Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

My brother's soon-to-be-ex wife SAID (when they married about 13 years ago) that she would finish a college degree and ultimately work as a school counselor. She stopped going to school one class short of a degree. She has REFUSED to work their entire marriage and has consistently spent more than he earns. She is extremely verbally abusive to him. She REFUSES to work. She told him she was on birth control and then "miraculously" got pregnant when her youngest was in kindergarten...so now says she can not possibly work until the new baby is in kindergarten (5 years).

They are separated. He lives in my dad's house cuz there is no way he can afford a 2nd residence of any kind. She lives in the huge house and drops the kids off with my brother 2 nights a week and every other weekend. She continues to spend like a maniac and at her current spending pattern, she is spending $30K more than he makes. She frequently goes on "girls weekend" trips to the beach or to a spa. She has a babysitter that she brags about as if it is a nanny. She does NOTHING except scream at my brother about how he needs to pay her more and more money. Meanwhile, if he did not have my dad's house to live at, he would be on the streets.

Why do the courts continue to favor her (in Maryland)? She gets everything she tantrums for. Clearly he can't even function on what is left for him. She wants lifetime alimony and she never wants to work. She didn't hold up her end of the deal--that she'd get a degree and work one day...So why does HE have to pay for her deceit?! Why isn't she deemed "perfectly capable" to work and expected to contribute? Why was it ok for her to mislead him and then he has to pay for life? She says she never loved him. What in the world is out there to help MEN in divorces??????


Asked on 4/01/10, 8:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Your brother has more rights than you think. Every parent has an obligation to support his/her children, and to try and be self-supporting. A spouse who is capable of working cannot avoid that responsibility. In a divorce, she might be entitled to temporary alimony while she gets back into the job market and possibly until the newborn is old enough for day care, but after that she will have to find gainful employment. Permanent alimony is disfavored in MD. From the facts you presented, she would not be entitled to it. Your brother needs to find a skilled family attorney who can prepare and present his case in the court system.

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Answered on 4/06/10, 1:59 pm


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