Legal Custody, Physical Custody, Parenting Plans and Visitation

Maryland custody law asks two separate questions, and confusing them is the source of a great deal of unnecessary conflict. One question is who decides. The other is where the child lives. A parent can have a large share of one and a small share of the other.

This page covers the mechanics. For an overview of our custody representation generally, see our child custody practice page.

Legal custody: who decides

Legal custody is the authority to make long term decisions about a child’s education, religious training, discipline and non emergency medical care.

• Sole legal custody gives one parent that authority.
• Joint legal custody requires parents to share it, which works when they can communicate well enough to reach decisions.
• Joint legal custody with tie-breaking authority is a middle path: both parents must confer, but one has the final say if they genuinely cannot agree.

Courts look hard at whether parents can actually communicate before ordering joint legal custody. An arrangement that requires cooperation that does not exist tends to return to court.

Physical custody: where the child lives

Physical custody, often called parenting time, concerns where the child lives and who handles daily care. It can be primarily with one parent with a schedule for the other, or shared between them.

One threshold is worth knowing because it has financial consequences. For child support purposes, shared physical custody means each parent has the child overnight for more than 25 percent of the year, which is at least 92 overnights. Crossing that line changes the support formula. See child support.

The best interests of the child standard

Maryland decides custody on the best interests of the child. There is no presumption favoring mothers or fathers, and no single factor decides the case. Courts weigh considerations that include:

• Which parent has been the primary caregiver
• The fitness and character of each parent
• The child’s own preference, weighted by age and maturity
• The ability of each parent to maintain the child’s relationships with family
• Any prior agreements between the parents
• The age, health and needs of the child
• The geographic proximity of the parents’ homes and the effect on school and activities
• The demands of each parent’s employment
• Any history of abandonment or of surrendering custody
• The material opportunity each parent can provide, though financial advantage alone does not decide custody

Parenting plans

Maryland courts expect parents to attempt a parenting plan, and the Judiciary publishes a Parenting Plan Tool that walks through the decisions a workable plan has to make. A plan that only sets alternating weekends is usually incomplete. A strong plan addresses:

• The regular weekly schedule, including exchanges, times and locations
• Holidays, school breaks and summer, with a clear rule for years that conflict
• Transportation and who handles it
• Communication between the child and the other parent
• How parents share information about school and medical care
• Travel, including out of state and international
• How the plan changes as the child ages
• A method for resolving disagreements before returning to court

Visitation and access

Where one parent has primary physical custody, the other generally has a defined access schedule. In cases involving safety concerns, a court may order supervised visitation or monitored exchanges. Baltimore County offers both through Family Support Services.

Note also that Baltimore County generally requires parents in contested custody cases to complete a six hour online co-parenting class before mediation.

Changing a custody order

Custody orders are not permanent, but they are not easily reopened either. A parent seeking modification must generally show a material change in circumstances affecting the child’s best interests since the last order. Relocation, a significant change in a parent’s circumstances, or a change in the child’s needs are typical grounds. See enforcing or modifying an order.

Related topics

• Family law overview
• The Maryland divorce process
• Mediation and negotiated settlement
• Temporary custody and support while a case is pending

Official Maryland resources

• Maryland Parenting Plan Tool and instructions
• Maryland People’s Law Library, child custody
• Baltimore County Circuit Court family services

Talk with a Towson family law attorney

Every divorce and custody matter turns on its own facts. The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation so you can get straight answers about your situation before you decide what to do next.

Call (410) 847-9075 or request a consultation online. The office is at 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204.

This page provides general information about Maryland law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Maryland law changes, and how it applies depends on the facts of your case.