Divorce Lawyer in Chevy Chase, MD

Ask how the lawyer would approach your concerns, communicate with you and explain fees. Talk about the decisions you need help making, such as where the children will stay or how the home will be handled. A useful first conversation should give you room to ask questions, not promise a result.

Maryland allows only absolute divorce, which ends the marriage and permits remarriage. Limited divorce is no longer available. If you need support or a parenting arrangement while a divorce is pending, discuss temporary orders rather than treating limited divorce as a first step. Read more about Maryland divorce law.

A new case begins with a Complaint for Absolute Divorce and required case information paperwork. An answer responds to the complaint; a counter-complaint requests relief of your own. Financial statements, property disclosures and child support worksheets depend on your case. Use the court’s current forms. An old limited-divorce complaint is not a way to begin a new divorce case.

The Circuit Court for Montgomery County in Rockville serves Chevy Chase. Confirm the proper filing court for your circumstances before submitting papers. You cannot personally serve the initial complaint on your spouse; arrange formal service under the rules and file the required proof.

The usual answer deadline runs from service: 30 days when served in Maryland, 60 days when served in another state and 90 days when served outside the United States. Later filings also have service requirements. Our Maryland divorce filing guide explains the first steps.

No. Maryland does not require a separate legal-separation step before divorce. For the six-month separation ground, spouses must live separate lives for six uninterrupted months before filing, but they may remain under one roof. Mutual consent and irreconcilable differences do not require a separation period.

A written separation or settlement agreement can address finances, housing and parenting responsibilities. Have the terms reviewed before signing. Whether a provision can later be changed depends on the law, the language of the agreement and any court order. Child-related terms remain subject to the court’s authority.

You may represent yourself. A lawyer can explain what relief to request, help identify missing financial information and review the consequences of an agreement before you sign. Custody, the home, support and retirement assets can each raise questions beyond the filing forms.

There is no standard completion time for every divorce. Service, disclosure, settlement progress, disputed issues and the court’s calendar all affect timing. Meeting a ground with no separation requirement does not make a divorce immediate. Our Maryland divorce timeline guide explains where delays can arise.

Before accepting a proposal just to finish sooner, check how it handles payments, parenting exchanges, taxes and the home. Speed is not a substitute for terms you understand.

Maryland has three grounds for absolute divorce:

• Mutual consent: Both spouses sign and submit a written settlement resolving alimony, property and any care, custody, access and support issues for minor or dependent children. Attach a child support guidelines worksheet if the agreement provides for support. Neither spouse may ask the court to set the agreement aside before the divorce hearing. The court must find the child-related terms in the children’s best interests. No separation period is required.
• Six-month separation: You have lived separate lives for six months without interruption before filing. This may happen in the same home. See what counts as separation.
• Irreconcilable differences: The filing spouse states the reasons the marriage should permanently end. There is no separation waiting period.

Adultery, desertion, cruelty, conviction and insanity are not current divorce grounds. Conduct may still matter for alimony, a marital-property monetary award or custody when it affects the child. If the grounds arose outside Maryland, one spouse must have lived in the state for at least six months before filing.