Major changes are coming to Maryland’s grounds for divorce: starting on October 1, 2023, Maryland is doing away with fault-based grounds for divorce. Instead, people will able to file based on one of three, “no fault” grounds, including two new grounds, “six-month separation” and, “irreconcilable differences”. The new law is intended to streamline the divorce process, shortening the pre-filing period of separation from twelve months to six, and doing away with the requirement that either spouse move out as long as they have “pursued separate lives” for those six months.

Maryland will also recognize “irreconcilable differences”, which does not require any preliminary period of separation, as a new ground for divorce. While the new law may make it easier to meet the initial requirements to file, other issues, like custody and property division, tend to muddy the waters and make a divorce action complex.

One of our Annapolis Attorneys can advise you about the implications of the new law and how to protect, your rights as a spouse as you navigate your divorce.