Why Do Women Get Custody More Often Than Men?

Divorce and Custody Lawyers Answer Questions

How Lawyers and Judges Determine Custody in Frederick, Maryland

In "Don't Women Always Get Custody?" we said that women get custody much more often than men, But, I have contradicted that and said that judges don’t favor one gender over the other. What gives? First, parents are greater than the sum of their gender. Second, just being a good or even a great parent does not make the same person an equally good litigant and/or witness.

As a Frederick custody and divorce lawyer I have observed that parents with time for the children have a distinct advantage. Even in the modern world, there are more stay at home moms than stay at home dads so, that accounts for some of the advantage. Status as a “primary caregiver” does get favorable treatment. Even in the modern world, women more commonly work on a schedule that is conducive to parenting; eg. getting home and picking the kids up before dinner. Men work longer hours outside the home on average and that accounts for a great deal of the disparity between fathers and mothers winning custody.

There are also certain occupations which lend themselves to custody. These are occupations where the parent works only while the children are at school or sleeping. For example, nurses often work from 7p.m. to 7a.m. three days of the week. Teachers are at work while the children are at school and off work when they are not. Those occupations traditionally employ a greater percentage of women than men. Once again accounting for some of the disproportionality.

As a Frederick custody and divorce lawyer,I find women can be better litigants than men in custody cases. They tend to create more witnesses and wider networks such as play dates, volunteering at school etc. In part because of the time advantages stated above. In part because women talk about their children at work more than men. In contrast men’s co-workers and casual friends may not know they have children at all. How can you get a co-worker to testify on your behalf at a custody hearing, if he/she does not know you have kids?

Women tend to keep better ”custody type” records than men. In particular calendars showing when the other parent was late, when the child(ren) were sick, what clothing did or did not come home with the kids, when the homework was or wasn’t done etc. Calendars are so important, that I give every new Custody Place client , father or mother, a pocket daytimer for the express purpose of keeping child centered daily notes. I get them back filled in by more women than men.

Is there something about women that makes them keep such journals more often than men? Maybe keeping diaries as little girls? I claim no answer. As a Frederick divorce and custody lawyer, I see that the party with the most time for the children and who gives the better presentation is the one who gets primary custody. To men I say, forewarned is forearmed. Timothy Conlon, Esq. The Custody Place.

Custody Attorneys in Frederick Maryland

The Custody Place

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Child Abductions Usually Involve Family Members

Child Abductions Issues in Frederick Maryland

Sadly, most child abductions involve family members or household members according to custody lawyers in Frederick, MD. A child is considered to be anyone under 18 years old, while a family member is legally defined as someone who is a relative of a child by marriage, blood or adoption. 

Other abductors are typically people who have actual contact with the child, like a babysitter, or a stranger who happens to see an opportunity to snatch a child, like at the mall or carnival.

When Parents Can't Agree

Custody lawyers are often involved in locating abducted children because so many cases involve parents who are in disagreement. For example, there are arguments about custody during a divorce so one parent abducts the child.

In some instances, one parent will abduct a child just to scare the other parent or to blackmail the other parent into agreeing to certain visitation terms.

There are also many cases in which a parent or relative abducts a child when the custodial parent intends on relocating out of the area or relocates without telling the non-custodial parent or other relatives. The resentment a family member feels may translate into a desperate act of abduction.

It is not humanly possible to protect a child 24 hours a day unless you never allow the child to leave your side. Custody lawyers Frederick, MD clients retain are familiar with the guilt and grief parents feel when a child is abducted, but unfortunately it is becoming a more frequent occurrence.

One of the best steps you can take is to consult an attorney as quickly as possible, after notifying the police, once you discover a child is missing. The attorneys have resources that enable them to call upon the full power of the law to locate an abducted child.

These resources include the United States Department of State, the Center for Missing and Abducted Children, the local and state police, and international agencies dedicated to locating abducted children.

Full Power of the Law

The custody lawyers in Frederick, MD are also familiar with the many laws that are applicable to child abduction and relocation. For example, the Uniform Child Custody and Enforcement ACT and the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act protect a child who has been abducted or kidnapped. In other words, there are federal, state and international laws that protect parental rights and the rights of a child.

It is unfortunate that non-custodial parents sometimes feel their only recourse is the abduction of a child. The truth is that custody lawyers can represent either custodial or non-custodial parents. Non-custodial parents may also have rights in terms of visitation, and the best way to protect those rights is in court and not through an illegal action.

If you are concerned about protecting access to a child or believe your child is at risk of abduction, consult one of the custody lawyers in Frederick, MD.

There are right ways and wrong ways to settle these issues, and the right way is legally.
 

Timothy Conlon, Esquire for The Custody Place.

The Custody Place

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301-865-1101

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FREDERICK MARYLAND 21701

Where Do I File For Custody in Frederick Maryland?

As a Frederick custody and divorce lawyer sometimes jurisdiction is a consideration.  When clients come to see a divorce and custody lawyer they  tend to meet him or her in the city or county where they live.  They may take for granted that where you file a divorce or custody case can have a great impact upon the expense and/or the success of the case.

Jurisdiction is a two (2) part legal question that determines if you are in a court that can help you get what you want.  If the court can’t give you a custody or divorce order why bother?

First, does that “type”  of court have authority to order the parents/parties to do “what” the filing parent/party wants.to have done eg. the granting of a divorce.   For example, the small claims court cannot hear a custody case.  In Maryland our “Circuit Courts”decide all questions of “family” law including divorces, custody and child support.  This is called ”jurisdiction over the subject matter” eg. custody.  So we can conclude that if Maryland is the place, Circuit Court is the court.

Second, does the court have authority over these persons?  That is called “jurisdiction over the person.”   For example, if a person has never been to Frederick Maryland a party cannot just move to Maryland and file for divorce when they get there. With notable exceptions the person filing for divorce needs to have lived in Maryland twelve (12) months before they can file for divorce in Maryland.

In custody cases the court also  has  to have jurisdiction over the child.  Jurisdiction over child(ren) is an EXTREMELY delicate and intricate legal question that can’t be answered in this article.  Contact a custody lawyer who should be able to answer that question.

Timothy Conlon, Esquire for The Custody Place.

The Custody Place

  OUR PHONES ARE ANSWERED 24/7

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301-865-1101

19 NORTH COURT STREET

FREDERICK MARYLAND 21701

Licensed To Wed

In Maryland, happy couples who are seeking to tie the knot must first obtain a marriage license from the county clerk in the county where they seek to be married.  That much is clear and Frederick divorce and custody lawyers will direct you to the Maryland family law code at section 2-401 if there was any doubt.  But what happens if you don’t?  What happens if you wake up after a night at Cactus Flats face down in a bowl of roasted peanuts, with a beer tab on your left hand and a handful of wedding pictures in your right hand? 

Well to start with, you and your betrothed are both guilty of a misdemeanor and will pay a fine of $100.00.  Whoever performed the ceremony is guilty of a misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $500.00.  Are you legally married?  No but, you are illegally married.  Huh?

What I mean is that your marriage ceremony was not legal but it is a marriage in the eyes of the law none the less.  Your marriage is not void.  You are not eligible for an annulment and if you want to be unmarried you need a divorce the same as a couple who was married in front of the whole town with a license, a preacher and all the trimmings.  It’s similar to the calls that Frederick custody and divorce lawyers get from people who have only been married months, weeks, days or hours.  Those people still have to get a standard divorce, and so does anybody married without a license

Timothy Conlon, Esq.  The Custody Place.

Custody Attorneys in Frederick Maryland

The Custody Place

OUR PHONES ARE ANSWERED 24/7

CALL US NOW AT

301-865-1101

19 NORTH COURT STREET

FREDERICK MARYLAND 21701

Maryland Statewide Child Support Increase

The Tax Free Child Support Stimulus

Early History Of Child Support

The responsibility of Maryland parents to pay child support goes back to the Constitutional adoption of English Common Law in 1776. In those days fathers were usually granted custody because the children were a kind of property. That’s why a husband’s name was upon each of the children even after divorce but in contrast, the wife in those days was barred from keeping the husband’s name.

With our Constitutional adoption of English “Common law” came the whole bailiwick of English policies on divorce and child support. It also came with such out of fashion ideas as permitting a husband to beat his wife and children, so long as the stick was no wider than his thumb (hence “Rule of Thumb”). But hey, we were building a country here and the child support groundwork was laid. So let’s go to the 1920's through 1989.

Child Support Before October 1, 2010

In 1920 the Maryland Legislature adopted a law that said the Courts could order a parent to pay child support even if the parties had never been married. Bare in mind children born out of wedlock were previously referred to with a very unflattering term and had no rights. In 1951 the Courts determined that support was a joint obligation no matter which parent got the children. The Courts also mandated that a party entitled to child support could get the award retroactively from the date of the filing, not just from the hearing date forward. (A rule that remains true even today)

In 1990 the Maryland legislature decided to take the guesswork out of child support and finally gave us all the “Maryland Child Support Guidelines.” Keep in mind these are the MARYLAND guidelines. Some states compute child support “per capita” by the head count of the subject children and some by a raw computation of the payer’s income e.g. Fifteen percent for one child, twenty five percent for two and so on...

In contrast to the above, the Maryland Guidelines approach follows the principle of an “Income Shares Model.” The Income Shares Model is a warm fuzzy ideal that takes the separate parents’ incomes and puts them together to construct the income of an artificially intact household. Then a minimum amount that this artificial household should spend on the children, at each respective level of income, is pulled from a list or “schedule” this is called the “basic support amount.” The percentage that the non-custodial parent brings into the artificial household total is multiplied against the basic support amount and (shazam) child support.

Let me illustrate: If a Father and Mother each make $1,500 per month for a total income of $3000 to the artificial household the amount from the schedule might be $300 per month for a single child. In such an example the non-custodial parent would pay to the other parent $150 representing ½ of the $300 basic child support amount taken from the schedule.

If the non-custodial parent’s income were $2000 per month and the custodial parent $1,000 per month, the non-custodial parent would pay $200 representing 2/3rds of the basic child support amount of $300 taken from the schedule.

Generally, that is the way it is all figured out. Other various debits and credits can apply so contact a lawyer. Nevertheless, the schedule or base figure remained the same for two decades without an increase or change.  NOT ANYMORE!

The Child Support Stimulus

As of October 1, 2010 Maryland has NEW child support Guidelines. These new guidelines don’t change the way that child support is computed, they change that base figure from the list or “schedule.” Like it or not, it’s giving payee parents a raise. The guidelines are higher in each respective income level.

This represents a TAX FREE raise of $2,316 per year for the average Frederick County Household before adjustments! Whether you pay or receive child support, get a free consultation with someone who knows about these changes and how they can effect you.

Custody Attorneys in Frederick Maryland

The Custody Place

From Profile Photos

OUR PHONES ARE ANSWERED 24/7

From Child Custody Attorneys for Frederick County Maryland

CALL US NOW AT

301-865-1101

19 NORTH COURT STREET
FREDERICK MARYLAND 21701