Joint Legal Custody And Tie-Breaking Authority In Maryland

When spouses decide to divorce or separate, one critical question they must answer is how decisions regarding their children will be made. In Maryland, courts tend to encourage an arrangement in which both parents can play a significant role in the child’s life. Yet decision-making might become challenging when parents cannot agree on key issues, including education, medical care, religious views, and extracurricular activities. In this article, we’ll review a child custody case that set a precedent for cases to follow.

Background of the case 

The aforementioned case concerned parents who had legal custody of their child. The parents had the duty of making significant decisions concerning the interests of the child. The case shows that, like most co-parenting cases, there were disagreements between the parents and there was difficulty reaching an agreement on significant matters.

The purpose of the trial court was to ensure that the custodial arrangement would consider the interests of both parents while also allowing the resolution of their disagreement. In this case, the court granted joint legal custody to both parents, with tie-breaking authority granted to one of them.

The party without tie-breaking authority contested this arrangement, claiming that granting tie-breaking authority would result in sole legal custody, which is contrary to Maryland law.

The appeal 

The appeal centered on whether tie-breaking authority could be part of joint legal custody in Maryland.

In its final judgment, the court found that tie-breaking authority was permissible in joint legal custody. The court held that it did not mean that all joint legal custody situations involve equally balanced decision-making powers. It further argued that courts can fashion custody agreements that take into account the real dynamics between the parents and the quality of their communication.

The court stated that it would be very costly for parents to constantly take disputes to court for resolution. Tie-breaking serves as a mechanism for resolving disputes that encourages both parents to cooperate while enabling them to make crucial decisions when disagreement arises.

It should be noted that tie-breaking does not deprive the non-deciding parent of their right to participate in decision-making. The parent exercising the tie-breaking must consult the other parent about the decision he or she intends to make.

Key takeaways 

The aforementioned case will continue to be considered one of the most important in Maryland family law.

Firstly, the courts can award joint legal custody despite past difficulties between parents. Disputes do not necessarily preclude joint physical custody of the children.

Secondly, the court can award one of the parents the tie-breaking authority over certain decisions, maintaining joint legal custody at the same time. Such tie-breaking rights should be used to break deadlocks and help make decisions. The other parent should not be excluded.

Thirdly, in the presence of such ties, parents are obliged to negotiate with each other before exercising such rights.

In summary, for the custodial parents in Maryland who are currently going through divorces and cannot find consensus regarding their children’s upbringing, the case provides hope for more effective co-parenting in the future.

Talk to a Bel Air, MD, Family Lawyer Today 

Schlaich & Thompson, Chartered, represents the interests of Maryland residents during child custody hearings. Call our Bel Air family lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your arguments right away.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/maryland/court-of-appeals/2016/89-15.html