Legal Question in Family Law in Maryland

Re: How Do I hurry My divorce?

You can't force your husband to agree to anything, no matter how unreasonable he's being. If a property settlement can't be worked out between you or through court-ordered mediation (if the court in your county requires that), a judge will decide how the marital property is to be divided.

You're correct that divorce litigation can be very expensive, especially when it is contested. But don't blame your attorney, blame your husband. Make sure your attorney asks the court to order your husband to pay all or part of you attorney's fees, documenting that your husband prolonged the litigation by his unreasonable conduct.

Re: How Do I hurry My divorce?

Whether your attorney is well skilled with divorce law or not is something that cannot be addressed without more specifics as to your alleged deficiencies in this regard.

Contested divorce with an uncooperative spouse can be costly. You should discuss recoupment of your attorney's fees through the divorce with you current attorney.

You are at the stage of obtaining a separation agreement and property settlement, this is not a divorce but, assuming all matters have been dealt with fairly and equitably, the separation agreement can be incorporated into your divorce thus lowering the costs to litigate a property settlement before court.

You cannot do anything to hurry your divorce if your grounds are separation, whether voluntary or involuntary. The time period of the separation must be met BEFORE a divorce can be filed. If another basis for divorce, such as the fault grounds of adultery or desertion, can be proven then you can file sooner. Be advised that legal fees for a fault ground will be much higher.

If you are willing and your attorney consents, ask him if there are things that you can do to reduce the fees such as obtain documents and prepare preliminary analyses.