Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Maryland

If I'm understanding the facts of your situation correctly, your boyfriend inherited a piece of property in his name only. Thereafter, you and your boyfriend decided to build a home on the land together and got a loan to do so. Since you both wanted to be on the loan, and therefore equally responsible for the mortgage payments, the lender required that your boyfriend put your name on the deed to the land.

If the above is true, then you likely own half the property (including the home that sits on it). As such, you have just as many rights to the property as your boyfriend does. If you and your boyfriend are going to split, he owes you 1/2 of the value of the entire property, including the equity in the home.

If I were in your shoes, I would hire a lawyer IMMEDIATELY --

1. If your boyfriend was arrested for assaulting you, I would have my attorney assist me in obtaining a restraining order against the boyfriend. This would prevent the boyfriend from being within a certain distance of you and could mean that the court forces the boyfriend to move out of the home at least temporarily. If you don't want the home or property and have the means to move out, go ahead and do so. Moving out doesn't forfeit any of your rights to the property or home and your safety will be protected.

2. I would have your attorney try to negotiate a settlement with the boyfriend. In other words, if your boyfriend wants to keep the house and land, he needs to pay you 1/2 the value of the land AND the home to go away.

3. If the boyfriend refuses to buy you out, then your attorney can file an action with the court for "partition" of the land. This basically means that the Court will try to physically divide the property between the two parties based on their ownership interests. If the property cannot physically be divided (as is usually the case when a house sits on the lot), then the judge will order the sale of the home and the land and the net proceeds to be divided between the two parties based on their ownership interest.

I'm sorry to tell you that if you do this the right way by hiring a lawyer, it will not be a quick process. Figure 6 months to a year, unless you boyfriend all of a sudden becomes reasonable.

Best of luck.*****The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******