Posts Tagged ‘Property Deeds’
MARYLAND DIVORCE ATTORNEYS
HANDLING BOTH CONTESTED DIVORCE AND UNCONTESTED DIVORCES
When a person is either going through a divorce or preparing to go through a divorce, the person tends to be very emotionally distraught. A big reason for that is a lack of knowledge about what to expect. Our Maryland divorce attorneys are here to help you with understanding Maryland divorce law and representation if needed. After you read this, if you wish to contact us for additional help regarding a Maryland divorce, please feel free to contact us by phone, email, or our fast on line form . The Maryland divorce attorneys of SRIS, P.C. have offices in Rockville and Baltimore. Our Maryland divorce lawyers are experienced at helping people who are going through a divorce in Maryland. We can help you regardless of whether your Maryland divorce is contested or uncontested. Complicated or simple. If you wish to consult a SRIS, P.C. Maryland divorce attorney, please simply contact us via e-mail or by filling out our on-line form. A Maryland divorce lawyer of SRIS, P.C. will gladly consult with you regarding your matter.
To obtain a general overview of divorce laws, please click here.
To learn more about the laws pertaining to divorce laws in Virginia or Massachusetts, please click on the state.
The following are some of the Maryland Divorce laws. Click on any of the issues you light be interested in learning more about:
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Termination of alimony
- Amount of award; duration
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Limited divorce
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Absolute divorce
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Determination of property ownership
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Determination of marital property
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Monetary award
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Determination of family home and family use personal property
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Possession and use of family home and family use personal property
- Deeds, agreements, and settlements valid
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 11-108- Termination of alimony (top)
Unless the parties agree otherwise, alimony terminates:
(1) on the death of either party;
(2) on the marriage of the recipient; or
(3) if the court finds that termination is necessary to avoid a harsh and inequitable result.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 11-106. Amount of award; duration (top)
Court to make determination
(a)(1) The court shall determine the amount of and the period for an award of alimony.
(2) The court may award alimony for a period beginning from the filing of the pleading that requests alimony.
(3) At the conclusion of the period of the award of alimony, no further alimony shall accrue.
Factors considered
(b) In making the determination, the court shall consider all the factors necessary for a fair and equitable award, including:
(1) the ability of the party seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
(2) the time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
(3) the standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
(4) the duration of the marriage;
(5) the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
(6) the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
(7) the age of each party;
(8) the physical and mental condition of each party;
(9) 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;
(10) any agreement between the parties;
(11) the financial needs and financial resources of each party, including:
(i) all income and assets, including property that does not produce income;
(ii) any award made under §§ 8-205 and 8-208 of this article;
(iii) the nature and amount of the financial obligations of each party; and
(iv) the right of each party to receive retirement benefits; and
(12) whether the award would cause a spouse who is a resident of a related institution as defined in § 19-301 of the Health-General Article and from whom alimony is sought to become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur.
Award for indefinite period
(c) The court may award alimony for an indefinite period, if the court finds that:
(1) due to age, illness, infirmity, or disability, the party seeking alimony cannot reasonably be expected to make substantial progress toward becoming self-supporting; or
(2) even after the party seeking alimony will have made as much progress toward becoming self-supporting as can reasonably be expected, the respective standards of living of the parties will be unconscionably disparate.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 7-102. Limited divorce (top)
Grounds for limited divorce
(a) The court may decree a limited divorce on the following grounds:
(1) cruelty of treatment of the complaining party or of a minor child of the complaining party;
(2) excessively vicious conduct to the complaining party or to a minor child of the complaining party;
(3) desertion; or
(4) voluntary separation, if:
(i) the parties are living separate and apart without cohabitation; and
(ii) there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.
Attempts at reconciliation
(b) As a condition precedent to granting a decree of limited divorce, the court may:
(1) require the parties to participate in good faith in the efforts to achieve reconciliation that the court prescribes; and
(2) assess the costs of any efforts to achieve reconciliation that the court prescribes.
Time during which decree is effective
(c) The court may decree a divorce under this section for a limited time or for an indefinite time.
Revocation of decree
(d) The court that granted a decree of limited divorce may revoke the decree at any time on the joint application of the parties
Decree of limited divorce on prayer for absolute divorce
(e) If an absolute divorce is prayed and the evidence is sufficient to entitle the parties to a limited divorce, but not to an absolute divorce, the court may decree a limited divorce.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 7-103. Absolute divorce (top)
Grounds for absolute divorce
(a) The court may decree an absolute divorce on the following grounds:
(1) adultery;
(2) 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;
(3) 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;
(4) 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;
(5) 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;
(6) 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;
(ii) the court determines from the testimony of at least 2 physicians who are competent in psychiatry that the insanity is incurable and there is no hope of recovery; and
(iii) 1 of the parties has been a resident of this State for at least 2 years before the filing of the application for divorce;
(7) cruelty of treatment toward the complaining party or a minor child of the complaining party, if there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation; or
(8) excessively vicious conduct toward the complaining party or a minor child of the complaining party, if there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.
Recrimination
(b) Recrimination is not a bar to either party obtaining an absolute divorce on the grounds set forth in subsection (a)(1) through (8) of this section, but is a factor to be considered by the court in a case involving the ground of adultery.
Res judicata
(c) Res judicata with respect to another ground under this section is not a bar to either party obtaining an absolute divorce on the ground of 2-year separation.
Condonation
(d) Condonation is not an absolute bar to a decree of an absolute divorce on the ground of adultery, but is a factor to be considered by the court in determining whether the divorce should be decreed.
Effect of a limited divorce on bill of complaint for absolute divorce
(e)(1) A court may decree an absolute divorce even if a party has obtained a limited divorce.
(2) If a party obtained a limited divorce on the ground of desertion that at the time of the decree did not meet the requirements of subsection (a)(2) of this section, the party may obtain an absolute divorce on the ground of desertion when the desertion meets the requirements of subsection (a)(2) of this section.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-202. Determination of property ownership (top)
Determination of ownership
(a)(1) When the court grants an annulment or a limited or absolute divorce, the court may resolve any dispute between the parties with respect to the ownership of personal property.
(2) When the court grants an annulment or an absolute divorce, the court may resolve any dispute between the parties with respect to the ownership of real property.
(3) Except as provided in § 8-205 of this subtitle, the court may not transfer the ownership of personal or real property from 1 party to the other.
Decree and order
(b) When the court determines the ownership of personal or real property, the court may:
(1) grant a decree that states what the ownership interest of each party is; and
(2) as to any property owned by both of the parties, order a partition or a sale instead of partition and a division of the proceeds.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-203. Determination of marital property (top)
Determination of marital property
(a) In a proceeding for an annulment or an absolute divorce, if there is a dispute as to whether certain property is marital property, the court shall determine which property is marital property:
(1) when the court grants an annulment or an absolute divorce;
(2) within 90 days after the court grants an annulment or divorce, if the court expressly reserves in the annulment or divorce decree the power to make the determination; or
(3) after the 90-day period if:
(i) the court expressly reserves in the annulment or divorce decree the power to make the determination;
(ii) during the 90-day period, the court extends the time for making the determination; and
(iii) the parties consent to the extension.
Consideration of military pension
(b) In this subtitle, a military pension shall be considered in the same manner as any other pension or retirement benefit.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-205. Monetary award (top)
Grant of award or transfer ownership of an interest in property
(a)(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, after the court determines which property is marital property, and the value of the marital property, the court may transfer ownership of an interest in property described in paragraph (2) of this subsection, grant a monetary award, or both, as an adjustment of the equities and rights of the parties concerning marital property, whether or not alimony is awarded.
(2) The court may transfer ownership of an interest in:
(i) a pension, retirement, profit sharing, or deferred compensation plan, from one party to either or both parties; and
(ii) subject to the consent of any lienholders, family use personal property, from one or both parties to either or both parties.
Required considerations
(b) The court shall determine the amount and the method of payment of a monetary award, or the terms of the transfer of the interest in property described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, or both, after considering each of the following factors:
(1) the contributions, monetary and nonmonetary, of each party to the well-being of the family;
(2) the value of all property interests of each party;
(3) the economic circumstances of each party at the time the award is to be made;
(4) the circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
(5) the duration of the marriage;
(6) the age of each party;
(7) the physical and mental condition of each party;
(8) how and when specific marital property or interest in property described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, was acquired, including the effort expended by each party in accumulating the marital property or the interest in property described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, or both;
(9) the contribution by either party of property described in § 8-201(e)(3) of this subtitle to the acquisition of real property held by the parties as tenants by the entirety;
(10) any award of alimony and any award or other provision that the court has made with respect to family use personal property or the family home; and
(11) any other factor that the court considers necessary or appropriate to consider in order to arrive at a fair and equitable monetary award or transfer of an interest in property described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, or both.
Award reduced to judgment
(c) The court may reduce to a judgment any monetary award made under this section, to the extent that any part of the award is due and owing.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-207. Determination of family home and family use personal property (top)
Determination
(a) In a proceeding for an annulment or a limited or absolute divorce, the court may determine which property is the family home and family use personal property:
(1) before the court grants an annulment or a limited or absolute divorce; or
(2) when the court grants an annulment or a limited or absolute divorce.
Modification
(b) A preliminary or pendente lite determination is subject to modification during the pendency of the proceeding.
Certain property to be treated as marital property
(c) If the court determines that there is no need for an order or decree issued under this section regarding the family home or all or any part of family use personal property, the property shall be treated as marital property if it otherwise would have been treated as marital property.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-208. Possession and use of family home and family use personal property (top)
Award of possession and use
(a)(1) When the court grants an annulment or a limited or absolute divorce, regardless of how the family home or family use personal property is titled, owned, or leased, the court may:
(i) decide that 1 of the parties shall have the sole possession and use of that property; or
(ii) divide the possession and use of the property between the parties.
(2) The court may exercise these powers pendente lite.
Required considerations
(b) In awarding the possession and use of the family home and family use personal property, the court shall consider each of the following factors:
(1) the best interests of any child;
(2) the interest of each party in continuing:
(i) to use the family use personal property or any part of it, or to occupy or use the family home or any part of it as a dwelling place; or
(ii) to use the family use personal property or any part of it, or to occupy or use the family home or any part of it for the production of income; and
(3) any hardship imposed on the party whose interest in the family home or family use personal property is infringed on by an order issued under §§ 8- 207 through 8-213 of this subtitle.
Allocation of financial responsibilities
(c) The court may order or decree that either or both of the parties pay all or any part of:
(1) any mortgage payments or rent;
(2) any indebtedness that is related to the property;
(3) the cost of maintenance, insurance, assessments, and taxes; or
(4) any similar expenses in connection with the property.
Principal residence for tax purposes
(d) An order giving a party the sole possession and use of the family home under subsection (a) of this section does not affect the right of the other party to claim the family home as that party’s principal residence for tax purposes.
Maryland Code, Family Law, § 8-101. Deeds, agreements, and settlements valid (top)
Deed or agreement
(a) A husband and wife may make a valid and enforceable deed or agreement that relates to alimony, support, property rights, or personal rights.
Settlement
(b) A husband and wife may make a valid and enforceable settlement of alimony, support, property rights, or personal rights.
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