Frequently Asked Questions

This information is not legal advice and you need to confer with Attorney Laumann about your specific situation.

• What is a divorce?
• How is child support determined?
• How do you determine alimony?
• When does alimony terminate?
• How is property divided?
• On what grounds can I get a divorce?

What is a divorce?

An absolute divorce legally dissolves a marriage, allowing the husband and wife to remarry. As part of a divorce, decisions are usually made regarding the following:

• Who will have custody of the children?
• Will there be payment of alimony and how much?
• How much child support will be paid and by whom?
• How will personal property be divided?
• Will the parent with custody of the children be allowed to stay in the home? If so, for how long?
• What type of visitation is appropriate?

If a couple cannot agree on how these questions will be settled, the court may have to make the decisions.

How is Child Support Determined?

Maryland uses child support guidelines. In order to calculate the amounts recommended by the guidelines you must know the gross income of both parents. Your attorney will advise you about what is included as “income” and what deductions from income are permitted.
The Maryland Code contains a chart for basic child support. Your attorney can advise you about what is calculated. The total expense is then allocated between the parties in proportion to their income.

How Do You Determine Alimony?

The Court can award alimony in a divorce proceeding or in a separate suit for alimony.
Generally, alimony is considered to be “transitional” (i.e. an adequate amount for a specific time period in order to get the non-working spouse back into the workforce).
The Court has the authority to award indefinite alimony, but only if the court finds that the spouse seeking alimony cannot reasonably be expected to make substantial progress toward becoming self-supporting or even after the spouse seeking alimony will have made as much progress toward self-support as can be expected, the respective standard of living of each spouse will be unconscionably disparate.

When does alimony terminate?

Unless the couple agrees otherwise, alimony terminates:

1. Upon the death of either spouse;

2. Upon the marriage of the spouse receiving alimony; or

3. If the Court finds that alimony should terminate in order to avoid a harsh and inequitable result.

How is Property Divided?

When a couple divorces, they divide their property and possessions. If the husband/wife cannot agree, a judge will make the decision.
Property obtained by either spouse during a marriage, no matter how it is titled, is considered to be owned by both spouses and is called “marital property”. Marital property includes any interest in real property held by a couple as tenants by the entirety unless the real property is excluded by an agreement. Property received by gift or inheritance is excluded.
A court cannot change title to property from one spouse to the other except for pension or other retirement assets and, under certain circumstances, the family home. The Court may order one spouse to pay a certain sum of money to adjust the equities of the parties in the marital property.

On what grounds can I get a divorce?

There are two types of divorce in Maryland, absolute and limited. 

An absolute divorce can be granted on the grounds of:

1. Adultery: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than their spouse.

2. Desertion: There are two types of desertion. Actual desertion exists when the husband/wife leaves the home without cause. Constructive desertion exists when one spouse leaves the home based upon the behavior of the other spouse: the move has to be justified due to physically abusive behavior on the part of the other spouse, for instance. The desertion has to have continued for more than one year. Constructive desertion is not a simple thing to prove and you should consult with your attorney before doing anything.

3. Voluntary Separation: both the husband and the wife agree, verbally or in writing, to end the marriage with mutual regard of fault.

4. Non-Voluntary Separation: the husband or the wife may seek a divorce without agreement from their spouse to end the marriage.

5. Jail: a jail sentence of over three (3) years or an indetermination sentence imposed on the spouse and imprisonment of 12 months following criminal conviction.

6. Insanity: Permanent and incurable insanity.

7. Cruelty: cruelty of treatment or excessively vicious conduct

The party filing for a divorce must have resided in the State of Maryland for one year prior to the filing of the matter.

What determines Custody of our children?

A Maryland court, in order to determine custody, must first determine the best interest of the child.

The Maryland Court of Appeals has stated that “[W]hen the custody of children is the question … the best interest of the children is the paramount fact. Rights of father and mother sink into insignificance before that.” Kartman v. Kartman, 163 Md. 19, 22,161 A. 269 (1932), The absolute obligation on the trial judge to undertake a thorough examination of all possible factors before determining child custody was forcefully set out by Judge McAuliffe in Taylor v. Taylor, 306 Md. 290, 303, 508 A.2d 964 (1986):

Formula or computer solutions in Maryland child custody matters are impossible because of the unique character of each case, and the subjective nature of the evaluations and decisions that must be made. At best we can discuss the major factors the Maryland Courts will consider in determining whether joint custody is appropriate, but in doing so we recognize that none has talismanic qualities, and that no single list of criteria will satisfy the demands of every case. We emphasize that in any Maryland child custody case, the paramount concern is the best interest of the child. …The best interest of the child is therefore not considered as one of many factors, but as the objective to which virtually all other factors speak.

The Taylor Court detailed the two basic forms of custody. These two forms are:
In Maryland, legal custody carries with it the right and obligation to make long range decisions involving education, religious training, discipline, medical care, and other matters of major significance concerning the child’s life and welfare. Joint legal custody means that both parents have an equal voice in making those decisions, and neither parent’s rights are superior to the other.
Physical custody in Maryland, on the other hand, means the right and obligation to provide a home for the child and to make the day-to-day decisions required during the time the child is actually with the parent having such custody.
Each type of custody in Maryland can be broken down into either joint or sole. Therefore, joint legal custody in Maryland means that each parent has the right to share in longer-range decision-making including education, religious training, medical care and other matters of significance regarding their children. Sole legal custody in Maryland gives that right to only one parent. Joint physical custody in Maryland means that the child or children share their time between the parents. There does not have to be an equal sharing of time in order to qualify as joint physical custody.

Taylor laid out fourteen factors for a court to consider in an award of joint custody:
1. Capacity of the parents to communicate and to reach shared decisions affecting the child’s welfare;
2. Willingness of parents to share custody;
3. Fitness of parents;
4. Relationship established between the child and each parent;
5. Preference of the child;
6. Potential disruption of child’s social and school life;
7. Geographic proximity of parental homes;
8. Demands of Parental Employment;
9. Age and number of children;
10. Sincerity of parents’ request;
11. Financial status of the parents;
12. Impact on state or federal assistance;
13. Benefit to parents; and
14. Other factors.
Taylor v. Taylor, 306 Md. 290, 303, 508 A.2d 964 (1986).

In Montgomery County v. Sanders, 38 Md. App. 406, 419, 381 A.2d 1154 (1977), Maryland Chief Judge Gilbert described what a child custody determination unavoidably calls for on the part of the judge:
Present methods for determining a child’s best interest are time-consuming, involve a multitude of intangible factors that ofttimes are ambiguous. The best interest standard in Maryland is an amorphous notion, varying with each individual case, and resulting in its being open to attack as little more than judicial prognostication. The fact finder is called upon to evaluate the child’s life chances in each of the homes competing for custody and then to predict with whom the child will be better off in the future.
Judge Gilbert went on to catalogue some of the myriad factors that must be considered:
“What critics of the “judicial prognostication” overlook is that the court examines numerous factors and weighs the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative environments. The criteria for judicial determination includes, but is not limited to:
1. Fitness of the parents;
2. Character and reputation of the parties;
3. Desire of the natural parents and agreements between the parties;
4. Potentiality of maintaining natural family relations;
5. Preference of the child;
6. Material opportunities affecting the future life of the child;
7. Age, health and sex of the child;
8. Residences of parents and opportunity for visitation;
9. Length of separation from the natural parents, and;
10. Prior voluntary abandonment or surrender.
Montgomery County v. Sanders, 38 Md. App. 406, 420, 381 A.2d 1154 (1977).

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