Maryland Divorce Legal Questions

Utah does not use the word "abandonment" as a ground for divorce, but does recognize "willful desertion of the petitioner by the respondent for more than one year; "willful neglect of the respondent to provide for you the common necessaries of life;" and when spouses have lived separately under a decree of separate maintenance of any state for three consecutive years without cohabitation." These grounds are found in the Utah Code at Section 30-3-1(3), subsections (c), (d) and (j). Now on a separate but related point, even if you don't qualify to claim any of these as grounds for divorce, you can still file for divorce without alleging any kind of fault against your spouse. This is what the "irreconcilable differences" ground accomplishes. It means that you can get a divorce simply by wanting one you don't have to furnish a "reason" for seeking divorce. If you need or just want a divorce, neither the state nor your spouse can stop you.... Read More

A limited divorce is a divorce from "bed and board". In other words it sanctifies the husband-and-wife to live apart, but they still remain married. And absolute divorce is a final divorce and severs all legal ties between a husband and a wife. There is very little function to be served by obtaining a limited divorce. However, it is often used as a means of presenting certain limited but urgent issues to a Court where grounds for an absolute divorce do not yet exist.... Read More

Your question  presents one of the the most difficult issues encountered in family law. There are two schools of thought regarding evicting a non-titled spouse. One school views reval of a non-titled spouse from a home owned solely by the other as a matter of real estate law. As such, the owner spouse needs to give the non-owner spouse a 30 day Notice to Move Out and then file an eviction if the spouses refuses to leave. The other school sees the problem as one of family law that only a Circuit Court judge can decide if the spouse should leave. However, either spouse can ask for a Protective Order if he or she is a victim of domestic violence. If a Court finds there has been domestic violence, then the Court can order the violator out of the home for up to a 1 year period. If you need advice specific to your situation, please do not hesitate to call me.... Read More

Assuming your divorce settlement was in writing and incorporated into a Divorce Decree or Court order, then you can do one or both of the following: file a Complaint for Breach of the Contract File a Petition to Cite your Spouse in Contempt of Court. You may be also able to seek attorneys fees incurred in pursuing your claim. You do not indicate whether the money owed is for an agreed upon amount, a Marital Award, child support, or alimony. There are different claims that can be made depending upon which of the above pertains to your case. Please feel free to call me if you need help. I have practiced law for 42 years.... Read More

In order for a Court to award alimony to any spouse, there are 12 statutory factors the Court must consider. Some of them are: age and health of parties, length of marriage, difference in incomes, etc. Alimony is decided on a case by case basis so more of the specifics of your case would have to be explored before an opinion could be rendered regarding your potential obligation to pay alimony.... Read More

You have the right to ask the Court to make a marital award at the time of your divorce. To do so, the Court is required to consider many statutory factors. Frequently, a Court will allow for the entry of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order at or after the divorce to provide for an equitable division of the Husband's pension. Wanting a divorce or pursuing a divorce does not prevent you from seeking an equitable portion of your Husband's pension.... Read More

Thank you for your question.  First, I am sorry to hear what this man has put you through.  You clearly deserve better. I am a Baltimore divorce lawyer, and have handled cases involving an out-of-state and out-of-country spouse.  My firm can help you seek a divorce or, possibly an annulment.  Concerning the bills, if you were unaware of the purchases, did not authorize them and did not receive the benefits of the purchases, then I may be able to also help you avoid liability for them. Feel free to contact my firm.  I can help.... Read More

If you have lived in MD for more than a year, you can file for a divorce in MD now. With your Husband's cooperation, this should not be a difficult or expensive matter. To expedite the MD case, he will need to file an Answer to any Complaint for Divorce that you file indicationg that he is not contesting what you allege in your Complaint and the relief you are seeking. For MD purposes, it is not necessary to also file for a divorce in India. However, your Husband may want to do that s o that it is clear for Indian legal puposes that you are divorced. I am not licensed to practice law in India, so I cannot give you any advice on what is involved or about the legal effect of obtaing an Indian divorce. It may be possible that your Husband will not need to obtain an Indian divorce, but could record the MD Judgment of Divorce with the appropriate authorities in India.... Read More

MARYLAND: Lowery v. Lowery, 113 Md. App. 423, 688 A.2d 65 (1997). Although the husband's injury underlying his workers' compensation settlement occurred before the parties' marriage, the award should be classified as marital property to the extent that it compensated the husband for lost wages or future earning capacity during the marriage or for medical expenses paid out of marital assets. ... Read More