Maryland Divorce Lawyer Blog

The pending bill to update the Maryland Child Support Guidelines passed in the Maryland House of Representatives this past Saturday, March 27, 2010 with a vote of 114 in favor and 25 votes against. However, the House did make a few changes to the bill, which will have to be reviewed. The House changed the date the Guidelines would go into effect from October 1, 2010 to October 1, 2011. Also, the House revised the Guidelines to cap at a combined monthly income of $15,000.00 rather than $30,000.00. Currently, the Guidelines are capped at a combined monthly income of $10,000.00. Last, the House amended the bill to state that the new legislation would not qualify as a material change in circumstances for the purpose of requesting modification of child support.

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It is common for one to be unaware that there are two types of divorce in Maryland. An absolute divorce is typically what one thinks of when thinking of a “divorce.” See February 28, 2010 Blog . On the other hand, a limited divorce merely legalizes a separation. A limited divorce is generally sought when the parties do not have grounds for an absolute divorce yet and are unable to come up with a settlement agreement, but a party is in need of financial relief or child custody and access needs to be established.

Under Maryland law, the Judge may grant a limited divorce on grounds of: “(1) cruelty of treatment of the filing party or of a minor child of the filing party, (2) excessively vicious conduct to the filing party or to a minor child of the filing party; (3) desertion (actual or constructive); or (4) voluntary separation, if the parties are living separate and apart without cohabitation and there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation.” Maryland Code, Family Law § 7-102 . In contrast to an absolute divorce, there is no time period that the parties need to be living separate and apart in order for the judge to grant a limited divorce on the grounds of voluntary separation.

Unlike an absolute divorce, a limited divorce does not sever the marital bonds. Therefore, the parties are not entitled to remarry. Judges will often grant a limited divorce to a couple seeking an absolute divorce if they find that there is insufficient evidence to amount to an absolute divorce, but sufficient grounds for a limited divorce. There are few advantages to filing for a limited divorce. It can be a way to get a spouse out of the house without a waiting period, or for a spouse to leave the house without risking a claim of desertion. Additionally, a couple may want to keep their marital status for religious or economic reasons, such as health benefits or tax purposes. It also serves as a method of documenting the start date of the parties’ separation period, if needed for an absolute divorce.

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The Maryland Legislature is currently considering legislation that would update the Maryland Child Support Guidelines . The legislation has passed in the Senate, but has not yet passed in the House. Many proponents of the legislation feel it is long overdue as the Maryland Child Support Guidelines have not been updated in over 20 years, since 1988 when Maryland first implemented the guidelines to comply with the federal government’s recommendation. At that time, the government also recommended that the guidelines be revisited very four years which has not been done in Maryland. The Maryland guidelines calculate the payment by using a pre-established figure to represent the expenses in the household that covers the child or children and then dividing this figure based upon the parties’ respective income percentages, see Maryland Annotated Code, Family Law 12-204 . Currently the guidelines are calculated based on the proportion of expenses for children based on expenses and the cost of living in 1988. These expenses have not increased in perfect proportion to parents incomes over the years, which is one of many reasons why proponents seek to have these guidelines re-evaluated. Additionally, the guidelines do not calculate for those with combined household incomes over $10,000 a month, which encompasses many more households than it did in 1988. The new legislation would change the guidelines to include higher income situations up to $30,000 a month.

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I recently received the written report and recommendation of the Master in the case detailed in the February 14, 2010 blog, Relocation Custody Cases in Maryland - Part Two. The findings, report and recommendation were favorable to my client. Among many other things, the Master specifically found that the mother was not willing to foster a relationship between the minor child and the father and that an award of sole custody to the mother would not be in the minor child's best interest. Accordingly, the Master recommended that the parties have joint legal and physical custody of the minor child (with a one week on, one week off access schedule for each parent) until he commences Kindergarten, at which time the father would have primary physical custody of the child here in Maryland with specified visitation to the Mother.

I believe the mother will probably file exceptions to the Master's recommendations, which will require her to meet the requirments of Maryland Rule 9-208. An Exceptions Hearing, is not a de novo hearing (a re-trial), instead the Judge assigned the case decides the exceptions based on the evidence presented to the Master unless the excepting party sets forth with particularilty the additional evidence to be offered and the reasons why the evidence was not offered before the Master, and the Judge determines that the additional evidence should be considered. If additional evidence is to be considered, the Judge may remand the matter back to the Master to hear and consider the additional evidence or at that point to conduct a de novo hearing.

On Wednesday, February 24, 2010, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler issued an opinion stating that Maryland courts and officials should recognize as valid same-sex marriages performed in other states. The Attorney General believes that the Maryland Courts will follow his lead, as they have recognized marriages performed legally in other states as legal here in Maryland. For example, while common law marriage is not recognized in Maryland, if a couple was married due to a common law relationship in another state Maryland has recognized that as a valid marriage. Also, the Attorney General points out that Maryland has recognized increasing rights for same-sex couples in the recent past, including the right to adopt. This Opinion puts state officials on notice that the Attorney General believes that Maryland is bound by the constitution to recognize these marriages as valid in Maryland, and state agencies should begin extending married rights to the couples. For more information on same-sex marriages view our February 5, 2010 blog.