Baltimmore Based Law Firm Specializing in Family Related Issues
Law Offices of Thomas B. Giannini
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3407 Eastern Blvd Baltimore, Maryland 21220 USA |
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(410) 686-6227
(410) 391-4046
Law Firm Overview
The Law Offices ofTHOMAS B. GIANNINI
If you have been injured on the job, or during an automobile accident, please call our office to discuss those problems as well!
The Law Offices of Thomas B. Giannini is a Baltimore based law firm focused on family law related issues.
We are ready to assist you in a caring, yet assertive environment. Everyone we represent faces a unique situation, therefore we treat every client with respect and dignity.
If you live in Maryland and need the services of a domestic law attorney, contact the Law Offices of Thomas B. Giannini for a free consultation today.
All consultations are confidential.
Custody of minor children can be the most emotional and heart-felt aspect of all domestic matters, and is usually the most strongly contested issue.
Generally, in Maryland, there is legal custody and physical custody of minor children.
Legal custody gives a parent the right to make long term decisions involving education, medical care, religious training and other matters that play a significant role in a child’s life. Joint legal custody means that BOTH parents have an equal voice in these matters.
Physical custody defines the basic framework of where the children live. Sole physical custody means that the child lives primarily with one parent (the custodial parent) with visitation granted to the other parent. However, physical custody can be shared physical custody which gives the “non custodial” parent much more time (overnights amounting to 35 of the year) to spend with the children.
So do mothers always get custody? What about dads?
Here is what the Maryland law says:
“Neither parent is presumed to have any right to custody that is superior to the right of the other parent.” ( Md. Family Law article, § 5-203(d)(2), emphasis added)
In other words, the ‘best interest’ of the children comes first, not what your spouse wants, or what your co-worker says or what your buddy down the street tells you.
Maryland recognizes two types of divorce: limited and absolute. An absolute divorce allows for remarriage, determines rights to property and is permanent. A limited divorce only serves to provide for support and authorizes the separation, it does not allow for remarriage. Generally speaking, a divorce action in Maryland can be filed in the county where the plaintiff or defendant resides.
There is no “quickie” divorce in Maryland, although in some cases a divorce can be granted more swiftly than in others. In all cases, an assertion must be made that states the grounds for divorce.
The grounds for a limited divorce are:
1. Cruelty of treatment or excessively vicious conduct towards you or your children (no waiting period)
2. Desertion (does not necessarily have to be 12 months)
3. Voluntary separation without cohabitation and no expectation of reconciliation (no waiting period)
The grounds for an absolute divorce are:
1. Adultery
2. Desertion without interruption for 12 months and no reasonable expectation of reconciliation
3. Voluntary separation for 12 months without any reasonable expectation of reconciliation
(a type of “ no fault” divorce)
4. Conviction of certain crimes
5. Two year separation (a type of “no fault” divorce)
6. Insanity with confinement for three years
7. Cruelty of treatment or excessively vicious conduct towards you or your children and no expectatio
