Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: I hate the man I married

Hatred is not a valid ground for divorce. You will have to establish a separate residence and wait, possibly for 2 years, to get a Maryland divorce. You could go to Nevada or a foreign country to get the divorce more quickly.

Once you separate, you could attempt to get your husband to execute an agreement which acknowledges the separation and that he accepts it. You should seek the assistance of an attorney to do this. If you're able to put an agreement together, it will cut your waiting time in Maryland to 1 year.

Re: I hate the man I married

Hatred is not grounds for divorce. If the hatred is the result of terrible behavior on the part of your husband, that might be, but it would have to be behavior which is violent or seriously abusive in some way. If your marriage was such a mistake, you should get out of it as soon as you can, by simply moving out and separating yourself from your husband. The sooner the better, before your financial affairs are any more entangled with his than they are now. If you already have joint bank accounts or other jointly owned property, or credit cards with both names on them, you will want to get your interests separated from his as soon as you can. When you have lived apart for a year you might be able to file for a divorce if he agrees to it, and by the time a year is up he might come to realize that the divorce is going to happen whether he wants it or not. If he opposes it you will have to wait until you've been separated for two years, at which time you have grounds for a divorce whether he agrees to it or not. During those one or two years, try to keep in mind that anything you acquire, except through gifts of inheritance from a third party, will be considered marital property at the time of a divorce. Each of you could claim an interest in the property of the other, even though you have been separated.

If you leave your husband, a time may come when he also wants to get the divorce over with. At that time you and he should try to work out an agreement regarding any property interests and retain lawyers (one for each of you) to draft a separation agreement spelling out the terms of your agreement. It will cost a relatively small amount and can save each of you a lot of grief and money in the long run.

Re: I hate the man I married

Hated is not a grounds for divorce, however, you may still have other grounds to file for a divorce. In Maryland you could get an immediate divorce based on Adultery, Excessively Vicious Conduct, Cruelty of Treatment, Conviction of a Crime, and Insanity or Serious Mental Disorder. You could also file for divorce based on Desertion (but he must have deserted you for one year). Maryland also has no fault grounds which require you to live separate and apart with no hope of reconcilation for a one year period if he agrees to the divorce or a two year period if he does not agree.

If you want a divorce but do not qualify for any of the fault grounds mentioned above, the best course of action is to live separate and apart from your husband as soon as possible and to have him sign a property settlement agreement which also includes a statement by him that he agrees to the divorce, which would only require a one year time period of separation.

Please call me at 301-652-0663 if you have any questions.