Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Adultery

An award of alimony is not based primarily on fault, but on the ability of the parties to be self supporting. If one party is incapable of supporting him or herself because of age, ill health, lack of education or skills, alimony may be awarded. If one party has never worked outside the home and has no skills, but is reasonably young and in good health, the court may award temporary, rehabilitative alimony to permit that person to get some education or training to become self-supporting. If there is evidence that even with rehabilitative efforts one party could not be self-supporting, and the other party has sufficient means to provide support, indefinite alimony may be awarded. If, after one party receives rehabilitative alimony and becomes self-supporting but the incomes of the parties are what the court finds to be "unconscionably disparate," or in other words one party has an income many times greater than the other, the court may order indefinite alimony. If the party asking for alimony has been an absolute villain during the marriage and has caused the end of the marriage because of adultery, abuse, or some other fault, and is asking for alimony from the victim of the bad behavior, the court may refuse to award alimony regardless of need.

Re: Adultery

Possibly. The reason for the dissolution of the marriage is a consideration the court can take into consideration when determining whether to grant spousal support. Another factor is a huge disparity in incomes. If one spouse makes much more then the other then the court could find that the disparity justifies an award of support. Other factors include: the ability of the other spouse to pay; the ability of the requesting party to be self-supporting; the time necessary for the party seeking support to gain sufficient education or training; the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage; the monetary and non-monetary contributions the party seeking support contributed to the family; the age of the parties; and the physical and mental condition of the party asking for support.

I hope this helps. To determine if you'd be successful in a suit for support I would really need to speak with you. Just give me a call at 301-652-0663.