Modification of Custody in Fallston, MD

Legal help with modification of custody for Fallston, Maryland residents from The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon in Towson.

Service areas / Fallston / Modification of Custody

The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC provides modification of custody assistance for people in Fallston. The information below explains the issues to discuss with an attorney and connects you with the firm’s original Maryland service guide.

Working with our Towson office from Fallston

Fallston is in Harford County, Maryland. The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC serves this area from 1107 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 305, Towson, MD 21204. This is the firm’s Towson office, not a separate office in this community.

Maryland law applies throughout the service area. Where a matter must be filed depends on the type of proceeding and the facts, not simply on the location of the attorney’s office. Discuss residence, existing orders, and any pending case at your consultation.

Read the Harford County service-area guide for the original local context.

Custody orders are not permanent, but they are not easily reopened either. Maryland uses a two-step test. First, has there been a material change in circumstances since the last order. Only if the answer is yes does the court reach the second question, which is whether a change serves the child’s best interests.

That first step defeats most poorly prepared modification cases before the merits are ever reached.

What usually qualifies

Relocation. A move that materially affects the existing schedule.
A substantial change in a parent’s circumstances. A new work schedule, a change in living situation, a new household member.
A change in the child’s needs. A new medical, educational or emotional need the current arrangement does not serve.
Persistent non-compliance. A pattern of denying access, or of making unilateral decisions in violation of joint legal custody.
Safety concerns that have arisen since the order.

What usually does not

Dissatisfaction with the existing order is not a change in circumstances. Neither is the simple passage of time, though a child’s genuinely changed needs as they mature can be. A parent’s new relationship, by itself, generally is not. And a change you knew about when the current order was entered is not a change since it.

The child getting older

Age alone is not automatically a material change, but the needs and reasonable preferences of a teenager can differ enough from those of a young child that the arrangement no longer fits. How much weight a child’s preference carries depends on age and maturity, and it is never the whole case.

A warning about informal arrangements

Parents frequently agree between themselves to a different schedule and never change the order. That works until it does not. If a dispute arises, the written order is what a court enforces, and years of a different practice can complicate rather than resolve it. If the arrangement has genuinely changed, change the order.

The same is true of support. A private agreement to pay a different amount does not modify a support order, and arrears can accumulate. See enforcement and modification of orders.

Enforcement is a different remedy

If the order still works and the other parent simply will not follow it, that is enforcement, not modification. Choosing the wrong one wastes a filing.

Talk with a Towson attorney

The Law Office of Thomas K. Mallon, LLC offers a free consultation. 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 situation.

Modification of Custody resources

Read the full Maryland modification of custody guide. Bring relevant agreements, court papers, financial records, and a list of questions that relate to your situation. If you have received papers with a deadline, tell the office when you contact us.

Other services in Fallston

Discuss your situation

or call (410) 847-9075. Advice about your particular matter requires a consultation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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