Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Father wanting to remove children out of state away from the mother

First of all, your brother would be extremely unwise to try to resolve this matter without the assistance of an experienced family law attorney. If his wife wants to fight for custody, especially with him planning to move out of the area, she will file a court petition for custody. The court will award custody to the parent that convinces the court that the children's best interests are to be with that parent. Many factors go into this, and if you don't know what the legal issues are and how to prepare for court, you are at a tremendous disadvantage. Don't assume that just because the mother has had the sort of problems you mentioned, that she can't possibly be awarded custody.

If he really believes that it would be detrmental for the children to stay here with their mother, with him having to arrange visitation from Florida, while paying her child support based upon his income and hers, he ought to get representation right away.

Re: Father wanting to remove children out of state away from the mother

If your brother's wife wants to prevent him from leaving with the children for Florida, she might file a Complaint for custody and a request for an emergency hearing and an order preventing him from taking the children out of the state. She could delay his departure with the children until after the emergency hearing, and perhaps until after a final hearing on the merits of the custody claim (which might take several months). It is impossible to say, based on the facts you have provided, what decision a judge would reach regarding custody (in truth, it's almost impossible to say what decision a judge might reach regarding custody even when one knows all of the facts). I recognize that this answer is reaching you a little late, but if no steps have been taken yet, the best approach would be to reach an agreement with the wife and to have a lawyer draft a separation agreement providing that your brother has custody and including some provision for the children to travel back to Maryland for visitation with their mother. If the wife's lawyer prepares the agreement, he should absolutely not sign it until his own lawyer has reviewed it with him. Once an agreement is signed, your brother should have no trouble. If they can't reach an agreement, and he has to fight it out in court, he will need to convince the judge that the children would be better with him in Florida than with their mother in Maryland. He will need a good lawyer and good evidence to support his opinion that his wife has been an unfit mother.