Maryland Family Law is made up of not only statutory law, but also constantly evolving case law (cases published by appellate courts).  


The laws referenced on this site are to be used as general background information only and should not be used to replace actual legal advice from an experienced Family Law Attorney.


Maryland Family Law is drawn from the sources of the Maryland Code, Maryland Court Rules, and Maryland Case Law.   Individual laws regarding Custody, Visitation, Child Support, Alimony, and Divorce cannot be fully comprehended without understanding how they interact with each other and within the elaborate Maryland Family Law Court system, and trying to interpret individual laws without understanding this could decrease the chance of achieving an outcome favorable to you in your case.


The actions you take and/or the Agreements you make, if any, during the initial stages of your case and in the Maryland Family Court early procedures before Trial could have a significant impact on your ability to acheive an outcome you would find favorable in your case.


It is in your best interest to consult an Attorney with recent and frequent experience in the Maryland Family Law Courts to get specific legal advice regarding your individual case or situation before making any agreements or filing anything regarding a Maryland Divorce, Custody, or Domestic Violence/Abuse case.


You do not need to "hire" an Attorney just because you have a consultation.   Waiting to get legal advice until you are feeling the need to "hire" an Attorney is NOT in your best interest.   It is in your best interest to get legal advice from an experienced Family Law Attorney well in advance of when you feel the need to actually hire an Attorney.


It is in your best interest to get a "move-out" Agreement drafted by an experienced Family Law Attorney and signed by your spouse or the other parent of your child BEFOREmoving out if you are living together.


If this is not possible, then it is in your best interest to consult with an experienced Family Law Attorney and thoroughly learn all the legal and financial implications of the actions you are planning to take before taking them.


For example, the amount of child support ordered will be based on the number of over-nights the child spends with each of the parents and the amount of money each of the parents earns.   If you are married, the amount of money you will have to pay for the first three years after you or your spouse files for divorce will depend on the over-night schedule of the child and which one of you, if any, gets a court Order for "use and possession" of the marital residence for up to three years after the date of divorce.   One of you may be ordered to pay for the other parent to live in that marital residence and "to maintain the status quo" for up to three years, and this may be ordered in addition to the child support that would be ordered per the Maryland Child Support Guidelines.   It is in your best interest to thoroughly understand how all of these things fit together BEFORE signing any Agreements or moving out -- even if you think you will be moving out only for a temporary "cooling off period."


Moving out without having an experienced Family Law Attorney draft a move-out Agreement for you and then getting this signed by your spouse or the other parent would put you in a very vulnerable legal position.


The first thing you may be ordered to do in a divorce or custody case is appear in Court for a "Scheduling Conference."   At this conference the Master or Judge may send you and the other party to a "facilitator," who is there to facilitate an Agreement between you and the other party so that your case may be removed from the docket.   Any Agreement you make that day may then be read into the Court Record and you may not be able to later change the things you agreed to that day.   -- So it is in your best interest to get legal advice BEFORE going to a Scheduling Conference, if possible.   It is in your best interest to get legal advice before moving out of the residence, if possible.   If you have been served with papers accusing you of abuse, it is in your best interest to get legal advice as soon as possible.


Maryland Family Law decisions regarding Custody are based on "the best interest of the child," and decision regarding alimony are based on arguments of "equity and fairness."   --Child Support in Maryland is based on a fformula, which is based on the factors of how much the mother makes, how much the father makes (or possibly how much either of them could make if either one is "voluntarily underemploying" "or voluntarily impoverishing" himself or herself), how many overnights the child spends with each parent, daycare expenses, medical expenses, and some other factors.   Child Support is separate from "Alimony" and/or "Monetary Award," and Maryland courts do not use a standard formula to determine Custody, Alimony, or Monetary Award.


*As with all areas of law, there is no way to ever guarantee a particular outcome.   Following an experienced Lawyer's advice may increase your chance of getting what you want in court, but there is no way to guarantee that you will get what you want just because you do follow that advice.   There is a degree of risk involved in going to Court that simply cannot be eliminated.

The Value of the Legal Advice Given in Attny. Matney's Initial Consultations

To be able to properly advise you, the Attorney would need find out and assess the relevant facts and conditions that are involved in your specific case.  


Part of your consultation with Attny. Matney would include her giving you valuable advice that could keep you from acting in ways that could harm your chances of getting a favorable outcome in your case and instructing you on things to do that could increase the chance of achieving a favorable outcome in your case.


These are things that are not always obvious to those outside the Family Law system.

While there are specific Main Factors the Maryland Courts must consider when deciding Custody cases, these various Factors are not assigned any particular weight or priority, and there are no specific formulas for determining the schedule the child will have with the parents.   In Maryland Family Courts the status of Custody and the particular visitation schedule of the child is decided based mostly on what is "in the best interest of the child," which is up for argument based on the individual circumstances involved in each case.   These Main Factors are published in many locations easily seen by the general public.   However, there are many sub-Factors that are very influential (often more so than the "Main Factors") in many Custody cases that are not published in many locations easily seen by the general public, if at all.   In order to have a good understanding of "Maryland Family Law" it is necessary to know and understand these sub-Factors.   Attny. Matney provides detailed information about these sub-Factors as part of her Initial Consultations.


Attny. Matney provides very high-quality Initial Consultations based on over 13 years of Experience in Maryland Family Law Courts around the State of Maryland, she accepts cases from all Family Courts within the State of Maryland, and she does not charge for driving-time to or from court hearings.   She has obtained Court Orders for Fathers having Equal Time Sharing and Primary Residential Custody many times around the State of Maryland.   All Initial Consultations given at the Matney Law Firm are given by Attny. Matney, all Legal Advice is given by Attny. Matney, and all Representation of Clients is done by Attny. Matney. The Maryland Family Law Court system is complex and Maryland Family Law requires judges to consider many variables and laws before making a decision in each Family Law case.   Maryland Family Law is drawn from the sources of the Maryland Code, Maryland Court Rules, and Maryland Case Law.   Individual laws cannot be fully comprehended without understanding how they interact with each other and within the elaborate Maryland Family Law Court system, and trying to interpret individual laws without understanding how they interact with each other could decrease the chance of being able to achieve a favorable outcome in your case.   It is therefore in your best interest to have a full consultation with an experienced Family Law Attorney regarding your particular case or situation before making any agreements or filing anything with a Family Law Court.


The complex interaction of the separate laws regarding Custody, Child Support, Alimony, and Monetary Award is one of the reasons why experienced Family Law Attorneys usually avoid giving quick answers without discussion, analysis, and clarification.   Another reason experienced Attorneys usually refrain from giving quick answers is because they know that Maryland Law requires that each Family Law case must be judged independently from all others and each judgment must be based on the unique set of circumstances that are involved in each case.   Accordingly, in order to give you the best advice possible (or even adequate advice) regarding your case, an Attorney would need to find out all of the unique facts and circumstances involved.


Divorce and Custody law and procedure varies greatly from state to state. We give advice regarding Maryland Divorce, Custody, and Child Support Law only.


Today's Maryland Family Law is very different than many people think, and when mothers and fathers are awarded Custody by the Maryland Courts, it is often not for the reason many people unfamiliar with the system think.   Whether you are the mother or the father, it would be in your best interest to avoid presuming anything in regard to your chance of winning a custody case in Maryland.


Maryland law no longer allows Family Law judges to favor the Mother over the Father, and the child support laws apply to Mothers as well as to Fathers.

How Long Initial Consultations Last

The average Initial Consultation with Attny. Matney takes about an hour   --It usually takes about an hour for her to get the basic information from Clients and give them her advice.

If you want to then hash over the details or different possible scenarios, that would usually take over an hour.   Appointments are usually set in one-hour increments.   There is no guarantee that Attny. Matney will be able to talk to you for any longer than that one hour at that time.   If the Attorney does have the extra time that day (which is not guaranteed), and if you want to go past the first hour, she would be glad to do so, but then your consult would cost over $275.00 and your credit card would be charged for that time.   All billing after the first hour is done at the $275.00 an hour rate in 5-minute increments.

Attny. Matney's hourly rate is $275.00 an hour.

Filling out our form is no guarantee of the Attny. Matney being able to discuss your case with you or of case acceptance.


How Much Initial Consultations Cost

Appointments are usually set in one-hour increments.   There is no guarantee that the Attorney will be able to talk to you for any longer than that one hour at that time.   If the Attorney does have the extra time that day (which is not guaranteed), and if you want to go past the first hour, she will do so if she has time (which is not guaranteed), but then your consult would cost over $275.00 and your credit card would be charged for that time.

Filling out our form is no guarantee of the Attorney being able to discuss your case with you or of case acceptance.


Cost of Litigation


The cost of Litigation depends on several things:   If the case is for Custody only, or for Divorce only, if the case will involve both Custody and Divorce, how much past litigation has been done (i.e., how much "history of the case" the Attorney will be responsible for learning), how contentious the parties may be behaving toward each other and how much Attorney intervention will be necessary, what kind of record analysis will be involved in the case, etc.   Accordingly, the Attorney would need to discuss your case with you in order to be able to assess the likely costs involved.


Case Acceptance


Attny. Matney accept cases regarding Maryland Custody, Divorce, and/or Maryland Civil Abuse claims only.


As spouses and parents do not always remain in the same county after they separate in this highly mobile area, we accept cases throughout most of the central area of Maryland to accommodate our Clients' needs.   We do not charge for driving-time to or from Court hearings.

Attny Matney has won Sole Physical Custody, Sole Legal Custody, Joint Legal Custody, Joint Physical Custody with 50-50 time sharing, for Fathers many times in Maryland Family Law Courts.
        ***Past success is no guarantee whatever of future success

Setting an appointment for an Initial Consultation with Attny. Matney

If you would like to speak with Attny Matney, the first thing we need for you to do is fill out our e-mail form (which can be found by clicking Here or on any e-mail link on this site).   This will enable us to make sure there is no Conflict of Interest and that the Attorney could possibly be available on the date(s) you may need in the Court you need, and that the type of work you need done is something the Attorney does.


For example, while we will accept Custody cases involving children who were adopted, we do not do actual Adoption work.   Filling out the e-mail form enables us to quickly help you avoid losing valuable time finding an Attorney if we are not going to be able to possibly help you.

If you would like to have an Initial Consultation with Attny Matney, please click on the Appointment Request E-mail Form below:

Appointment Request E-mail Form






Initial Consultations can be by phone or in person, but are by prior appointment only

The Matney Law Firm accepts Divorce and Custody cases in many different areas around the State of Maryland.   Maryland Family Law is the only kind of Law we do and we do it in many different counties around the State of Maryland.   We have won for Fathers many times in courts around the State of Maryland.   *Past success is no guarantee of future success.   We do not charge for driving-time to or from court hearings.

To avoid confusion regarding dates, times, and location, all appointments are set and confirmed via e-mail only.


If you would like to speak to Attny. Matney, please click on the Appointment Request E-mail Form link above to begin the process of setting your appointment.