Get free answers to your Divorce legal questions from lawyers in your area.
In the state of Maryland, can my spouse refuse to leave our jointly owned home after I file for divorce, considering there are no children involved and my spouse is emotionally abusive? There are currently no legal protections or restraining orders in place.
answered on May 6, 2025
Yes. While less than optimal, there are circumstances where spouses intending to terminate their marriage remain in the same household during the actual proceedings due to financial or other circumstances.
However, if you are the victim of "abuse" as defined by Maryland's... View More 
In a Maryland divorce case, my spouse and I jointly own a home. My spouse is keeping the house and buying me out. Their attorney is proposing that the potential future cost of sale be divided in half and subtracted from my buyout portion. We have no terms in our divorce agreement or prior... View More
answered on Mar 25, 2025
Your agreement should spell out any deductions. If the language does not provide for spitting the hypothetical costs of sale to a third party, then you should not assume that such a deduction is required; in fact, it could very well be the opposite. Take your marital property agreement to your... View More
In a Maryland divorce case, my spouse and I jointly own a home. My spouse is keeping the house and buying me out. Their attorney is proposing that the potential future cost of sale be divided in half and subtracted from my buyout portion. We have no terms in our divorce agreement or prior... View More
answered on Mar 20, 2025
Hopefully an agreement will be very clear about the buyout (e.g., A will pay B $X or 1/2 of appraised value less mortgage or whatever it might be). Any questions about a specific agreement are best posed to the counsel who helped draft that agreement, and your specific wording may lead to a... View More
I'm planning to form an LLC and would like to structure it so that my wife does not have access to it due to a possible divorce. We do not have any premarital agreements in place. Can you advise on how I might structure the business and what legal considerations I should be aware of?
answered on Mar 6, 2025
Any business you create in any form during your mariage becomes marital property. Your spouse may not necessarily have "access" in the sense of control, but she would have a claim to half the ownership or at leat half the value of the company. For instance, you can create an LLC and be... View More
I'm currently in the process of a divorce and need to draft a marital settlement agreement. My spouse and I have five children, and we have discussed all the custody and support arrangements, as well as the division of assets and debts. How should I proceed with drafting the agreement to... View More
answered on Mar 6, 2025
Please hire a lawyer to do this. This is not a do-it-yourself project. You do not know what you do not know, and leaving necessary provisions out, or putting in the wrong provisions or wording, will cost a fortune in future litigation to try and reverse or correct, and potentially without... View More
answered on Dec 27, 2024
The answer to your question only really matters from a legal standpoint when you divorce. How the parties manage their money during marriage is entirely up to them. A spouse has no legal right to access their spouse’s inherited funds or to take gifts given only to them, if their spouse refuses.... View More
He has an untreated undiagnosed mental illness, he has not worked in a year, he is verbal, emotional, financial abusive to both me and kids
answered on Nov 11, 2024
It is possible to do so as part of your divorce, but that would be up to the judge after trial unless the two of you agree to remove him from the deed as part of a settlement of your divorce and all property and support issues. Ordinarily, the marital home is either bought out by one spouse paying... View More
As part of my divorce, my ex-husband agreed and was part of the judge's decree, that he would pay me 10% of his military pension until one of us died. This took effect in 1997, however, I have not received an increase since then. (He sends the monthly check directly to me; it is not through... View More
answered on Jan 14, 2024
If you were married at least ten years during the time that your ex was in the military, then you can get the pension award issued in the form of a special court order served on the military to receive direct (and retroactive) payment of what you are owed. Either way you will need to file a motion... View More
My wife and I get a divorce and I'm ordered to pay some alimony.
Three years later I'm in and out of psych wards depleting me to bankruptcy.
Is my wife legally responsible to any of my own debt or past/future expenses of
a psych ward or nursing home?
Would... View More
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answered on Nov 27, 2023
In general, after a divorce, each ex-spouse is typically responsible for their own debts incurred after the divorce decree is finalized. This means that debts you acquired three years after your divorce, including those related to medical or psychiatric care, would usually be your responsibility,... View More
My wife is worried that if we divorce and I eventually went bankrupt that she will be legally responsible for my finances. She thinks that there's a 5 year look back so if I went bankrupt within 5 years of our divorce finalization that creditors can legally claim her as liable.
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answered on Nov 22, 2023
It depends on where you live. If Maryland is a community property state, then you are both equally liable on all debts incurred during the marriage, regardless of whose name is on the contract. Although a post-nuptial agreement or divorce decree can assign responsibility to one spouse or the other... View More
My wife is worried that if we divorce and I eventually went bankrupt that she will be legally responsible for my finances. She thinks that there's a 5 year look back so if I went bankrupt within 5 years of our divorce finalization that creditors can legally claim her as liable.
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answered on Nov 27, 2023
In Maryland, a postnuptial agreement or a divorce decree can define financial responsibilities and liabilities between spouses, including those related to debts. If properly drafted and executed, these agreements can clarify that your wife is not responsible for your debts incurred after the... View More
My wife is worried that if we divorce and I eventually went bankrupt that she will be legally responsible for my finances. She thinks that there's a 5 year look back so if I went bankrupt within 5 years of our divorce finalization that creditors can legally claim her as liable.
answered on Nov 21, 2023
If you file a Chapter 13 petition in the future, it includes a co-debtor automatic stay for claims "dealt with by the Plan".
Filing a bankruptcy does not create a liability in a non-filing spouse. If she is currently liable as a joint obligor, then she remains liable for that... View More
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answered on Nov 2, 2023
Yes, you can have divorce papers served via certified mail to your spouse's adult sister, whom he lives with and collects his mail. This is a valid method of service under Maryland law.
Once the certified mail package has been delivered to your spouse's adult sister, she must sign... View More
answered on Aug 4, 2023
I see you're in Edgewater, MD. Although I'm a <a href="https://www.ostendorflaw.com/practice_areas/maryland-divorce-lawyer.php">divorce lawyer in Baltimore County</a>, I can provide some general guidance on this issue as it's a common question that often arises... View More
I was compelled to meet in a zoom meeting for mediation for child support in CA. But I already initiated a complaint for divorce, child support and custody in Maryland. Do I have to attend it? what is going to happen with the action in Maryland?
answered on Jul 12, 2023
You need a lawyer to review the jurisdictional issues. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act has been codified in both CA and MD (and every other state, I believe) and there must be a hearing first to determine which state court will hear the case and exercise jurisdiction... View More
I filed for divorce in Pennsylvania. My ex and i lived there during the marriage. We separated, i moved to Maryland and filed for divorce in Pennsylvania My spouse claimed she wasn't properly served. My attorney sent the divorce papers certified mail. My ex responded, we signed a marital... View More
answered on Jul 2, 2023
Who cares where you get divorced? You have a signed separation and property settlement agreement which I assume resolves all issues between you, so why expend time and money arguing over which court to get the divorce judgment from? If both parties voluntarily participate in one of the divorce... View More
It has already been appealed but the majority of the evidence found after the fact.
answered on Jul 1, 2023
An appeal from the circuit court goes first to the Appellate Court of Maryland (formerly called Court of Special Appeals). Although the Supreme Court of Maryland (formerly the Court of Appeals) has the discretion to take jurisdiction over an appeal pending before the Appellate Court, it rarely does... View More
My wife is not co-operating. Do I need a lawyer? Do I need to talk to police? I don't want to lose my belongings.
answered on Jun 28, 2023
Make a motion in your divorce case for leave to get your personal items.
I'm facing homelessness in 2 months. I don't have a car and can't get a job without one. I severely broke my ankle in 2016 and had complications after my first surgery that led to a second surgery. Complications have continued and limit me to not being able to be on my feet for more... View More
answered on Mar 9, 2023
"Can" you file for alimony? Yes. Will a court award you alimony? Not enough facts to evaluate that claim. 7 years separation with no contact will not help, but is not determinative. Length of marriage prior to separation, total length of marriage including period of separation,... View More
Are there any photographs of properly bound briefs, so that I know how to conform to what is expected? Maryland Rules do not go into sufficient detail.
I have been forced to be a Pro Se defendant, in appealing to the Appellate Court of MD. My wife, a former attorney, has successfully... View More
answered on Mar 6, 2023
The brief should be "spiral bound" along the left margin. Staples are not accepted. Any quality copy center or brief printer should be able to help you. And if you are the appellant--the brief cover must be yellow, as well as the record extract. The brief should be printed on ONLY one... View More
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