Posted on November 03, 2020 in Child Custody

The majority of divorces in Maryland are somewhat peaceful. However, as civil as they may be, some issues will take time to agree upon. One of the most common of these issues is joint child custody. Also known as shared custody, this is when a judge orders that both parents have equal custody of a child. When this occurs, the two parties, along with their attorney, must come up with an agreement regarding scheduling and other items such as academics. There are a few points to remember that will help make the transition relatively painless.

Keep Your Personal Feelings to Yourself

Divorce can be a very messy situation, and tensions are certainly high. However, no matter how much you hate your ex-spouse, those emotions should never be showcased to either your ex or, most importantly, your children. They will still be involved in their lives, and adding stress to an already stressful situation is never good for anyone involved.

Treat It Like a Business

It may sound odd to treat your child’s custody as a business meeting, but that’s the best route to take to get what you need. Analysts comment on how many couples tend to go in with unrealistic and emotionally driven demands. This rarely works and usually only extends the custody talks.

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 Posted on August 03, 2020 in Car & Truck Accidents

Advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, are becoming the norm for newer vehicles, and the global market for this tech is expected to grow from $27 billion in 2020 to $83 billion by 2030. ADAS features cannot prevent all accidents, though. Perhaps you were in a crash in Maryland despite your use or the other driver’s use of ADAS.

The Positive Side of ADAS

Before getting into the drawbacks, though, let’s see where ADAS succeeds. Using features like forward and rear collision warning, pedestrian detection and cross-traffic alert, the system can alert drivers to an impending crash. Then, with automatic emergency braking, the vehicle can brake to avoid the crash if drivers are unresponsive.

ADAS usually comes with lane departure warning as well. This keeps drivers, who may otherwise be distracted or sleepy, in their lane. Another important feature is adaptive cruise control, which, besides minimizing fuel consumption, maintains a safe distance from other vehicles.

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 Posted on May 12, 2020 in Family Law

Many Maryland couples hesitate to discuss a prenuptial agreement before they are married. Whether you feel uncomfortable discussing divorce before getting married or you do not want to talk about money, you may be doing yourself a disservice if you shy away from talking about this sensitive topic. There are many reasons why a prenuptial agreement is critical and should not be overlooked.

Some Benefits of A Prenuptial Agreement

The main benefit of a prenuptial agreement is that it will make for a more orderly and less contentious divorce if the marriage ends. Both spouses will have some certainty as to how the marital estate will be divided. This is even more important when you are coming into the marriage with money or you plan on starting a business during the marriage. Without a prenuptial agreement, the property is subject to division in a way that the court sees fit.

A Prenuptial Agreement as A Way to Begin a Relationship

You may be one of the many people who are afraid of talking about money with a prospective spouse because it could lead to fights. However, a prenuptial agreement is a good way to begin the conversation about money expectations during the marriage. This becomes even more vital if you have large amounts in a 401(k) or a family inheritance that you would be bringing into the marriage. Without this agreement, all of these assets could be at risk in the event of a divorce.

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 Posted on March 12, 2020 in Military Divorce

While divorce rates in the U.S. are steadily declining, the number of couples who ultimately part ways remains significant. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 50% of American marriages end in divorce.

Military couples who separate face unique issues when it comes to dividing assets, including retirement pay. Those facing divorce should know that, under the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act of 1981, a service member’s ex-partner may be eligible to receive a portion of a military pension as part of a divorce court’s division of marital property.

When Does a Divorcing Spouse Become Eligible for Retirement Benefits? 

The courts follow the "10/10" rule when determining eligibility for a former spouse to receive retirement payments. According to this rule, the military member must have completed at least 10 years of service creditable to retirement, and the marriage must have lasted for at least 10 of those years.

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 Posted on December 11, 2019 in Car & Truck Accidents

You may not necessarily think of spinal cord injury in connection with a car crash, but because of the sudden impact that occurs, this kind of injury makes sense.

However, there are two forms of spinal cord injury. Because symptoms vary, SCI is not always immediately apparent.

What Happens

The spinal cord is actually a cluster of nerves that deliver impulses from the brain to other parts of the body. It is vulnerable to injury and if damaged, cannot repair itself. Some sort of trauma, such as a blow to the spine that dislocates or fractures vertebrae, can damage the spinal cord. A car crash supplies the perfect sort of trauma to set SCI in motion.

A Look at Symptoms

There are two types of SCI: complete injury, in which the victim loses the ability to feel below the level of the injury, and incomplete, which means that some functioning remains. Symptoms vary, depending on the severity of the injury:

• Pain or stinging sensation

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 Posted on September 16, 2019 in Child Custody

Raising good kids can be challenging for any parent. If you live in a post-divorce family, though, you likely face additional hurdles to overcome. Fortunately, co-parenting allows you to continue to see your kids according to the terms of your custody agreement.

Part of co-parenting involves deferring to your former partner’s parenting style. Still, as a divorced parent, you may have some anxiety about whom your ex-spouse chooses to have in his or her life. If you want to maintain some control, you may choose to include a first right of refusal provision in your custody agreement.

First Right of Refusal Clauses 

Typically, parents have great latitude in deciding what to include in custody agreements and parenting plans. A first right of refusal clause simply requires each parent to offer the other the ability to care for the kids in his or her absence. Therefore, if your ex-spouse becomes unavailable to see the kids during a regularly scheduled visit, he or she must ask you to take them before hiring a babysitter or enlisting the help of a friend or family member.

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 Posted on July 09, 2019 in Child Custody

When married parents in Maryland make the decision to divorce, or if unmarried parents break up, it can be difficult to discern how to raise their child in separate households. While it may be difficult it isn’t impossible. There are certain tools at parents’ disposal to help with raising a happy, healthy child in separate households. One such tool is a parenting agreement.

A parenting agreement is a name given to a document that lays out the responsibilities, duties and rules that parents agree to when raising a child separately. Sometimes constructed during the child custody process, parenting agreements lay out a written agreement that outlines things like where a child will live, which parent(s) have legal custody and even how changes to the agreement will be handled in the future. These agreements are often in the best interests of the child.

This is so, because the better that parents communicate, generally, the better it is for the child being raised by parents in separate households. It can remove stress about what to expect from either parent and who has the decision-making power, if both parents cannot agree to do it together. Many things can be laid out in a parenting agreement — it can be custom built to provide a child with what they need specifically, especially in cases in which a child is extraordinary or needs special attention. There are many reasons parents and children alike can benefit from a parenting agreement.

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 Posted on June 17, 2019 in Car & Truck Accidents

It seems like every Maryland commute brings another crash scene. The increase in drivers on already clogged roads is doing nothing to stop it either.

When you get into an accident, things that happen inside the vehicle may remain a mystery, even when the dust settles. The forces at play exert themselves in ways you could not anticipate until it happens to you. One thing that can develop post-accident is carpal tunnel syndrome. While it may not seem possible, learning how it happens may help you identify it should it happen to you.

The Hands During an Accident

Even if your accident was a minor one, you still experienced a disruption in your body. More than likely, your hands were on the steering wheel during the crash. As such, your hands absorbed some force. If your accident was more serious, this may result in pain and discomfort in the wrist and hands. If your airbag deployed, your hands were pushed off the wheel at the rate of 60 miles an hour. It is easy to see, therefore, how pain may result.

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 Posted on March 18, 2019 in Divorce

Deciding on divorce is something that does not happen overnight. Typically, many factors all lead to the same conclusion: the marriage is over. A repair is not possible.

Living in Maryland, you may want to know what options you have for ending your marriage. The rules set forth by the state legislature define the different ways a divorce can go, but there exist two main routes to sever a marital bond: absolute and limited.

What Is an Absolute Divorce?

When you know the marriage is over, you feel no need to continue in the relationship. You want property, assets, debt and child custody divided so you can continue in your life. When looking to legally end a marriage for good, you want to petition for an absolute divorce. When the court enters a final order, your legal binds will no longer exist, and you can remarry.

What Is a Limited Divorce?

If you do not necessarily want to completely sever your ties to your spouse, but you do want to get some issues legally straight while you spend some time apart, a limited divorce proceeding may do the trick. This is a legal separation where parties agree on the division of money and how other things may work, such as child visitation and custody. However, both parties remain legally bound under the law. A person who goes this route cannot remarry.

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 Posted on December 17, 2018 in Car & Truck Accidents

Many drivers across Maryland and the United States prefer to avoid traveling near commercial trucks whenever possible because they can be hard to see and navigate around, among other reasons. While sharing the road with semitrucks is dangerous even when truck drivers are consistent about properly following the rules of the road, it can prove considerably more so when the employees driving these vehicles are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Unfortunately, the American Addiction Centers report that substance abuse among semitruck drivers is far more common than you may like to believe. When truckers turn to drugs or alcohol while at the wheel, it has the potential to affect everything from their vision and alertness to a trucker’s ability to stop or gauge risks, which in turn means everyone else on the roadway faces increased dangers. So, just how much are today’s truck drivers turning to drugs or alcohol, and why is substance abuse such a prevalent problem in the industry?

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