Under Maryland law, a de facto parent is someone who is not the biological or adoptive parent, but who has the same legal rights and responsibilities towards a child as the biological or adoptive parent. It is a means by which someone may acquire standing equal to that of a legal parent to seek custody or visitation of a minor child. This status can be ordered by the court or agreed to by the parents and the person seeking to become a de facto parent.
In the vast majority of cases, Maryland law also orders one parent to pay child support to the other parent.
In a very recent case, the court ruled that a child’s paternal grandfather was a de facto parent. That gave him the same rights and responsibilities as the child’s mother. But now, for the first time, the Appellate Court of Maryland considered whether a de facto parent can owe child support to the other parent. The Court ruled that a de facto parent could be ordered to do so.
The Court reasoned that because a de facto parent has the same rights as a biological or adoptive parent, the de facto parent should also have the same responsibilities Along with the Court’s grant of visitation to the grandfather came the corresponding duty to help support the child.
If you have questions about de facto parenthood, or any other area of family law, please contact Ferrier Stillman or Keri Kemmerzell at Tydings. The firm has offices conveniently located in downtown Baltimore and Towson. Ferrier, Keri, and the family law team at Tydings have provided exceptional representation for men and women in complex family law cases for decades.