Do wehave to separate for a whole year before we can be granted a divorce if we both want it?
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Do wehave to separate for a whole year before we can be granted a divorce if we both want it?
My husband and I just moved to MD in hopes to “start over new.” After moving here we found that no matter where we actually go, we are just unhappy. We are in complete agreement to everything. Who takes what, who gets what and most of all. That we both just want out. In TX (where we are from and got married), we could get divorced tomorrow with our current state of agreement. But I’m finding that thel aw here is not so cut and dry. They want you to separate for a year? Neither one of us want to do that. We both want to see other people. But neither of us want to “cheat.”
Asked on November 20, 2011 under Family Law, Maryland
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
I am so sorry that things did not work out. There are two things that pop up here as what might be the issue. One, that you just moved to Maryland from Texas. Each state requires that the parties - or at least the filing party I should say - must meet the residency requirement for filing. In other words you have to live in the state for a certain time in order to file for divorce. In Maryland that is a year. The other thing is based upon the grounds for divorce, which one of is that you need to live separate and apart for 12 months without cohabitation. I would speak with an attorney about the possibility of a separation agreement that not only divides your property but also establishes the date of separation and states that you can see other people (that is not, of course, the legal language used) without it being deemed adultery. Good luck.
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