Maryland Divorce Law Changes
The ground or basis upon which an Absolute Divorce may be granted by a Court in Maryland will be changing as of October 1, 2011. Senate Bill 139 amends or changes Section 7-103 of the Family Law Article of the Maryland Code. Until October 1, the no fault grounds for divorce required a one year
separation that was "mutual and voluntary or a two (2) year involuntary separation. The new section do away with the voluntary separation section and replace it with an involuntary separation grounds. This means that the party seeking the divorce does not have to prove the separation was mutual and voluntary, but only that it was in fact a separation for at least one year. That still means that in most cases the parties must live in separate places for that one year period. This may impact those parties who do not want the divorce because of benefits they may be receiving from the other spouse. Such benefits can include health care, military privileges, retirement accumulations and the like. It will now not be possible for a party to "hold up" the divorce for an additional year.
For more information on this new law and how it affects you, contact an Annapolis divorce lawyer today. We assist clients throughout Anne Arundel County, Calvert County & Queen Anne's County.