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MARYLAND ALIMONY LAWYERS

If you are going through a divorce in Maryland and you are in need of financial support from your spouse, you will need an experienced Maryland alimony attorney to protect your interests and to make sure you are provided the appropriate amount of support to meet your monthly expenses.

How Can I Receive Alimony?

If you are seeking alimony, you need to request it. If you are going to proceed on an absolute divorce case and ask for alimony, family law article 11-106 sets up the factors. You would have to prove a need of the party requesting it and there has to be an ability to pay it by the non-requesting spouse. The courts tend to look at the financial arrangements between the parties, financial disparities, age and educational level, employment history of the parties when awarding spousal support. You will need an experienced family law attorney to handle these matters.

In the State of Maryland, alimony can be awarded only before the final ending of the marriage. Failure to make a claim for alimony as part of the divorce means that you can not come back later, after the marriage has ended, and make an alimony claim. You must ask for alimony as part of your pending divorce. There are different types of alimony. There is a pendente lite alimony award. The court can award this type of alimony between the time you file for divorce and the time the divorce is final. Pendente lite is Latin for temporary. The purpose of this type of alimony is to maintain the status quo during the marriage. It does not necessarily mean that you will be awarded alimony after the divorce.

Rehabilitative alimony is the type of alimony that will most likely be awarded. Usually, it is associated with a time limit goal, such as going back to school. The court may reward you rehabilitative alimony for two years while you go back to school and finish a degree program that will enable you to better support yourself. While results will vary based on your individual circumstances, a good range to use for this estimate is an average of three to seven years rehabilitative alimony.

The final type of alimony is indefinite alimony. This is a rare form of alimony that is awarded with no specific end point. You may receive this due to your age, illness or disability, or if you cannot make reasonable progress towards supporting yourself. Even if you can make reasonable progress towards supporting yourself, your ex spouse’s standard of living is “unconscionably disparate”. “Unconscionably disparate” means that there is a very large and unfair difference between your living standards. Alimony awards may be modified, extended, or changed or ended in the future. This may happen if one of the ex-spouses asks the court to consider the alimony amount in the future and circumstances have changed.

What are the Factors Considered When Determining Alimony in Maryland?

  • Family Law article 11-106 lists the factors that the court must consider when awarding final alimony award. They include:
  • The ability of the parties seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting;
  • The time necessary for the party seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that party to find suitable employment;
  • The standard of living that the parties established during their marriage;
  • The duration of the marriage;
  • The contributions, monetary and non monetary, of each of the party to the well-being of the family;
    The circumstances that contributed to the estrangement of the parties;
  • The age of each party;
  • The physical and mental condition of each party;
    The ability of the party from whom alimony is sought to meet that party’s needs while meeting the needs of the party seeking alimony;
  • Any agreement between the parties;
  • The financial needs and financial resources of each party;
  • Whether the award would cause a spouse who is a resident of a related institution, as defined by §19-301 of the Health General Article, and from whom alimony is sought become eligible for medical assistance earlier than would otherwise occur.

Contact a Waldorf Alimony Lawyer to Fight for the Support You Need 

The legal right to collection alimony, or spousal support, can mean the difference between the life of stability and one filled with day-to-day struggles to make ends meet. Our Waldorf family law attorneys can provide you the support you when your marriage ends. Contact the Law Office of Thomas E. Pyles, P.A. at 301-705-5006 for a consultation regarding your alimony award. We have offices in Waldorf, Laurel and Leonardtown.