Jennifer Rankin

Jennifer began practicing with the Law Office of Elizabeth Stup, LLC in June, 2007. She concentrates on family law cases, including custody, divorce, child support and domestic violence/protective orders. She also represents children, biological parents and adoptive parents in Child In Need of Assistance (“CINA”) cases (also known as dependency cases). Jennifer prepares wills and estate planning documents for small estates and handles probate and guardianship matters. For Jennifer, the focus is on assisting her clients from a holistic prospective as they move forward with a change in the family structure through separation, divorce or adoption.

Prior to joining the firm Jennifer worked in general practice at the Midwestern Office of the Legal Aid Bureau of Maryland for several years. In that position, Jennifer represented clients in CINA, custody, divorce, wage garnishment, landlord/tenant, social security and a variety of other areas. She also worked for the Baltimore City Legal Aid Bureau in their CINA department representing children.

Jennifer received her law degree from the University Of Pittsburgh School Of Law after graduating from Bowling Green State University in Ohio with a major in psychology. Since joining the Law Office of Elizabeth Stup, Jennifer has become a mediator for marital property and child custody/access plans. Jennifer is also a trained parenting coordinator, working with parents who find communication and
co-parenting difficult after the divorce or separation is finalized. Jennifer enjoys representing children when requested through the Frederick County Circuit Court in divorce and custody cases. She values the opportunity to help parents make smart, well-informed decisions based on their children’s needs and best interests.

Jennifer has given presentations for the Maryland CASA program, the child representative training sponsored by the Frederick County Circuit Court, the Mental Health Association, the Washington County Department of Social Services Kinship Program and the Department of Aging regarding custody and advocacy. She has also had the opportunity to give presentations for several Department of Aging programs regarding advance directives, the need for estate planning and other topics.

She is the chair of the Family Law Section of the Bar Association of Frederick County (“BAFC”), as well as a member of the BAFC Executive Committee and Pro Bono Committee. She is a member of the Association of Collaborative Professionals, and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.  She is also on the Board of the Washington County Department of Social Services Kinship Navigator Program.