Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 6-405

This is the official text of Md. Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 6-405, part of Maryland’s Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings — governs court structure and civil procedure.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§6–405.

Official statutory text

(a) Any action, including one in the name of the State, brought by a next friend for the benefit of a minor may be settled by the next friend.

(b) If the next friend is not a parent or person in loco parentis of the child, the settlement is not effective unless approved by the parent or other person responsible for the child.

(c) If both parents are dead, and there is no person responsible for the care and custody of the child, the settlement is not effective unless approved by the court in which the suit was brought. Approval may be granted only on the written application by the next friend, under oath, stating the facts of the case, and why the settlement is in the best interest of the child.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Maryland?

Find a Maryland lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.