Glen Burnie Family Law Attorney
Family law is a wide area of practice that encompasses things like divorce, adoption, child custody debates, and support. If you are facing divorce proceedings or seeking a divorce, a lot of these other issues will arise as part of your case.
It is important to always consult with an attorney whenever a family law matter is involved. These legal issues can be extremely heated, and having a lawyer represent you can allow cooler heads to prevail. Additionally, the outcomes of these cases can have a huge impact on many aspects of your life and finances, and it is never a good idea to resort to self-help or seek to handle issues without court intervention.
For help with your case, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras’ family law attorneys today at (410) 694-7291.
Family Law Cases Our Attorneys Handle in Glen Burnie, MD
As mentioned, family law encompasses many different legal issues, all of which have different rules, processes, and procedures. Our family law attorneys can help with the following issues and many more:
Divorce
Divorce is one of the most common family law matters that cause people to seek out a lawyer’s help. Getting a divorce is not simple, especially in Maryland, where there are multiple types of divorce. Getting a divorce is even more difficult if you are in a dangerous or difficult situation because of abuse – whether physical, emotional, or economic.
Maryland, unlike many states, recognizes two kids of divorce. You can seek a “limited divorce,” which is much like legal separation and allows the parties to gain some independence without fully ending the marital relationship. In most cases, an “absolute divorce” – which ends the marriage entirely – is the ultimate goal.
To get divorced, you must use the proper grounds for divorce. An absolute divorce can be based on “no-fault” grounds if you both consent to the divorce or if you have lived apart for a year before filing. If one party is suing for divorce against the other party’s wishes, then the law typically requires proof of some wrongdoing, like adultery, or abuse.
Asset Division
When getting divorced, division of the assets will be an important part of the case. Having an attorney on your side who has experience with asset division in different circumstances is vital.
There is a general assumption that the other party gets half of your property and assets upon divorce, but Maryland actually uses an “equitable” distribution rule. This means that they get what is fair, based on a court’s assessment of their contribution to growing marital property, how long the marriage lasted, the age of both parties, the physical/mental health of both parties, and other factors.
Ultimately many cases have asset division decided by agreement. In some cases, you might also have a prenuptial agreement in place to dictate what property is divided and how it is split. Having a lawyer on your side is especially important during a high-asset divorce or divorces involving substantial investment or business assets. In many cases, these assets are in fact marital property and can be divided during a divorce.
Prenup and Postnup Agreements
Many wealthy individuals seek out prenuptial agreements to protect from losing their assets during a potential divorce. Even if you are not independently wealthy, it may be important to set up a prenup if you own business assets and want to protect the business from going in large part to your spouse if you potentially get divorced.
Postnuptial agreements are similar to prenuptial agreements in that they determine how assets will be divided upon divorce, but they are written and signed after you get married instead of before marriage. Postnups can be used to amend or dissolve prenuptial agreements or to put new asset division plans in place after years of marriage.
Child Custody
If you have shared children with someone you do not live with, you should have a lawyer assess your child custody situation and have the case taken before a judge to put a child custody arrangement in place. If you are divorcing the other parent of your shared children, a child custody order will usually be part of the divorce case.
Having set rules in place gives you legal protection by having an enforceable instrument in case the other parent violates the rules or tries to do something that would infringe on your parental rights. Most cases ultimately end with agreements that have input from both parties – and judges are often willing to sign off on the terms the parties come up with on their own. However, some cases warrant going to court and trying to gain sole custody or strip custody rights from abusive or criminal parents.
Child Support
Again, if you live separately from your co-parent or are seeking a divorce from the parent of your children, you should have a child support agreement in place. Many people are under the assumption that mothers get child custody payments from the father, but this is not always the case. Instead, the parent who has the children living with them the majority of the time usually faces the most out-of-pocket expenses for their children, so the other parent is usually made to pay support. Who makes more money is also a common factor in support decisions.
Alimony/Spousal Support
If one party to a divorce was, during the life of the marriage, financially dependent on the other, then they could be entitled to alimony or spousal support after the marriage ends. In many cases, alimony pendente lite is available while the case is ongoing to help you pay for expenses during the divorce proceedings and to help you afford legal fees to get divorced in the first place.
Call Our Glen Burnie Family Lawyers for Help with Your Case
For a free review of your family law case, call (410) 694-7291 to speak with the family law attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras.