Reply to Maryland custody arrangements -- what's likely?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Friend  separated from husband almost exactly one year ago.  Filed for divorce 6 mos. ago.  They have sought an interim custody/support order.... hasn't happened yet, but is scheduled in a few months.

Before the separation, and in some ways the impetus for it, H (husband) treated the two kids badly in anger/frustration.  H hit one kid with a metal instrument and kicked the other on an earlier date.  The kids are in elem school.  Before the separation, H had very little interest in spending time with the kids -- rarely if every went to their games/practices, would require them all to stay up and wait for him to get home every night to have dinner at 8:00 or 9:00, etc.  Now that W (wife) and kids are gone, H has taken some version of anger management classes and become an assistant coach for teams, and wants to spend lots and lots of time with the kids.  H has made efforts to be a better dad since the separation.

Over the past year, H has had custody/visitation of every other weekend (fri-sun overnights) and every Wed evening (not overnight).  H has continued to insist that he needs more time with the kids and argues that W is abusive to the kids by not re-assembling the family (i.e. moving back).  H talks about the family being "broken" to the kids and tells W that she is sinning by not coming back.  H will not agree to letting the kids go to counselling unless it is with a "christian" counselling group (one that rejects divorce as an option).  So the kids haven't been to counselling.

H is not happy with only seeing the kids every other weekend and on Wed evenings. He has created a new custody schedule whereby he has the kids for a couple of days, then they switch back to W for a night or two, then back to him, etc. etc.  It requires one to map out his plan on a calendar to figure out which days the kids would be where.  Multiple switches during any week.... but supposedly it would involve 50% of time at each parent's home.  He is implementing it whenever he has the kids (i.e. keeping them overnight on Wed. even though W has not agreed to this and the kids do not have the things they need for the next day).  Since there is no court-ordered custody, each parent currently has equal rights to the kids.

My question to DCUM is what kind of custody arrangement do you think a judge in Md. would set up?  Do they ever make the kids switch back and forth (even week by week) to ensure that each parent gets 50% of the kids' time?  Or do the judges place weight on minimizing the switching for the kids -- even if that means one parent gets less than 50% of the kids' out-of-school time?[/quote]

I'm assuming your friend has a divorce attorney?  If not, she needs one.  Custody can be a sticky situation.

The standard in most states, including Maryland, is that of the "best interest of the child(ren)."  It is not in the best interest of the children to spend so much of their time and energy shuttling between two homes and the Court is not likely to enforce such an arrangement.  Having said that, your friend still needs a reputable divorce lawyer. [/quote]

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