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
 |
CALL US NOW AT
301-865-1101
19 NORTH COURT STREET
FREDERICK MARYLAND 21701
No comments:
Post a Comment