How To File For Divorce in Maryland

As an overview on how to file for divorce in Maryland is important to first verify that Maryland has jurisdiction in your case. One or the other of the parties must reside in Maryland for at least one year prior to filing a complaint for absolute divorce in Maryland. Once you are confident you have this jurisdictional issue resolved the process is fairly straightforward. You must identify which issues you will need the court to address. There is a finite list of issues to be dealt with in any divorce in Maryland. You will file your complaint for absolute divorce in the county where your spouse lives or works or if you are a Maryland resident you may also file in the county where you live. You can secure the complaint forms at the circuit court in which ever of the counties or cities you will be filing. If you are seeking child support or alimony it will be necessary to file a financial statement with your complaint. Once you have filed the complaint the court will take approximately 2 weeks to process your paperwork and will return your paperwork to you with a summons. You then will have to serve your paperwork and the summons on your spouse. Once your spouse receives the paperwork and the summons, depending upon where they are served or reside, they will have a period of time to file an answer. If they should fail to file an answer you will asked the court to enter a default judgment against them. If you have questions about this process please feel free to give me a call I am happy to into your questions for you right over the phone at no cost to you 1-888-760-7339.