Visitation of step child?

Regrettably, a court will not grant you visitation.  I am a Baltimore, MD family law attorney, and have a wealth of experience in child custody matters.  The only Maryland statute permitting visitation by non-biological parents in this state is Md. Code, Fam. Law § 9-102, which deals with grandparent's rights to visitation.  The courts make it nearly impossible even for the best of grandparents to obtain visitation, so you can imagine how much of an impossible battle it would be for a step parent who does not even have a statute on their side. The reason is that the right to control the upbringing of the child is a fundamental constitutional right of the biological parents.  Any award of visitation to a third-party (i.e., grandparents, step parents, etc.) would infringe on that right.  As a result, the law is pretty clear that a court cannot grant you visitation. Your best bet is to try to reach an understanding with your husband.  You may want to politely draw his attention to his child, and try to compassionately explain that it may be in the child's best interest - from a nurturing and developmental perspective - to continue to have one-on-one time with you.  However, keep in mind that, legally, you have no barganing leverage, and are, unfortunately, completely at his mercy on this matter. With regard to the other issues that will surface in your divorce, my firm can help.  Proving adultery and protecting your rights to alimony and a fair equitable distribution of the marital property are not easy matters to argue in court.  While they might seem straight forward now, it is a whole different ballgame in a courtroom, with objections left and right, not to mention the legal paperwork that often gets filed prior to the court hearing in adultery cases.  Feel free to contact my firm to schedule a consultation.