Prepare your forms for filing. Once complete, you will need to prepare your forms for filing with the Court. To do this: Print and sign all appropriate forms. Call the Clerk of Courts in the county where you will file, and ask how many copies of each form they need, what your filing fee will be, and what forms of payment are accepted.
Make the appropriate number of copies. Staple together any forms that are more than one page long. Be sure not to staple two different forms together.
Each form should have a case caption at the top of the first page. The case caption is the part that lists the state, county, and court, the parties, and states the case or cause number. File your forms. The Clerk will assist you with stamping your forms and filing them. Be sure that you get a stamped copy of each form that you file, so you have a record of what was filed and when. You can do this by mailing the copies via Certified Mail or by hiring the county Sheriff or a process server to serve the copies personally.
If you are having trouble locating the other parent, then check out the information at Serve-Court-Papers for more details. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. This can help you avoid problems later, if he or she claims to have been unaware of your lawsuit or desire to have custody of the child. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. You should never sign anything that may affect your legal or financial rights or obligations without first consulting with a licensed attorney.
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Reader Success Stories A. Those are the issues that the court will decide at trial. The court requires a parenting plan in any case involving custody of a minor child. Learn more at mdcourts. Every county has a family services coordinator who knows about programs available in your jurisdiction. Find that person in your area. Court programs include co-parenting classes, mediation, custody evaluations, child access or visitation services, and more.
Watch a video on legal proceedings in a custody case. Custody trials are in front of a magistrate or judge, never in front of a jury. Contested trials are complicated. You may want to get a lawyer.
The court may also need input from professionals before making its decision. On your trial date, each side will give an opening statement, take turns submitting evidence, and give a closing argument, which is a chance to tell the court what you want and why it should rule in your favor.
Watch a video on custody trials. For help, contact a legal aid office or an attorney. To end your marriage, fill out a Complaint for Absolute Divorce , and attach your case information report.
If you don't have a settlement ready and want to officially assign fault for the breakup, you must live separately from your spouse for at least 12 months before filing this paperwork. For a limited divorce, complete a Complaint for Limited Divorce instead, and attach your case information report. Keep in mind that you must meet a residency requirement for any divorce. If the ground for your divorce occurred in Maryland, you need to currently live in the state.
If the ground you're filing under occurred outside the state, one parent needs to have lived in Maryland for at least the past six months. If you have grounds for an annulment, fill out a Complaint for Annulment, which you can get from the court clerk. Attach your case information report. After establishing the child's paternity , complete a Complaint for Custody. The child involved in the case must currently live in Maryland or have lived in the Maryland for the last six months.
You can either file in person at the circuit court in the county you listed on your forms or file electronically not available for Baltimore City, Montgomery or Prince George's counties.
Your case is not open until the fee is paid or a waiver request is approved. You'll receive two copies of your complaint and two writs of summons in the mail within a couple of days or in more than a week if you requested a fee waiver. Within 60 days of receiving complaint copies and writs from the court, you must serve the other parent with one of each.
If you don't do this within 60 days, you'll need to request a new writ of summons. Whoever serves the other parent will need to fill out an Affidavit of Service form. You'll file this form, a return receipt if applicable and the other set of documents the court sent you.
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