Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Community Property

Maryland applies equitable distribtion and not community property law. Any property

acquired during the marriage is marital property and subject to equitable distribution unless

the property was acquired during marriage and it is directly traceable to property owned by one

spouse and there has not been a gift over to the marriage. Inheritance, personal injury settlements, and gifts are

property that a spouse can take during marriage and not cause marital property by acceptance. But, for example, a gift can

be accepted by a spouse as non-marital property and owned as such but then the spouse may act in a manner that results in the

property being gifted over to the marriage.

As to annulment, this is a seperate matter. If an annulment is accomplished then the situtation is as if there was never a marriage.

If there was never a marriage, then there can be no marital property. However, even with an annulment, property may be involved. See my answer to another

question concerning a diamond ring given for marriage. Pursuing an annulment is not always a simple matter.

You should strongly consider acquiring the service of an attorney.

G. Joseph Holthaus III

(410) 799-9002

Re: Community Property

Maryland is not a "community property state," and the disposition of property in a Maryland divorce is different from that in community property states. Property belongs to whichever party owns it, and the court can't change the title to real estate or any other property which is titled, such as a car. What the court does is determine what property is "marital property," meaning any property acquired, except by inheritance or by gift from a third party, during the marriage by either or both of the parties. Property which is acquired by one of the parties during the marriage from funds owned before the marriage is not marital property unless it is real estate which is later transferred dto ownership by both parties. If the husband purchased a house during the marriage with funds he had before the marriage, it is not marital property except to any extent that he made mortgage payments or improvements with funds acquired during the marriage. When the court has determined the value of all marital property, including what might be a fraction of the equity in the house, one party might be ordered to pay the other a "monetary award" to adjust the equities of the parties, or in other words to result in what the judge thinks is fair.

A marriage which ends in annulment is by definition a marriage which never happened. If the so-called husband and wife were never actually married, there can be no marital property, and the house would belong to the husband entirely. There may, however, be some property issues which remain, just as two roommates who sever their association might have property issues to resolve concerning who owns the toaster oven or the cd collection.

Re: Community Property

Maryland is not a community property state. We are an equitable distribution state which means that property is not automatically distributed 50/50.

All property acquired during the marriage is marital property unless it was acquired prior to the marriage, or by gift, inheritence or property directly traceable to property owned prior to the marriage. It does not matter how the property is titled.

I hope this answers your question.