Carlos Mariano Lastra’s Answers

In order to secure a protective order against your mother, you would have to prove that she had committed some form of abuse as defined by Maryland law. This is defined as an act causing serious bodily harm, an act placing you in imminent fear of such an act, assault, false imprisonment, rape or stalking. A temporary order, which typically lasts about seven days, could be secured upon a showing that reasonable grounds exist to support that abuse had occurred. For a Final Protective Order...

Judges can take into consideration what the individual is capable of making, and use that amount for purposes of calculating child support, if the Court finds that they have voluntarily impoverished themselves. In other words, he voluntarily lowered his income.

You may petition the Court to appoint you Guardian of the child by filing a Guardianship action in your Circuit Court. Once appointed guardian, you could complete the actions you describe.

You would have to file a Petition with the Court requesting sole legal and physical custody of the child. If there is already an Order in place, you could request a further modification of the Order upon a showing of a material change in circumstances since the entry of the last Order. The Court would then order access, or none, consistent with the best interests of the child. Either party would have the right to request a modification upon such a showing.

Yes. In addition to utilizing attorneys and/or mediators provided by the Court, certain counties have Court facilitators available to facilitate a resolution of issues such as child custody on the date of your scheduling conference.

Try looking it up at the Maryland Judiciary Search website: http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-, which goes back beyond 1990. You can define your search, including by name, etc., and secure the Case number. Then with the Case number you can contact the specific county clerk's office to request copies of your file.

This is a difficult situation. You may consider filing for Guardianship of the child at the appropriate time. If that was successful then you would have the authority of the Court to act as her legal guardian. It has been done before.

The house was clearly pre-marital by title. The key is whether there were any marital contributions made to the home that would make it partially marital, such as improvements or mortgage payments made using funds earned during the marriage. While it was legal for him to transfer the house to his father, the important element is what claim do you now have, if any, to proceeds of insurance, for loss of any marital component to the home.

Joint Legal Custody is premised on the fact that the parents are able to communicate and reach shared decisions concerning matters of major importance concerning the minor child. The Court will look to the history of the parents to determine what is appropriate. If he has not participated in the past, the likelihood is he will not be permitted to do so in the future if there has been a lack of communication. Visitation will be decided based on the child's best interests, which must take into...

Since you bought the washer dryer you likely have a bill of sale in your name alone. If such is the case, you are in a good position to assert that you can simply take the washer and dryer just like any other non-fixture which you own. The choice to do so is yours.