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Before you start completing your uncontested divorce forms with us, please read all the requirements
for Maryland divorce. Make sure that your situation matches all the requirements.
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 Grounds for divorce
Residency requirements
Disposition of property; assignment of debts
Where to file
Alimony / Spousal support
Child support
Name restoration
An Absolute Divorce in Maryland may be granted on one of the following grounds:
- (1) adultery;
- desertion, if: (i) the desertion has continued for 12 months without interruption before the filing of the application for divorce; (ii) the desertion is deliberate and final; and (iii) there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation;
- voluntary separation, if: (i) the parties voluntarily have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for 12 months without interruption before the filing of the application for divorce; and (ii) there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation;
- conviction of a felony or misdemeanor in any state or in any court of the United States if before the filing of the application for divorce the defendant has: (i) been sentenced to serve at least 3 years or an indeterminate sentence in a penal institution; and (ii) served 12 months of the sentence;
- 2-year separation, when the parties have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for 2 years without interruption before the filing of the application for divorce;
- insanity if: (i) the insane spouse has been confined in a mental institution, hospital, or other similar institution for at least 3 years before the filing of the application for divorce;
- cruelty of treatment toward the complaining party or a minor child of the complaining party, if there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation; or
- excessively vicious conduct toward the complaining party or a minor child of the complaining party, if there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.
(Maryland Code, Family Law Chapter, §7-103)
What is the difference between fault divorce and no-fault divorce?
In order to file for divorce in MD certain residency requirements have to be met:
If the grounds for divorce arise in MD, and either spouse is a resident of MD, he/she may file in the county where either spouse resides.
If the grounds for the divorce occurred outside of this State, a party may apply for a divorce only if one of the parties has resided in this State for at least 1 year before the application is filed. (Maryland Code, Family Law Chapter, §7-103)
If you are filing for divorce under the ground of insanity, the residency requirement is increased to 2 years.
As long as MD is an equitable distribution state the court will divide marital property in an equitable manner.
Maryland courts encourage divorcing parties to decide their property issues in their settlement agreements; otherwise the court will distribute marital property as it deemed fair.
A filing spouse, called the Plaintiff, shall file to the Circuit Court for spouse's county of residence, Maryland.
The court may award alimony to either party.
If a final disposition as to alimony has been made in an agreement between the parties, the court is bound by that agreement as the agreement relates to alimony. (Maryland Code, Family Law Chapter, § 11-101).
If parties did not come to an agreement as to alimony, the court shall determine the amount of and the period for an award of alimony.
Awarding alimony to either party, the court shall consider all the factors necessary for a fair and equitable award, including but not limited to:
- the ability of the party seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
- the time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
- the standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
- the duration of the marriage;
- the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
- the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
- the age of each party;
- the physical and mental condition of each party;
- the ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party's needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony;
- any agreement between the parties;
- the financial needs and financial resources of each party, including
- all income and assets, including property that does not produce income;
- the nature and amount of the financial obligations of each party; and
- the right of each party to receive retirement benefits;
(Maryland Code, Family Law Chapter, §11-106)
Maryland child support is calculated based on child support guidelines. The guidelines are computed using each parent's actual income, adjusted for
- preexisting child support actually paid,
- health insurance premiums (if child included),
- alimony (deducted from payer and added to payee).
The outcome is affected by certain expenses which are divided proportionately based on the parties' incomes:
- work-related child care,
- extraordinary medical expenses, and
- additional expenses (which may include: special or private school, transportation between parents' homes).
In granting a decree of absolute divorce, the court shall change the name of a party to either the name given at birth or any other former name the party wishes to use if:
- the party took a new name on marriage and no longer wishes to use it;
- the party asks for the change of name; and
- the purpose of the party is not illegal, fraudulent, or immoral.
(Maryland Code, Family Law Chapter, §7-105)
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