Emergency Relief in Anne Arundel County
Emergency relief is a temporary order of protection from imminent, substantial harm or harassment for you or a minor child. To receive emergency relief, you must be able to show that you or a minor child are truly at risk of imminent, substantial harm or harassment.
How to File for Emergency Relief
Because an emergency relief order is temporary, the court requires you to file for permanent relief, such as for divorce, custody, or custody modification. This additional petition needs to be filed at the same time or earlier than the motion for relief.
The Emergency Custody Packet includes:
- Instructions for filing
- Sample motion for emergency and ex parte relief
- Sample certificate of service
- Sample notice of emergency hearing
- Sample declaration that you gave notice to the other party
To receive emergency relief from the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, do the following:
- At least 24 hours before the hearing takes place, notify the other person or persons involved in the case (MD Rules, Rule 1-351(b). The form is included in the packet. Emergency relief hearings take place only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1:30 pm.
- File your motion in room 100 of the first floor of the courthouse before 12:30 pm on the day the hearing will take place.
- At the same time or earlier, file for a permanent form of relief, such as divorce, custody, custody modification, etc. Form packets can be found on the family law resource pages.
- Serve the other party or parties of your relief motion. The form is included in the packet. Find out more about service of process here.
- During the hearing, you must prove that you or a minor child are at risk of immediate and substantial harm or harassment. The court will not grant relief for harm that is based only on speculation. (See Magness v. Magness, 79 Md. App. 668) The court will then decide whether to grant you relief based on the facts you present.
The time length of the relief order depends on your situation.
There are attorneys at the the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Family Court Help Center who can help with this and other family law matters.
Library Print and Electronic Resources
- AACPLL WIKI Family Law Resource page
- Maryland domestic relations forms: with practice commentary.
- Author: Turnbull, Ann McKenrick.
- Call Number: KFM1294.A65 T8 and E-RESOURCE
- Maryland family and juvenile law : practice manual and forms.
- Author: Rees, Natalie H.
- Call Number: KFM1294.R44 2001
- Maryland family law / Cynthia Callahan (Associate Judge of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County), Thomas C. Ries, Esq.
- Author: Callahan, Cynthia.
- Call Number: KFM1294 .F33 2021 RES
- Maryland family law form finder.
- Call Number: E-RESOURCE
- Maryland family law forms / [Constance K. Putzel, Shelley L. Rothschild … et al.]
- Call Number: KFM1294 .M37 2011
- Domestic violence cases: handling them effectively in district and circuit courts / the House of Ruth Maryland Domestic Violence Legal Clinic & the Maryland State Bar Association, Inc. Family and Juvenile Law Section (Maryland State Bar Association, 2017) (KFM1294 .H842 2017 and on Lexis in law library)
- Maryland judge’s domestic violence resource manual (Administrative Office of the Courts, Department of Family Administration, 2009-) (KFM1294 .M3 2009 and https://lipa.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/SO_0327aa31-3c2f-4f68-9a7f-7564262f5641/)
- Child safety : a guide for judges and attorneys / Therese Roe Lund, Jennifer Renne (American Bar Association, 2009) (KF3735 .L86 2009)
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