“Best Interests of the Child” is the over-arching legal standard of review that a court must use in order to determine physical custody. While there are more than a dozen factors codified in Maryland Law that courts are required to consider, the list in the statute is not considered exhaustive. Rather, courts must consider all factors that may affect the child’s mental health, physical health, and over-all wellbeing. These factors include who is the child’s current primary caregiver, how qualified the current caregiver is, how stable the family is, the location of residence, the length of any parental separation, and what the child prefers. A child’s age, health, and gender are also factors. When the court considers the child’s preferences, the court will make a determination of “considered judgment.” A child is determined to have considered judgment if they are able to voice an opinion, as well as their justifications for that opinion. There is no minimum age for considered judgment in Maryland.
