A prenuptial agreement, or ‘prenup’ is a legal agreement created and signed by two people before they get married. Prenups protect each spouse’s assets, as well as clearly stating each spouse’s responsibilities regarding martial and premarital debts. A crucial element of the prenup is making sure each spouse is taken care of financially in the…
There’s a trend of older individuals getting divorced in Maryland. Known as a ‘gray divorce,’ mature couples, typically baby boomers, will decide to split after 20 to 30 years of marriage. In fact, according to Pew Research Center, the divorce rate of couples who are over 50 years old has doubled since 1990. Essentially, more…
Alimony, often one of the most contentious issues in a divorce, involves payments from one ex-spouse to another post-divorce to maintain the standard of living they were accustomed to during the marriage. This guide, presented by the Howard County family lawyers with Coover Law Firm, LLC, delves into calculating alimony in Maryland, helping you understand…
Aside from the emotional gut punch that a divorce can bring, the financial burden is often one of the scariest parts for most people. We get asked all the time for advice about how to best prepare for a divorce financially. While there is no cut-and-dry solution for making the divorce process affordable, there are…
A common question that we get asked early in the divorce process is: Is Maryland a 50/50 divorce state? While the question seems straightforward, the truth is that the term “50/50 divorce” requires clarification. Ultimately, the answer depends upon which issue we’re referring to: child custody or property division. Issue #1: Child Custody One area…
In order to be granted a divorce, you must prove that there is a legally-accepted reason for it. However, before we discuss the grounds for divorce in Maryland, it’s important to understand the distinctions between the different divorce options available to you: absolute vs. limited divorce, and; no-fault vs. fault based divorce Absolute vs. Limited…
Understanding How to Calculate Child Support in Maryland On October 1, 2018, Maryland expanded the mutual consent divorce law to include married couples who have minor children in common. Under the new law, divorcing parents of minor children will be able to forgo the one-year separation period and obtain a divorce on mutual consent grounds as…
In October 2015, Maryland introduced a new grounds for divorce: Mutual Consent. Under the 2015 law, couples without minor children in common became eligible to get a mutual consent divorce, enabling them to skip the 12-month separation period previously required to obtain an contested divorce in Maryland, as long as the couple was able to…
(Columbia, MD) If you’re reading this, it’s most likely because you (or someone you are close with) are facing a legal separation and/or divorce. This can be an overwhelming and emotional time, and many questions are probably running through your mind right now. For most people, at the top of this list is: How do…
(Columbia, MD) In 2012, Maryland officially legalized same sex marriage. However, because same sex marriage was not legal across the United States, same sex divorce often proved to be extremely complicated and difficult. Certain states refused to honor divorce decrees for same sex couples, which often caused great difficulty when enforcing the terms of child custody,…