When Maryland couples divorce, they will negotiate a variety of issues, including how to split their marital property. The laws regarding the division of property for each state are different, so it is important for couples to know how their property will be treated by a court.
States either have marital property laws or community property laws. Community property means that everything acquired during marriage, with some few exceptions such as an inheritance, are considered marital property and are divided equally between the spouses in a divorce. Maryland, however, does not have a community property law, so the things acquired or received during marriage are considered marital property.
Marital property means that in the case of a divorce, the property acquired or received during marriage is divided fairly. While this often results in equal value for the spouses, the division might be different in some cases. Marital property laws provide more space for negotiating. However, this also means that there will be less certainty about the outcome if the division is decided by the court. In most cases, spouses can come to their own fair property division agreement, and courts will usually accept it.
Whether a couple’s divorce is amicable or not, they can each seek the guidance of a lawyer to provide information about the process and offer legal advice about the decisions that their client will need to make. A lawyer with family law experience might help their client create a plan for the divorce, file claims and documents with the court, and assist with the negotiations about property division and other aspects of the split. The lawyer might also represent their client during court appearances.
