Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

divorce

this seems complicated: my girlfriend moved to MD from Michigan last Aug(2007) with her 2 kids--then for the next 9 months tried to negotiate child support (which he would not give a penny for)he let home in detroit go to foreclosure(so he wasn't paying mortgage and still would not give her any money for kids) now he is paying $900 total mo.--but will not sign anything---hence she cannot get her share of the 401. He moved to Minni with his father---my friend has $0 for an attorney---went to courthouse they told her since he is out of state not much they can do---she can serve him but he does not have to show in court and was told they won't do anything to him for that----how can someone get 401 divided ----is a sep. agreement enough--do you have to be divorced? are there any programs in MD for women who cannot pay a retainer? I think she could pay a monthly amount--but so far I have not been able to find any kind of help for her. Her salary is about $35,000/yr. PS he took a job making 1/2 of what he use to


Asked on 6/03/08, 5:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: divorce

She can go to court here to get a child support order, but will have to be able to locate him to serve him with the papers. Once the MD court issues an order, she'll have to get a lawyer in his home state to get it enforced. This would entail getting an earnings withholding order served on his employer. If she wants a divorce and a property division as part of it she will probably have to go to MN. She can get a divorce in MD but the MD court can't deal with his property unless he comes here to defend the case. She should contact the bar association lawyer referral service in your county to see if she can get a reduced fee attorney.

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Answered on 6/04/08, 9:59 am


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