Archive: Family Law

The divorce process is daunting. For many of our clients, the road to a 10-minute uncontested divorce hearing has been fraught with contentious and exhausting negotiations.  So much so, that the final hearing and receipt of the final order can feel anti-climactic. By the time they have that final order in hand, our clients are...

Estate planning clients often engage us along with their spouses. Even though each spouse signs their own will, they often coordinate their documents with one another after a major life event, such as a marriage, birth of a child, or emancipation of grown children.  These clients feel great relief as they leave their signing appointment. ...

If you pay or receive child support in Maryland, you are likely familiar with the concept of the “Maryland Child Support Guidelines”. In short, these guidelines provide the presumed amount of child support owed based upon the number of children and the combined monthly income of the parents. If you’re curious what that looks like, I’ve...

This is the 3rd and final installation in a 3-part series about the most common reasons for a prenuptial agreement (“prenup”). In March, we wrote about the most traditional scenario in which prenups might be requested: where there is a vast disparity in wealth between future spouses. In April, we wrote about second or subsequent...

Part II – Second Marriages This is the second installation in a 3-part series about the most common reasons for a prenuptial agreement (“pre-nup”). Last month, we discussed the most common scenario where a pre-nup may be advisable: where there is a vast disparity in wealth between the future spouses. We discussed the desire to...

Last Spring, we wrote about the rise in demand for prenuptial agreements during the pandemic. In this three-part series, we will discuss the most common reasons why a prenuptial agreement (a “pre-nup”) might be the right decision for a couple on the verge of marriage.   Part I — Wealth Disparity The most traditional scenario...

Recently, the Washington Post Magazine featured a lengthy cover article highlighting a movement by state courts around the country towards equal shared parenting in custody cases. Many of our clients have asked where Maryland and the District of Columbia stand as pertains to presumptions in contested custody cases. What is the role of the court in contested...