Maryland
Legislative Agenda for Women
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What You Can Do to Take Action on Legislation
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Family Law—Child Custody Determinations Bill Number:
HB1147 Synopsis:
This bill provides clear guidelines and standards for
courts to use when
making child custody determination by codifying existing case law.
Committee(s): House
Judiciary Lead Sponsor(s): Delegate
Kathleen Dumais, 410-841-3052 Lead Group(s): Women’s
Law Center of Maryland, Inc. Background Information: Currently,
there is no statute that sets out the factors that a court must consider in
making a custody determination. Case
law has created general guidelines for judges, including that the overriding
concern in determining child custody should be the best interests of the child,
but no statute clearly articulates all factors to be considered.
Judges and lawyers must interpret case law and do not have the benefit of
a legislative description of the factors to be considered.
Because there is no statutory expression of the factors, legislation has
been introduced frequently that would create a presumption of joint legal and
shared physical custody in every custody case filed in Maryland. The
proposed legislation codifies existing case law and creates clear standards and
guidelines to be used by courts making custody decisions.
The legislation will carefully outline the mandatory factors which a
court must consider, the factors a court may not consider, and finally,
articulate a standard by which a court may order joint legal and/or shared
physical custody. |
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