Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: Constructive dessertion

There is a legal doctrine known as constructive desertion as a ground for divorce. This is for situations like yours. The theory is that one spouse made life and the marital situation so intolerable for the other that the "victim" spouse was forced to leave. The problem is you have no resources for finding a separate residence, especially if your plan is to take the children with you. You could ask for separate maintenace (financial support) if you filed for divorce, but at best it would be some time before you could get it. If your house is such that you could establish separate living quarters from your husband and have no marital relations, you could claim a constructive desertion under those circumstances. You could ask the court as part of a divorce proceeding to award you sole custody of the children, make the father pay child support, and grant you exclusive use of the family home. This would force him to vacate the premises. After a year of this, you could seek a final divorce.

Re: Constructive dessertion

Robert Sher's answer is right, and I can't add to that, except to say that you should try to get legal help from your local Legal Aid office, which often can represent people in court who can't afford to pay a lawyer.