IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Maryland
In Maryland, neither parent starts with a stronger right to custody than the other, and a judge can give custody to either parent or to both jointly. [MD-P1] The judge decides based on your child's best interest, using a list of factors in the law, and must explain its findings on the record or in writing, including how it considered each factor. [MD-P2]
Maryland splits custody into two parts. [MD-P3] Legal custody, also called decision-making authority, covers long-term choices about school, health, religion and welfare. [MD-P3] Physical custody, also called parenting time or access, is about where your child lives and how much time your child spends with each parent. [MD-P3]
The court requires a parenting plan in every case about custody of a child. [MD-P3] Maryland has no statewide standard schedule; the state's Parenting Plan Tool (form CC-DR-109) gives choices, such as every weekend or every other weekend and a holiday table, but you and the other parent fill in the details or the judge decides. [MD-P4] Courts also offer programs like co-parenting classes and mediation to help parents reach agreement. [MD-P3]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Legal custody
- The right to make long-term decisions about your child's education, health, religion and welfare. Maryland forms also call it decision-making authority. [MD-P3, MD-P5]
- Physical custody
- Where your child lives and how much time your child spends with each parent. Maryland forms also call it parenting time. [MD-P3, MD-P5]
- Parenting plan
- A written plan for how decisions will be made and when your child is with each parent. The court requires one in every custody case, and parents who cannot agree file a Joint Statement listing what they agree and disagree on. [MD-P3, MD-P5]
- Material change in circumstances
- An important change since the last order, related to your child's needs or the parents' ability to meet them. You need one to change a custody order. [MD-P6]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Maryland ask first
Does Maryland start from 50/50?
No. [MD-P1, MD-P2] Neither parent is presumed to have a better right to custody, and the law does not set any split of time. [MD-P1, MD-P2] The schedule comes from your parenting plan or the judge's decision. [MD-P4]
What does the judge look at?
The law lets the judge consider: your child's stability, health and welfare; frequent, regular contact with parents who can act in the child's best interest; how parents will share raising the child; your child's relationships with each parent, brothers, sisters and others; keeping your child safe from conflict and violence; your child's developmental and day-to-day needs; your child's age; any military deployment; earlier orders or agreements; each parent's role in caring for the child; where each parent lives; how well the parents communicate and solve problems; your child's preference, if age-appropriate; and anything else the judge thinks matters. [MD-P2]
Does my child get to choose?
The judge can consider your child's preference if it is age-appropriate, as one factor among many. [MD-P2] A child who is 16 or older can file their own request to change custody; the court must hold a hearing and may place the child with the parent the child names. [MD-P7]
Can I move away with my child?
A judge can put a rule in a custody or visitation order that a parent must give at least 90 days' written notice before moving, inside or outside Maryland. [MD-P8] Check your own order for that rule. [MD-P8] If either parent files a petition about the move within 20 days of the notice, the court must hold a quick hearing, and the court will waive the notice if giving it would expose you or your child to abuse. [MD-P8] A move that would make the current physical custody arrangement impractical counts as a material change in circumstances. [MD-P6]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes. [MD-P6] The judge can change a custody or visitation order if there has been a material change in circumstances related to your child's needs or the parents' ability to meet them, and the change is in your child's best interest. [MD-P6]
We were never married. What happens first?
If the parents are unmarried, the father must have paternity, meaning legal fatherhood, admitted or established before he can claim custody or visitation rights. [MD-P9] Signing an Affidavit of Parentage when the mother is unmarried is a legal finding of parentage, with no further court action needed. [MD-P10] Once paternity is established, neither parent gets a preference because of gender. [MD-P9]
What if I am not safe?
A final protective order can award temporary custody of a child and set temporary visitation. [MD-P11] In a custody case, if the judge has reasonable grounds to believe a child has been abused or neglected by a party, the judge must deny custody or visitation to that party unless it finds there is no likelihood of further abuse or neglect, except for supervised visits that keep the child safe. [MD-P12] The factors also include protecting your child from exposure to conflict and violence. [MD-P2]
Free, official places to start
- Maryland Courts: Child Custody
The court's step-by-step guide to opening or answering a custody case, fees, deadlines and court programs.
- Maryland Courts: Parenting Plans
What a parenting plan is, with the statewide instructions (CC-DRIN-109), Parenting Plan Tool (CC-DR-109) and Joint Statement (CC-DR-110).
- Maryland Courts: Family Court Help Centers
Find free in-person or remote help with family law forms in your county.
- The Maryland People's Law Library: Child Custody in Maryland
A free legal information guide from the state law library on custody types, unmarried parents and changing an order.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · ROCKVILLE
Montgomery County (Rockville, Silver Spring, Bethesda and nearby)
Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Family Division
Montgomery County, Maryland's most populous county, uses the statewide parenting plan forms and has no separate local visitation schedule, but its court runs its own family services. [MD-P13, MD-P4] When the court orders it, parents take the PEACE co-parenting program, an online class that costs $25 per class and covers keeping children out of parent conflict. [MD-P14] Parents asking the court to decide custody can be ordered into the Child Custody and Access Mediation Program, where a mediator helps them write their own plan; it does not mediate cases with active protective orders and screens each parent first. [MD-P15] The Family Law Self-Help Center in the courthouse's South Tower offers walk-in help with family law questions. [MD-P13, MD-P16]
- Family Division Services, Circuit Court for Montgomery County
Overview of the court's family services: co-parenting classes, custody evaluations, mediation and the self-help center.
- Child Custody and Access Mediation Program
Who is eligible, what happens in mediation, confidentiality and how domestic violence is screened.
- Co-Parenting Program (PEACE)
The court-ordered online parenting class: what it covers and what it costs.
- Family Law Self-Help Center
Walk-in help and answers to common questions, such as how to file for custody or change an order.
Other counties in Maryland can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
No fixed statewide schedule identified
Research overview
No fixed statewide parenting-time calendar identified in the reviewed sources. A parenting plan is required in custody and custody-modification cases, with a Joint Statement when parties cannot agree; the court page expressly excludes Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) cases. The Parenting Plan Tool is a customizable form, not an assigned schedule. [MD2][MD3]
Legal force and applicability
Case-specific calendar; no fixed statewide calendar identified in reviewed sources. Any custody/allocation presumption is separate.
Authority and geographic scope
Statewide law; case-specific court order controls
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Neither parent has a superior presumed custody right; court may award custody to either or jointly. Section 9-201 lists best-interest factors, including stability, safe continuing contact, shared child-rearing, developmental needs and age. It does not establish 50/50 or any time formula. [MD1][MD5]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
CC-DR-109 requires parties to choose and fill weekday/weekend periods, start dates and other arrangements. Every/every-other-weekend checkboxes are options, not mandatory defaults. [MD2]
Holidays and school breaks
Choose ordinary schedule, agreement, or filled holiday table with names/parity and start/end times. Selected holiday table takes priority over regular/weekend/summer terms; no fixed allocations are prefilled. [MD2]
Summer and vacation time
Parties choose the ordinary schedule or customized summer terms and vacation arrangements. No statutory statewide week allocation. [MD2]
Age and development
Child’s age and developmental needs are factors; no age-triggered statewide access calendar. [MD1]
Safety & exceptions
Under§ 9-101, where reasonable grounds suggest abuse/neglect, court determines likelihood of further harm; absent the required no-likelihood finding custody/visitation must be denied except supervised visitation assuring child safety. Further restrictions under§§9-101.1/9-101.2 are expressly preserved by§ 9-201. [MD1][MD4]