EP #36: Maryland Custody Modifications: What Parents Need to Know

Cary Jacobson, attorney and mediator at Jacobson Family Law, explores when and how custody and child support orders can be modified in Maryland. Cary brings her extensive family law experience to help parents understand their options and responsibilities when circumstances change after a court order has been established. 

If you’re weighing a modification or just want to be prepared, listen now and share this with someone who needs clarity. Subscribe for more real-world guidance, and leave a review to tell us what questions you want answered next.

Visit jacobsonworkshop.com to learn more.

Episode Transcript

Cary Jacobson (00:00):
A lot of parents think that once a custody order
is in place, it's set in stoneforever.
But that's not the case.
Court orders in Marylandrelated to child-related issues,
including custody, childsupport, access, can be
modified, but only underspecific circumstances if the
case is going through court.

(00:20):
Because courts want to ensurestability for your children and
they don't change orderslightly.

Intro/Close (00:28):
Welcome to Divorce Diaries, where attorney Carrie
Jacobson brings you realstories, hard truths, and
practical advice on navigatingdivorce and family law.
Whether you're going throughit, considering it, or just
curious, this is your place forclarity, confidence, and
resilience.

Cary Jacobson (00:50):
Welcome back to Divorce Diaries Lessons from the
Trenches.
I'm your host, Carrie Jacobson,attorney and mediator at
Jacobson Family Law.
On this podcast, we sharereal-world stories, practical
advice, and insights to help younavigate divorce, custody, and
co-parenting with clarity andconfidence.
Today I want to dive into aquestion that comes up a lot in

(01:13):
our practice.
When can you modify a childcustody order in Maryland?
Now, as many of our listenersknow, we are our practice is
located in Maryland, and so mostof these pieces of information
are going to apply to Maryland,but you should be sure to check
for your state because some ofthem may also apply to your

(01:36):
situation, but always be sure tocheck your state laws and
regulations.
So if your child's needs havechanged since the last custody
order has been in place, that'swhen we're talking about
modification.
Maybe your schedule looksdifferent than it did a year ago

(01:57):
or five years ago.
Or maybe circumstances in yourco-parents' life make the
current custody arrangementunworkable.
Whatever the reason, it'simportant to know when and how
custody orders can be modified.
A lot of parents think thatonce a custody order is in
place, it's set in stoneforever.

(02:17):
But that's not the case.
Court orders in Marylandrelated to child-related issues,
including custody, childsupport, access, can be
modified, but only underspecific circumstances.
If your case is going throughcourt, because courts want to
ensure stability for yourchildren and they don't change

(02:38):
orders lightly.
So if you need to go throughcourt in order to change your
custody arrangement, you'regoing to need to prove that
there has been a material changein circumstances since the last
order.
And what that means is thatsomething significant has
changed since the last courtorder.
That could be that you're nolonger living in the same

(03:03):
location, and the distancebetween you and the other
co-parent no longer makes theexisting custody schedule work.
It could be that things justaren't working well between you
and your co-parent, and that'shaving a negative impact on your
child or children.
So there's lots of differentthings that could come into play
that has been significant sinceyour last order that require

(03:27):
that you have a change in yourcustody order.
But there's a second prong towhat you have to prove in court.
Not only that there has been achange in circumstances, but the
change or what you're askingfor is also in your child's best
interest.
And it's not what's mostconvenient to you as a parent,
it's really what helps yourchild thrive in this new

(03:50):
situation.
So some examples of materialchanges could be one parent
relocating, especially if itimpacts the schedule.
So we've had scenarios where aparent has to relocate outside
of the state.
And so a 50-50 schedule is nolonger feasible.
It could be that you've movedmultiple counties away, and you

(04:13):
know, now there's a two-hourdifference between you.
And so doing a 50-50 schedulemay not be practical to get your
child to school each everyother week.
It could be that you've yourchild's needs have changed, such
as medical, education, oremotional needs.
It could be that one of youreither yours or your co-parents'

(04:34):
work schedule has changed.
We've had a lot of that,especially in the DC region,
where you know many parents werepreviously working from home
and now they're having to gointo the office and commute much
longer than they previouslydid.
And so that may also disruptyour current arrangement.
And there may alsounfortunately be concerns about

(04:57):
your child's safety orwell-being in the other parents'
care.
And that could be anothersignificant change in for you to
request a modification.
Now, again, right now we'retalking just about how you
modify things in court.
And if you believe amodification is necessary, the
process typically starts withyou filing something in court.

(05:20):
Now, I would recommend that youdouble check your agreement if
you had one or any court orderto ensure that there are not
other things that you need to dofirst.
Because many times there's arequirement that you participate
in mediation first beforefiling in court.
So you want to ensure that youcomply with your existing order.

(05:42):
And after you've complied withyour existing order, and you if
you do indeed need to file apetition in court, from there,
if you're not able to resolveyour differences with your
co-parent, it's going to be upto a judge to decide whether or
not truly a change is necessaryand that you've met the burden

(06:06):
of showing that there has been asignificant change and that
what you're requesting is inyour child's best interest.
And sometimes what we focus onwith our clients is helping
clients work through reachingmodifications through mediation
or negotiation.
And this can be a morecost-effective and less

(06:30):
stressful way of dealing withmodifications.
So if you have a change thatyou are requesting, your first
step may be to try to mediatethis.
Because many times, if you filein court, the court's also
going to require you toparticipate in mediation first
before your case gets to ajudge.

(06:51):
So it's important to rememberthat you don't always have to go
to court to make these changes.
Parents can agree to modifycustody, including parenting
time, as long as the two of youconsent to that.
These agreements can be reachedformally through the
negotiation, whether that's youand your co-parent, or if you

(07:14):
both need to hire attorneys tonegotiate those differences, or
you can come to mediation to tryto resolve those differences.
Mediation in particularprovides the structure and the
neutral environment that helpsparents talk through changes,
helps you avoid conflict, andhelps you come to a resolution

(07:35):
that truly works for you andyour family.
Once you've reached thatagreement, it can actually be
put in writing and filed withthe court so that it becomes
enforceable and it becomes yournew court order.
This cooperative approach savestime.
And it allows you as parents tostay in control of your

(08:00):
parenting arrangements ratherthan leaving it to the hands of
a third-party judge who doesn'tknow you or your family.
So the practical takeaway isthat custody orders and child
support can be modified.
Now I know most of what I wasjust discussing was custody
related, but I also want todiscuss child support.

(08:22):
So in order to modify childsupport, you also have to show
those same significant changesof circumstances.
And so that significant changecould be that either you or your
co-parent has either lost orhas a reduction in income, or
that one of you has an increasein income.

(08:43):
It could also be that either ofyou have had changes in the
expenses that you are paying foryour child.
Maybe it's health insurance,maybe it's child care or other
expenses that are being paid byeither of you on their behalf.
Those are all good reasons whyyou may need to come back to the
table to have a conversationabout modifying child support so

(09:07):
that you can have a newarrangement with that as well.
If you're considering askingfor a modification of custody or
child support, make sure youhave the strong reasons and
clear evidence to support whyit's in your child's best
interests.
And if you're facing asituation where custody
modification or child supportmodification might be necessary,

(09:29):
know that you don't have tonavigate it alone.
You can contact us at JacobsonFamily Law where we help parents
through custody and childsupport cases with compassion
and clarity.
You can learn and even schedulea consultation through our link
in our show notes, or go to ourwebsite, which is
JacobsonFamilyLaw.com.
And if you're looking for otherresources to better understand

(09:50):
custody, co-parenting, anddivorce, don't forget to check
out our Stan Store where we'veput together guides, tools, and
other courses for you to checkout.
Again, my name is CarrieJacobson with Jacobson Family
Law.
And thank you for tuning in toDivorce Diaries Lessons from the
Trenches.
If this episode was helpful,please subscribe or share it

(10:12):
with someone that you know thatit may help as well.

Intro/Close (10:17):
Thanks for joining us today on this episode of
Divorce Diaries.
Remember, every journey isunique, but you don't have to
navigate it alone.
Visit JacobsonFamilyLaw.com orcall 443 726 4912 for support
and guidance.