Maryland No Fault Divorce

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A no fault divorce is quite a common procedure that is followed to provide legal termination to an unsuccessful marriage. In most of the states in the US, such process is easily permitted where both the spouses reach to a final agreement about getting separation from each other. No blame game or complaint grounds are considered in a no fault case. Similarly, even Maryland has its own set of laws and rights for conducting a smooth and organized process in the state. The Maryland no fault divorce can be categorized into two major types. The first divorce type is called as an absolute legal process. It has the following features:

• Formally ends the marital relationship
• Allows the divorcing spouses for remarriage

The second process type is known as a limited divorce. This is another term for legal separation and is ordered by the court house. Such separation does not really end up the marriage legally. Therefore, neither of two spouses is allowed for remarriage.

Maryland no fault divorce criteria

• There must be mutual and voluntary separation for at least one year and should be ordered by the court. The term "mutual and voluntary" indicates that both the divorcing partners have acceded with each other to separate. There is no threat while going for the separation period and both aimed at analyzing the marital problems and terminating the marriage. After the end of one year of your separation period there must be no expectation or hope of reconciliation. Such condition may lead to the case of absolute divorce.
• If for any reason, there has been a separation for two years, then the divorcing partners may apply for an absolute process. In this case, the partner against whom complaint is filed is also eligible for filing no fault in the state only after completing the separation period of two years.

Advantages of Maryland no fault divorce

• A no fault casein this state needs a separation and it makes easier for the divorcing spouses to prove the incompatibility condition between them.
• There is less chances of clashes between both the parties.
• Fault based processes usually take a lot of time. A no fault case on the other hand is attained just by the mentioning of suitable grounds
• The additional assistance like help of any attorney is not really required during the case of no fault case. As a result, such legal processes prove to be a less complicated and affordable

Residency requirements of Maryland no fault divorce

In order to file no fault case in the state like Maryland a few basic requirements should be fulfilled in advance by the divorcing parties. The residency requirement is one of the primary requirements before the start of such legal procedures. Some of the special conditions are:

• Either of two partners should be the resident of the state for at least one year before the date of filing the legal papers
• If the above requirement is not satisfied, but the grounds of the legal process have taken place in this state, still the case can be filed from this state

Property distribution

This state believes in equitable distribution. The equitable distribution does not actually end up in equal distribution of property between both the spouses. Rather a fair and unequal property distribution may also result depending upon the needs and capability of both the partners. Most importantly, the property that a partner has acquired prior to marriage is labeled as "Separate property." This property is not distributed, but given entirely to the partner who owned it.

It has been observed that in order to avoid the financial burden, most of the divorcing couples are ready to settle property distribution outside the court between them. However, if the Judge is required to intervene and handle the matter, then the duration of the marriage, economical resources of the partners and some other factors are necessarily considered before final declaration of the divorce decree.

Documents essential for the divorce

There are two essential documents to begin and finalize the process. These are Bill of Divorce and Decree of Divorce. During the filing process, generally ten to twenty documents are necessary. Some of these are as follows:

• Certificate of service (for Complaint)
• Answer to Complaint
• Request for hearing
• Financial statement (Plaintiff)
• Marital Settlement Agreement
• Civil Domestic Case Information Report

Maryland no fault divorce includes various crucial sections such as, fulfillment of residency requirement, accurate documents and likewise. Most importantly, the process types are mainly decided on the basis of definite circumstances that exist between both the spouses.

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