Complex Litigation

Divorce is confusing and emotional, and when children are involved the emotions tend to be heightened. There are different processes for determining custody and visitation, including mediation, collaborative law, the use of a child specialist and litigation. We will guide you through this difficult process and give you strategies which will help you keep your children out of the conflict. Custody and visitation rights issues can be confusing. In Maryland, there are two types of custody – legal custody and residential custody.

Legal Custody refers to your decision-making authority over your children, such as choice of school, childcare, religious instruction, and other major decisions.

Residential Custody refers to how much time (measured in “overnights”) you spend with your children. It is often difficult for parents to craft their own agreement regarding custody and visitation rights, particularly if a parent must move out of the area. If parents are not able to reach an agreement about custody and visitation, a Court must decide their custody issues. This means that parents must spend money litigating the issue, and a Court makes a custody schedule that is good for neither parent. We help our clients create a parenting plan which will best suit the needs of the parents and children, and is flexible to account for the changing needs of the children as they grow. An ideal parenting plan also accommodates the need for schedule changes as time passes, and creates a cost-effective and peaceful method to resolve the inevitable disputes which occur.

Child Support is the amount of money which parents pay, on a monthly basis, for the support of a child. Maryland has a “calculator” to determine child support, using the gross income of both parties, the time each parent spends with the children, and other factors. Parties can always agree to a different amount of child support as long as the child’s needs are met. Child support orders generally last until a child turns 18, or until up to age 19 for a full-time high school student living at home. The calculation of child support can be a bit confusing, and the on-line calculator does not take into account higher income earning families. We offer a free telephone consultation to assist you in determining the appropriate amount of child support you must pay. Alternatively, to access a child support calculator online, simply copy and paste this link into your web browser: http://www.dhr.state.md.us/CSOCGuide/App/disclaimer.do

Alimony is the amount of money a higher wage-earning spouse pays to a spouse who earns less or who does not earn a wage. Alimony can be temporary or final, and it can be for a set period of time or indefinite. Alimony is based on the factors contained in the Maryland Family Law Code. In certain circumstances, either spouse may ask the Court to modify or eliminate alimony if situations change. A spouse may also ask a judge for assistance in collecting (enforcing) a support order.

A paternity action establishes the father of a child. Paternity must be established before a court will order visitation, custody, or child support for a child whose parents were unmarried at the time of his or her birth. There are many legal, financial, and ethical issues and they can be overwhelming for all parties involved. If the parties cannot agree on parentage, the Court may order genetic testing. If DNA tests show that you are the biological parent of the child in question, you will be held responsible as a parent even if you only had one sexual encounter. This means you will be responsible for paying child support, but you also have rights to custody or visitation with your child. If you prefer to keep paternity confidential, we can assist you in privately determining paternity, without the need for court intervention.

A “prenup”, called an “antenuptial agreement” in Maryland, establishes in advance how property will be considered or divided at the time of a divorce or death. An antenuptial agreement can also set parameters on the amount of alimony which will be paid upon divorce. There are many different types of antenuptial agreements, and these agreements have a significant emotional component. We understand the difficult nature of these agreements and if you are considering an antenuptial agreement we encourage you to speak with an attorney before bring the issue up with your fiancé. Our firm is able to guide you in the decision of whether an antenuptial agreement is right for your family, while helping you keep your relationship intact.

When going through a divorce, tax issues are probably not in the forefront of your mind. However, many tax issues arise when spouses or registered domestic partners separate or divorce, which has the potential to further complicate the already stressful process of divorce. When structuring a marital settlement agreement, we partner with experienced tax professionals who will help you navigate the tax issues and potential penalties.

One issue to be negotiated is who will claim the dependency exemption for the parties’ children. Child care expenses may often be used as a deduction on the custodial parents’ taxes. Another important fact issue is tax on alimony, which is claimed as a deduction by the paying spouse and as income by the receiving spouse. Consideration of the tax burden should be taken into account when resolving family law issues.

Both are non-adversarial processes and both are voluntary. In mediation the parties are most often not represented by counsel during the process, although counsel may review agreements made during the process, while in the Collaborative Process, each party is represented. The Collaborative Process works well for people who feel they need the support and advice of their own lawyers. Mediation works well for people who feel that they truly know their own mind and situation, and with the help of a mediator, are comfortable speaking for themselves. If this is the case, Mediation is often chosen so that a person has more direct influence and control over the process and outcome. The mediator’s role is to manage the process, facilitate a discussion between the parties, explain the law when asked, act as a neutral to resolve disputes and, once the parties have reached agreements, to draft a separation agreement which can be used in court to obtain an uncontested divorce.

If you want to educate your spouse, speak directly with your spouse about a “Collaborative Divorce” option and encourage your spouse to do some independent research on the issue. If your spouse wants to hire an attorney who is trained in Collaborative Law click here to access a list of Collaborative Professionals in Baltimore and here to access lists of professionals in the Baltimore region. If you are unable to speak to your spouse and are interested in pursuing a Collaborative Divorce, we can send your spouse a non-threatening letter with information on the process. However, a Collaborative Divorce is something to which both spouses must agree.

Once you and your spouse have each chosen a Collaboratively trained attorney, the team (you, your attorney, your spouse and his/her attorney) agree on a meeting date. The team comes up with an agenda, which is a list of things to be discussed at the first meeting. Not everything will be tackled on the first day, but any issues which are pressing will be addressed. You meet with your attorney prior to the meeting, to be sure that all the issues which are important to you are addressed. In subsequent meetings, documents and information are exchanged (i.e. assets, debts, retirement accounts, etc.). If you have children, their needs are given high priority and you may meet with a child specialist to help resolve issues. All meetings are held with a spirit of openness and honesty, and with the goal of meeting both spouses’ needs. Once the various options are explored, you and your spouse come up with solutions. The final outcome is a separation agreement which best meets the needs of your family. Once you and your spouse are ready for a legal divorce, there is a short hearing rather than a lengthy trial. The benefit is that you and your spouse decide what is best for your family, rather than having a judge make the decision for you.

A note about Team Members: The selection of team members depends upon the family’s individual situation, and will be determined after the initial four-way meeting. While the attorneys may make recommendations to the couple, it is the couple who determines which team members will best meet their needs. A couple may meet with a team member without their attorneys, for example in the case of a financial neutral, which will help reduce costs.

Although the goal of Collaborative Practice is to avoid going to court, legal agreements are necessary to memorialize the final agreement. The attorneys will meet with each spouse separately and confidentially, to discuss rights and obligations and to advise on relevant legal matters such as issues involving the children, financial issues and property distribution. The attorneys also participate in four-way meetings (attorneys and clients), a mainstay of the Collaborative Process. Collaborative attorneys are specially trained to help keep the meetings safe and productive. The attorneys aim to make meetings a constructive and comfortable place for the parties to create acceptable solutions to the challenges being faced by your family.

Divorce is a major life transition, marking the end of a marriage but also the beginning of a new life. A divorce coach helps spouses come to terms with feelings about the marriage and assists the spouses in framing and communicating their needs. The Collaborative Process also allows the parties to handle any unresolved issues, so that these issues do not become a barrier to resolution.

The child specialist assists the couple in crafting a solution for child custody and visitation, in order to assure that children are a priority, not a casualty, for the changing family. Often a couple will meet alone with a child specialist, who will help them craft a plan for their children. This plan can then be seamlessly woven into a settlement agreement without the expense of two attorneys working over the details. Depending upon your children’s ages, the child specialist may meet with your children individually, assisting them in expressing their feelings and concerns about the divorce and encouraging children to think creatively and positively about the future.

The divorce settlement will in part determine your financial well-being for many years to come. It is critical that the financial decisions be soundly structured and that assets be fairly divided, but in a way which does not jeopardize the family. The financial specialist is trained to consider in detail the economic future of your family and help reach creative solutions within the family’s available resources.

A vocational coach will assist an underemployed spouse in developing a successful career plan. The vocational coach will explore job options, earning capacity, transferable employment skills, and the need for further education or training. The goal will be to provide a spouse with a template of the steps necessary to enter or re-enter the job market, consistent with appropriate earnings, interests, skills and job opportunities. The coach may also be a resource post-divorce to assist a spouse in career advancement.