Posted on December 13, 2019 in Uncategorized

When deciding if alimony is warranted, Maryland Family Law Code # 11-106 requires a court to make a fair and equitable decision by considering several factors. Each one carries its weight, including:
The length of your marriage
The circumstances leading up to the dissolution of your marriage
The age, physical and mental condition of each party
The standard of living the couple established during the marriage
The contributions, both monetary and non-monetary, each party made to the marriage
The financial needs and resources of each party
The ability of each party to be self-supporting
The time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain education or training needed to become self-supporting
The ability of the party paying alimony to meet their needs while also meeting the needs of the other party; and
Any agreements between the parties.
In child support determinations, there is a rebuttable presumption that the amount of child support will be calculated using the Maryland Child Support Guidelines. However, when determining alimony, there are no statutory guidelines required or a set formula for a judge to utilize.
As a reference, attorneys often do refer to the Kaufmann and the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (commonly referred to as the “AAML”) “guidelines.” These can be referenced to give you a range of what to expect, but these “guidelines” are only reference points. It’s essential to keep in mind that in Maryland cases, they are not required to be considered or followed by the court. In my experience, these “guidelines” are excellent tools that should be utilized to educate yourself on the possibilities of your case.
Whether you are a potential payor or a potential recipient of alimony, consultation with an attorney is worthwhile. Due to the multiple factors a court must consider, and with the unique circumstances each case presents, all will have a profound effect on alimony determination. That’s why you should consult with an attorney as soon in the separation-divorce process as possible. If alimony is a potential issue in your divorce, whether you will be paying or receiving it, consultation is critical. Your attorney can provide you with the guideline calculations mentioned above, and give you advice regarding the facts specific to your case. All of which will have an impact on an alimony determination in your divorce.

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 Posted on February 07, 2019 in Uncategorized

If you choose to do this, you and the other parent should be as specific as you can to avoid future conflicts. You should ask yourself questions like these:
Who has legal custody?
Which holiday does the child spend with you?
What time and where may the other parent pick the child up?
What time should the child be returned home?
What is the procedure to follow if either of you are running late and won’t be there on time?
How much notice should you be given if they are planning a vacation?
How far away may the other spouse move?
What you might think you can figure out as you go along could become a bitter disagreement later. The stipulations should state everything that you have agreed upon. You should not rely on verbal promises. If you both agreed on it, write it down (no matter how trivial it may seem now). Your agreement should be included with your Complaint for Custody (DR 4), Complaint for Visitation (DR 5) or Complaint for Divorce (DR 20 or 21).
Additionally, you should be sure to read this full section before proceeding in order to avoid having your stipulation and consent order ignored by the court or giving away rights of which you were unaware.

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 Posted on October 09, 2018 in Uncategorized

I am often asked if my client can get his/her opposing spouse to pay for college.  The short answer is: NO, unless the other spouse agrees to pay child support past the age of 18 and reduces that agreement to writing.

Once your child turns 18 and graduates high school, he or she is no longer a child in the eyes of the law in Maryland. While it may be scary to think that your child is actually an adult, the fact of the matter is that they now have the legal right to govern their own life. So what does that mean for you?

Child Support – The legal obligation to support your child ends at the graduation from high school or age 19, whichever comes first. While many parents will continue to support their children in other ways (e.g., help with college tuition, pay their rent, car note, etc.), the obligation to pay the other parent child support in Maryland ends when a child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever is later. If you are paying directly to the other parent, you can stop. If your wages are being garnished, you need to work a little more closely with the employer and the office of child support enforcement to ensure that it does not continue.  If parents entered into a written agreement to continue support after 18, then the child support does not end at 18 under that contract.

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 Posted on October 02, 2018 in Uncategorized

As of October 1, 2018, parties in Maryland can divorce without a waiting period, EVEN IF they have minor kids.  The hitch? You need a fully-executed separation agreement disposing of all issues in your divorce: custody, child support, retirement benefits, the house, cars, vacation homes, and so forth.

Why is this great? It’s great news and tremendous step forward, because, until this day, parties had to live separate and apart for an entire year before being granted an absolute divorce.  Living in separate residences is both costly and stressful for the parties and their children, alike.

Mutual consent was originally passed two years ago as a new ground for divorce in Maryland, but it did not apply to couples with minor children.  Now that minor children are included in this law, if you come to an agreement with your spouse and commit that agreement to writing, you can immediately file for an absolute divorce in the County of competent jurisdiction.

Sharon

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 Posted on August 09, 2018 in Uncategorized

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/02/divorce-lawyer-advice_n_4661934.html?ncid=engmodushpmg00000006

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 Posted on July 06, 2018 in Uncategorized

Possession of Weed:

Under current Maryland law, the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana has been decriminalized since 2014. Proposed legislation in the Senate would decriminalize possession of an ounce, about 28 grams. But this has not passed yet. Decriminalizing it makes it a civil offense, meaning that it is treated more like a traffic ticket with a $100 fine.

Possession over 10 grams but less than 50 lbs is currently a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail or a $1,000 fine. Most people do not go to jail for possessing marijuana as a first-offender. However, the probation can be onerous, and you could be required to do both drug treatment and drug testing.

Possession of 50 lbs or more is considered a felony with a possible penalty of up to 5 years or a $100,000 fine.

Possession With Intent to Distribute, also known as PWID

Possession with intent to distribute less than 50 lbs is a felony with a punishment of up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000. More than 50 lbs and the punishment is up to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000. Possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute near a school is a felony punishable by imprisonment up to 20 years and fine up to $20,000. If an offender has previously been convicted of possession with intent to distribute, there is a mandatory minimum sentence of 2 years.

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 Posted on July 06, 2018 in Uncategorized

Every year, Maryland’s legislature passes new laws that impact many Maryland family law cases. This session, the Maryland legislature passed a significant number of family law related bills into laws.

Here is a look at several new laws that may potentially change your divorce, domestic violence, child support, or other Maryland family law related matter:
A Party can now use the granting of a Maryland Interim Protective Order, Maryland Temporary Protective Order, or Maryland Final Protective Order, as grounds for a limited or absolute divorce in Maryland. (House Bill 293)
This new domestic violence law makes all domestic violence related orders admissible in Maryland custody and Maryland divorce proceedings. Courts may now use grounds for a protective order petition, compliance, or even violations of domestic violence orders when determining if a Party has met their burden for proving grounds for divorce.
A Former Spouse can request restoration to a prior name up to 18 months after an entry of a Judgment of Absolute Divorce, without having to undergo the standard name change process. (House Bill 793)

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 Posted on June 01, 2018 in Uncategorized

Dozens of mentally ill men and women who have been charged with crimes are languishing in jails across Maryland despite court orders to send them to state hospitals for evaluation and treatment.

The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene does not have enough beds or staff to treat new patients, officials say. The shortage comes as 80 percent of those admitted to such facilities are arriving via the criminal justice system.

Union officials blame the shortages on what they call the state’s cost-saving policy of pushing care of the mentally ill into the private sector.

The state’s psychiatric inpatient capacity declined from about 3,000 beds in the 1980s to about 960 now, a squeeze the state’s top health official calls a crisis.  “Currently, all of the in-patient facilities operated by DHMH are full, and in fact, our system has been consistently over census for the past year,” Maryland Health Secretary Van T. Mitchell wrote to a Prince George’s County judge in April. “The implications of this for the patients and staff in our facilities are grave: Operating over census means we are at risk of not having adequate staff to maintain a safe patient-care environment or to provide quality care.”

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 Posted on May 31, 2018 in Uncategorized

The Fourth Amendment normally requires police to have a warrant to conduct a search. But one exception to that general rule, known as the “automobile exception,” was at the heart of this case: It allows police to search a car without a warrant if the car is “readily mobile” and they have probable cause to believe that it contains evidence of a crime. But the justices today ruled that the exception does not justify an intrusion on the “curtilage” of a home – the area immediately surrounding the house, where residents expect privacy.

In a near-unanimous decision authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court began by making clear that the driveway where Collins’ motorcycle was parked was part of the curtilage protected by the Fourth Amendment. The court then explained that the justification for the automobile exception doesn’t consider a resident’s privacy interest in his home and its curtilage at all; rather, the rationale rests on the twin ideas that cars can easily be moved and are subject to regulation simply by virtue of being on the roads. None of the Supreme Court’s cases, the court continued, indicates that the automobile exception allows a police officer to enter the home or its curtilage without a warrant to search a vehicle – if anything, the court has emphasized the need to treat “automobiles differently from houses.” “Given the centrality of the Fourth Amendment interest in the home and its curtilage and the disconnect between that interest and the justifications behind the automobile exception,” the court concluded, “we decline Virginia’s invitation to extend the automobile exception to permit a warrantless intrusion on a home or its curtilage.”
The court also rejected Virginia’s fallback argument, which would allow police officers to enter some parts of the curtilage (such as the driveway) without a warrant to search a car, but not the house or other structures inside the curtilage, such as a garage. Such a rule, Virginia suggested, would give police officers a bright line to use when determining whether they need a warrant.
The court dismissed that idea, noting that officers have long made such evaluations regularly before executing searches. “Virginia provides no reason to conclude that this practice has proved to be unadministrable, either generally or in this context.” Moreover, the court added, Virginia’s proposed rule would mean that people who can afford garages would receive more protection under the Constitution than those who cannot.

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 Posted on March 01, 2018 in Uncategorized

Consult an attorney. At Diamant Gerstein, LLC, we take time to consult with clients, one-on-one and go through all of their options. This is high on the to-do list! No two cases are alike.

Become informed about your legal rights and responsibilities. For example, suppose you decide to take the children and live at your parents’ house until the divorce is final. From a legal point of view, moving to your parents’ home, even temporarily, could be a huge mistake.

Copy documents. I tell clients this all the time. Check the mail, copy tax returns, get a hold of W-2s, know how much is in your retirement account and his/hers.
Go through household files and make copies of everything you can find: tax returns, bank statements, check registers, investment statements, retirement account statements, employee benefits handbooks, life insurance policies, mortgage documents, financial statements, credit card statements, wills, Social Security statements, automobile titles, etc. If your spouse is self-employed, it is important to gather as much information as possible about the finances of the business. Make copies of any financial data stored on your home computer.
Inventory household and family possessions.
List the major items: furniture, artwork, jewelry, appliances, automobiles, etc. Don’t forget to check the storage areas of your home and your safe deposit box for valuables.
(Being aware of all the marital assets is important when it comes time to split up the property.)
Know the household budget and expenses.
If possible, go through your check register for the past year and write down each utility, mortgage, and other household expense for each month. Keep track of the cash you spend on a daily basis so that you’ll be able to ascertain your monthly cash expenditures also.
Determine how to manage the family debt. The divorce court does not divide debt unless it is attached to real property such as a home equity line of credit, a car note, etc.  Credit card debt doesn’t get divided by the court.
If possible, determine the family debt and consider paying it down before divorce. Allocation of marital debt among divorcing spouses is one of the most difficult items to negotiate. While taking stock of debt, determine whether any of the debt was incurred by one spouse or the other prior to the date of marriage. This would be considered “non-marital debt” and it belongs to the spouse who incurred it.
Find out exactly what your spouse earns. A divorce to-do:
If your spouse earns a regular salary, it is easy to look at a pay stub; if your spouse is self-employed, owns a business, or receives any portion of income in cash, do your best to keep track of the money flowing in for several months.
(If you think your spouse is trying to conceal money from employment, you may want to hire a forensic accountant to track where the money is going and what is being earned).

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