Assignment task:
Directions: Students must draft an Office Memorandum that addresses the issue(s) presented in the facts. Students must research case law, statutes, rules, regulations and/or secondary sources to analyze the issue(s). Your memo must have at least 5 relevant sources. Of the 5 sources, 3 must be Maryland case law and/or statutory law and 2 must be secondary sources. You can use cases from other states and circuits. Secondary sources include, but not limited to, American Jurisprudence Second, Maryland Law Encyclopedia, and law review articles.
Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to draft an office memorandum. Students will analyze the legal issues by identifying and applying the appropriate law. Students will employ their research skills and prep a memo with properly drafted citations to primary and secondary legal authorities.
Facts:
Rose and Luis were married in a lovely religious ceremony on June 12, 2005. At the time of their marriage, Rose had a 12-year old son, Alan, from a previous relationship. In January 2007 Rose gave birth to twin girls, Megan and Maggie and in August 2008 she gave birth to their son, Matthew.
In 2017, Rose found out that Luis was cheating on her. She was angry and extremely hurt. Luis vacated the marital home and began living with is girlfriend, Heather.
In 2018, the couple decided to divorce. For the most part, it was an amicable split. The parties executed a Separation Agreement which settled custody, visitation, and child support. Per the agreement, Rose had sole custody of the children and Luis was granted visitation and ordered to pay child support. Luis was pretty consistent with his visits until 2020, when he and Heather decided to get married and had a child of their own. At that time, he neglected to visit the kids and pay his child support.
Rose was furious. As a result, when Luis wanted to resume visits in early 2022, she denied his requests to see the kids. Besides, the kids had no desire to see him anyway. Luis filed for contempt stating that Rose was interfering with his right to see his children. The contempt matter is still pending.
In October 2022, Rose died in a tragic car accident. After the funeral, Luis advised the kids he was coming to pick them up to live with him. The kids were hysterical. They did not want to leave the only home they know. Besides, they were estranged from Luis and they did not like Heather. In November 2022, Alan filed for custody of his siblings. Luis challenges Alan's complaint for custody.
Here are the issues: 1) Whether or not Rose was in contempt when she denied visitation and any recourse Luis has (or had); 2) Whether or not Rose's children can petition the court to stay with Alan; and 3) Alan's likelihood of success in regards to his request for custody?
Students MUST use the appropriate format, including subheadings in the Analysis section. Please note that issues are presented as a question.
The Memo format MUST include the following sections: Heading, Statement of Assignment, Issue, Brief Answer, Facts, Analysis and Conclusion. Students will be graded on citation format, grammar, and spelling.