Divorce Without Waiting: Maryland’s Mutual Consent Grounds.
Update: July 2018
As we were talking about all Summer, the new mutual consent grounds for divorce became effective October 1, 2015. It does NOT apply to everyone, but if you and your spouse do NOT have minor children in common (so emancipated children and step-children do not count) and you DO have a written settlement agreement, you can get divorced on “consent” grounds. And this means you can be divorced much more quickly than had previously been the case here in Maryland (where the most common ground for divorce had been a 1-year separation).
The process. Of course, the legal process does take a little bit of time, but when proceeding on mutual consent, there is no required wait time. In order to proceed on the ground of mutual consent, one party still has to file a complaint with the appropriate pleadings, and the other party has to file an answer (and some counties may require a “Joint Line”), and you will eventually get an uncontested divorce hearing date. Be careful, some counties require that these hearings happen before special examiners and that the opposing party receive written notice prior to the hearing.
The hearing. What you need at the hearing will depend on what county you are proceeding in. For instance, Montgomery County does not require a corroborating witness whereas Howard County does. All counties will require the presence of both parties as the new law requires that. To keep things moving smoothly, you’ll need to be familiar with the law and the requirements for the county in which you anticipate filing.
The attorneys at McCabe Russell, PA, have offices in Howard County and Montgomery County, Maryland, and have helped hundreds of clients through the divorce process. Please contact the firm to make an appointment for a consultation.
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Heather is the firm’s managing partner and divorce law guru. Heather knows all the ins and outs of divorce in Maryland and DC, and she knows exactly what to do to put her clients in a position to accomplish their goals.
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