Types of Child Custody in Maryland
There are two forms of custody. These two forms, as defined by the case of Taylor v. Taylor are:
Legal custody [that] carries with it the right and obligation to make long range decisions involving education, religious training, discipline, medical care, and other matters of major significance concerning the child's life and welfare... Joint legal custody means that both parents have an equal voice in making those decisions, and neither parent's rights are superior to the other.
Physical custody, on the other hand, means the right and obligation to provide a home for the child and to make the day-to-day decisions required during the time the child is actually with the parent having such custody.
Each type of custody can be broken down into either joint or sole. Therefore, joint legal custody means that each parent has the right to share in longer-range decision-making including education, religious training, medical care and other matters of significance regarding their children. Sole legal custody gives that right to only one parent. Joint physical custody means that the child or children share their time between the parents. There does not have to be an equal sharing of time in order to qualify as joint physical custody.
Taylor laid out fourteen factors for a court to consider in an award of joint custody:
- Capacity of the Parents to Communicate and to Reach Shared Decisions Affecting the Child's Welfare;
- Willingness of Parents to Share Custody;
- Fitness of Parents;
- Relationship Established Between the Child and Each Parent;
- Preference of the Child;
- Potential Disruption of Child's Social and School Life;
- Geographic Proximity of Parental Homes;
- Demands of Parental Employment;
- Age and Number of Children;
- Sincerity of Parents' Request;
- Financial Status of the Parents;
- Impact on State or Federal Assistance;
- Benefit to Parents; and
- Other Factors.
