/children. Which parent, for example, has been the primary caregiver or has the most significant emotional attachment to the child/children? Psychological issues are also implicated by relationships with other family members — like grandparents — and new romantic partners.

What does a Maryland divorce court look at when determining a child’s “best interests?”

When considering the best interests of the child/children, Maryland divorce courts will look to dozens of factors and factual issues. Ultimately, the court is making a determination of each parent’s “fitness” to be a parent. The factors and facts include:

• Financial conditions and opportunities of each parent
• Where each parent lives or intends to live — this issue relates to geographic proximity to schooling, to the extended family, and to each parent with respect to joint custody/visitation
• Desires of each parent (and the child/children if they are old enough)
• Age of parents and children
• “Actual family experience” with regard to such matters as daycare, health insurance, etc.
• Nature of the relationship of each parent with the extended family — for example, is the relationship positive or negative, and is it a “good thing” for the child/children to have contact with other relatives?
• History of each parent with respect to work and community reputation
• Religious life and beliefs
• Any history of criminal behavior, abuse, etc.
• Any history of a parent’s separation from the child/children
• Whether a parent has abandoned or surrendered the child/children in the past
• Any question or history of neglect or abuse of the child/children

In the end, Maryland divorce courts have wide discretion to consider any factor or set of facts to make a determination of what is in the “best interests” of the child/children. In this sense, every divorce case is unique.

Contact Waldorf, Maryland Family Law and Divorce 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, Divorce lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD, 20601.