Maryland Child Custody Agreement

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Custody is carved out of Maryland's binding-agreement rule. Family Law 8-101 lists the subjects a written agreement between spouses is valid and enforceable for, and custody is not among them. Family Law 8-103(a) then allows the court to modify any custody provision of a deed, agreement or settlement whenever modification would be in the best interests of the child. Note that 8-101 speaks of spouses, and Maryland's Family Law article supplies no equivalent enforceability rule for parents who were never married.

2. 2

   The agreement is not weightless. Family Law 9-201(a)(11) makes any prior court orders or agreements one of the sixteen factors a court may consider in deciding what legal custody and physical custody serve the child. That is a real place in the analysis, but it is one factor of sixteen rather than a presumption, and Maryland's statutes create no obligation to adopt what the parents proposed.

3. 3

   The arrangement binds only once a court makes it an order. Parents file the agreement or plan with the court, and if the court determines the arrangement is in the child's best interest it may be written into an order that the court can then enforce. In a divorce, Family Law 8-105 sets up two tracks: provisions merged into the decree are enforceable by contempt, while provisions incorporated but not merged are enforceable by contempt or as an independent contract. Either way, 8-105(b) leaves custody provisions subject to modification under 8-103, so drafting cannot make a custody term permanent.

4. 4

   Maryland's best interest factors are new. Chapter 483 of the 2025 Maryland laws added Family Law 9-201 and took effect October 1, 2025, putting sixteen factors into statute for the first time and superseding the position that the factors were purely judge-made. The list is open, since factor (16) is any other factor the court considers appropriate. Older guidance describing Maryland custody factors as a matter of case law only is out of date.

5. 5

   The factor list is permissive, but the findings are not. Family Law 9-201(a) says the court may consider the listed factors, so a judge is not obliged to give any one of them weight. Family Law 9-201(b) then requires the court to articulate findings of fact, on the record or in writing, including its consideration of each factor in subsection (a). A judge may decline to be moved by a factor but may not decline to address it, which is a reason to write an agreement that speaks to the factors rather than one that only states an outcome.

6. 6

   Three provisions sit above the factor list and an agreement cannot route around them. Family Law 9-201(a) opens by making the factors subject to Family Law 9-101, 9-101.1 and 9-101.2. Under 9-101, where the court has reasonable grounds to believe a child has been abused or neglected by a party, it shall deny custody or visitation to that party unless it specifically finds no likelihood of further abuse or neglect, with supervised visitation as the only permitted middle course. Under 9-101.1 the court shall consider evidence of abuse by a party against the other parent, the party's spouse, or any child in the household, including a child other than the one in the case, and shall arrange custody or visitation to protect the child and the victim of the abuse.

7. 7

   Two things about Maryland are commonly stated wrongly. Maryland has no presumption of joint custody, and the 2025 bills that would have created one did not pass. Maryland also does not automatically require ninety days' notice before a move: Family Law 9-106(a)(1) provides that the court may include a ninety-day advance written notice requirement as a condition of a custody or visitation order, so the duty exists only if the order contains it. Parents who want that protection should ask for the condition rather than assume it.

Maryland Requirements for Child Custody Agreement

• Scope of Enforceable Spousal Agreements, Md. Code, Fam. Law 8-101

  A written agreement between spouses is valid and enforceable as to alimony, support, property rights and personal rights. Custody does not appear in that enumeration, so a Maryland agreement should not be drafted as though signing it settles custody.

• Court Modification of Agreed Custody Terms, Md. Code, Fam. Law 8-103(a)

  The court may modify any provision of a deed, agreement or settlement with respect to the care, custody, education or support of a minor child if the modification would be in the best interests of the child. No elevated standard applies to terms the parents agreed to.

• Incorporation, Merger and Enforcement, Md. Code, Fam. Law 8-105

  Provisions merged into a divorce decree are enforceable by contempt; provisions stating they are incorporated but not merged are enforceable by contempt or as an independent contract. The document should state which election the parents make, while recognizing that 8-105(b) leaves custody provisions modifiable under 8-103 either way.

• Sixteen Best Interest Factors, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-201(a)

  Sixteen factors govern what legal custody and physical custody are in a child's best interest, effective October 1, 2025 under chapter 483 of the 2025 Maryland laws. The court may consider them, the list is open through factor (16), and the whole list is subject to Family Law 9-101, 9-101.1 and 9-101.2.

• Prior Orders and Agreements as a Factor, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-201(a)(11)

  Any prior court orders or agreements are one of the sixteen factors the court may consider. The document should identify existing orders and agreements affecting the child, with case numbers, rather than leaving the court to reconstruct the history.

• Findings on Each Factor, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-201(b)

  The court shall articulate its findings of fact on the record or in writing, including its consideration of each factor listed in subsection (a). Because every factor must be addressed, an agreement that gives the court information on the factors is easier to act on than one that states only the outcome.

• Abuse or Neglect Limitation, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-101

  Where the court has reasonable grounds to believe a child has been abused or neglected by a party, it shall deny custody or visitation to that party unless it specifically finds no likelihood of further abuse or neglect, and may otherwise approve only supervised visitation. This overrides the factor analysis and cannot be waived by agreement.

• Consideration of Abuse Against Others, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-101.1

  The court shall consider evidence of abuse by a party against the other parent, the party's spouse, or any child in the household, including a child other than the one in the case, and on such a finding shall arrange custody or visitation to protect the child and the victim of the abuse.

• Relocation Notice as a Court-Ordered Condition, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-106

  The court may include as a condition of a custody or visitation order a requirement of at least ninety days' advance written notice of an intent to relocate, within or outside Maryland. The notice duty is not automatic, so parents who want it should ask for the condition; where it applies, a petition may be filed within twenty days and the court sets an expedited hearing.

• Relocation as a Material Change in Circumstances, Md. Code, Fam. Law 9-202(b)

  A parent's proposal to relocate the residence of the parent or the child in a way that would make physical custody impracticable is a material change in circumstances. The document should record the parents' current addresses so a later proposal can be measured against them.