Parents separating is never easy, especially when minor children are involved. Child custody battles can tear apart a family and dramatically affect the child. Maryland has come up with a solution to assist on making the transition easier for both the parents and children. Effective January 1, 2020 Maryland courts now require parents to submit a comprehensive parenting plan when the case involves the custody of a minor child.[1] The court will use the plan to develop insight into the family dynamic in order to assist in child custody orders and modifications.[2] The plan will enable judges to see how the parents are working together to make custody decisions that are fair and reflect the parents goals and cooperation.[3] The best part, parents are the ones to create the plan to fit their own circumstances and determine what is best for their own children.[4]

The plan provides predictability for both the parents and children on how the family will continue to function when the parents are no longer together. Although this plan is filed with the court, it is flexible and can be modified at any time.[5] Parenting plans are important because they set clear expectations for all parties on how the family dynamic will continue.[6] Creating expectations help reduce conflict and avoid the stress and costs of dealing with the court system to resolve issues between the parents.[7] The parenting plan includes various different aspects of issues that will arise when separately caring for a child all while considering what is in the best interest of the child. The plan should include who has decision-making authority for medical care, education, religion and extracurricular activities, how parents will communicate with one another and to the child, how information will be shared, how time between parents will be split, discipline and other circumstances where joint-decision making should be made.[8] Parents are the ones who know and understand their children the best and this plan allows parents to consider the unique needs and interests of each child to make the transition of parents separating a little bit easier.[9]

The comprehensive parenting plan allows parents to collaborate to ensure a continued relationship with their child. In the event that parents are unable to work together, they can complete and file with the court a Joint Statement of the Parties Concerning Decision-Making Authority and Parenting Time form.[10] This form is filed with the court once the parents reach an impasse as to one or more of the sections of the parenting plan.[11] The court will use this to understand where the parents disagree as to what each believes is in the best interest of the child and will then assist in setting a court order as to what the court believes is fair.[12] Even when the court is making the decision, the parents still have the opportunity to choose what is best for their child in the places where they agree and then have assistance where they cannot.[13]

Even when parents are unable to make a relationship work, it is important to continue to make their relationship with their children as normal as possible. Courts requiring parents to sit down and work together even in the face of adversity, gives assurance and a sense of peace to the family dynamic. After years of ugly child custody disputes, this may not eliminate the biter harshness of divorce, but the plan may make the transition a little bit easier for all involved. Communication is an important part of a relationship even when legally none exists.

Abigail Mansfield is a third-year evening law student at the University of Baltimore and an Associate Editor for Law Forum. Abigail is currently a Legal Research and Remediation Analyst for Corporate Trust Services at Wells Fargo Bank in Columbia, Maryland, processing curative title matters and property violation litigation. Abigail will graduate in December 2020 with the hopes to pursue a career in employment law.

[1] MD R FAM LAW ACT Rule 9-204.1

[2] Parenting Plan, Children & Family, mdcourts.gov, https://mdcourts.gov/family/parentingplans (last updated Jan. 2020).

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Maryland Parenting Plan Instructions, Maryland Judiciary, 1, https://mdcourts.gov/sites/default/files/court-forms/ccdrin109.pdf

[7] Id.

[8] Id. at 3.  

[9] Id. at 1.

[10] Id. at 4.

[11] Maryland Parenting Plan Instructions at 4.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.