![Maryland Marital Settlement (Divorce) Agreement Form [PDF]](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fdocuments%2Fplaceholder-general.png&w=3840&q=75)
A Maryland marital settlement agreement is a legal document that married couples generally use to specify the conditions of their upcoming divorce. More precisely, its purpose is to record the terms and obligations spouses negotiated concerning child support, parenting plans, or property division.
The parties create this agreement outside of court and do not need expensive divorce lawyers to complete it. They just need to download the marital settlement agreement template and customize it to suit their needs.
Divorce Forms
The spouse can file the divorce forms with the Maryland Circuit Court clerk's office. They must also pay a filing fee, which is typically around $165. The waiting period is at least 60 days before the divorce can be finalized.
Divorce Laws and Legal Requirements in Maryland
The following divorce laws and legal requirements in Maryland are established to regulate the divorce procedure and provide legal protection to married couples:
Divorce Laws and Legal Requirements
Alimony: According to Section 11-106 of the Maryland Code, the court has the authority to determine whether and for how long one spouse shall pay alimony to the other and how much. The same section lists numerous factors that should be considered in order to reach a fair decision, such as the length of marriage, both spouses' age and health, and their contributions to marriage.
Child support: A parent with custody over children will receive financial support from the other parent. The court decides the amount of child support using the formula provided in Section 12-204 of the Maryland Code. This formula is based on a parent's income and the number of children they have together.
Division of property: The courts in Maryland divide marital property by equitable distribution laws, which means that the property is divided in a way that is considered fair and not always equal. Section 8-205 of the Maryland Code lists factors that influence the distribution, such as the value of the property and both spouses' financial situation.
Grounds for divorce: Couples in Maryland do not need to prove that the other party is at fault to have a valid reason for divorce. Section 7-103 states that the “no-fault” grounds for divorce are six months of separation, irreconcilable differences, and mutual consent.
Interim support: According to Section 11-106, either party can request temporary financial support from the court for the duration of the divorce process.
Residency: In cases where the grounds for divorce happened outside of Maryland, one spouse must live in the state for at least six months before filing for divorce, as stated in Section 7-101.
How to File For a Divorce in Maryland in 6 Steps
Here is a summary of how to file for divorce in Maryland, broken down into six key steps.
#1. Fill Out and File the Divorce Papers
The petitioner can file for divorce by completing the complaint for absolute divorce and filing it with the circuit court clerk. The document must include personal information about both parties, minor children, and marriage.
If the spouses do not reach an agreement, they should ask the court to decide property division, alimony, or child custody through this document instead of them. Additionally, the petitioner could ask the court to restore their former name.
Additionally, two more documents should be filed along with the divorce complaint: a civil domestic case information report and a financial statement.
#2. Serve the Forms to the Spouse
When all divorce documents have been filed, it is time to serve copies of the forms and summons to the other spouse. This can be done in three ways:
By certified mail
By sheriffs service
Through a private process server
The petitioner has 60 days to serve the papers on the respondent and provide proof of service to the court.
The sheriff will file the proof of service with the court directly, while in other cases, the respondent must sign an affidavit of service (private process) or affidavit of service (certified mail) and send them to the petitioner.
#3. Wait for the Respondent's Answer
After being served, the respondent must provide the court with an answer within a certain time limit, depending on the circumstances. To be precise, the respondent will have 30 days to answer if served in Maryland, 60 days if served in another state, and 90 days if served outside of the US.
If the respondent agrees with the statements from the divorce complaint, then spouses enter an uncontested divorce process and negotiate the terms of divorce by themselves. However, if they do not agree, then the court must make decisions instead of them, which is called a contested divorce.
Additionally, if the respondent wants to present a counterclaim, they can do so by filing a CC-DR-094 form with the court.
#4. File Additional Forms
Spouses entering the divorce process by mutual agreement and wanting to proceed with an uncontested divorce must provide the settlement agreement. This document, signed by both parties and notarized, will be reviewed by the judge to ensure the terms are fair and included in the divorce decree.
Additionally, a couple of other documents should be completed and filed along with the settlement agreement, such as:
#5. Request for Final Hearing
One of the last documents the petitioner must complete and file is the request for hearing and proceeding. In this document, they should state what kind of hearing they wish to have.
If the spouses have filed a divorce settlement agreement, they should ask for an uncontested hearing to speed up the process. The court clerk will set a date and return the request to the petitioner, who must send it to the respondent.
Again, the court needs proof of service, so the respondent needs to sign the request and send it back to the petitioner, who will file it with the court.
#6. Attend the Final Hearing
Both spouses must attend the final hearing, where they will make statements, provide needed evidence for certain claims, or answer questions from the judge to clarify the situation for the court.
The judge will ensure everything is in order and issue the “Judgment or Decree of Absolute Divorce,” which makes the divorce final. Additionally, the spouse's name will be legally restored if it is requested in a divorce complaint.